True, if you start out with the cylinder on the case. What I'm talking about is a crankcase received in good shape without a cylinder. If the bearings are good, it would be helpful to know if you need to order seals. I would replace them at that point to get a closeup look at the bearings and to make it easier to clean them up a bit. If you know you are going to split the case anyway, it's a moot point.
Yeah, that sounds like a good approach. The problem with any kind of blockoff is the variable bolt pattern and piston size. I doubt if I will try to fabricate something; I was mostly trying to see if anyone had an ingenious solution that would make me do a Homer Simpson "Doh!!"