Well, we’ve all sometimes been muddled with left and right hand threads and poorly fitting tools, let alone not having the strength / grip to manage.
One solution I’ve found with old steel frames and seized bottom brackets is to ask whichever of my sons has spent the most time in the gym recently to have a go. It has never failed yet, even when I’ve thought something really wouldn’t budge, including using a long breaker bar. The only downside is the look of pure disdain I have to endure when said son declares it was ‘easy’ and ‘what was your problem?’ (and, indeed, it was removed with no apparent effort).
Beforehand I will have purchased the correct fitting tool (last one was for a well-seized, obscure and elderly Campag), secured with suitable washer and bolt, copious applications of a suitable anti-seize product and endured multiple exhausting and blood vessel busting efforts with a breaker bar, but always to no-avail.
Of course, I try to restore some positive morale afterwards by assuring myself that I must have loosened it first …
Dawes Galaxy 1979; Mercian 531 1982; Peugeot 753 1987; Peugeot 531 Pro 1988; Peugeot 653 1990; Bob Jackson 731 OS 1992; Gazelle 731 OS Exception 1996; Dolan Dedacciai 2004; Trek 8000 MTB 2011; Focus Izalco Pro 2012
Well, we’ve all sometimes been muddled with left and right hand threads
I always think it can do no harm and possibly some good.
If you actually succeed in moving it a little the wrong way, this will make it easier to untighten as you have broken some bonds. It also creates a pathway for those penetrating fluids. Then any damage you do to the teeth of the component is on the other side, so those rounded shoulders are not going to be a problem when actually undoing it.
Brucey wrote:I typed 'Birmingham screwdriver' into a search engine and this image popped up
I can't think what they mean by this.....
cheers
I've always thought that expression a bit odd considering the amount of precision engineering there was in Brum and the West Midlands area. Folk from there probably less prone to inappropriate hammer use than most. When I worked as a fridge engineer we called them an a electricians screwdriver. A careful electrician was one who used a screwdriver in the screw slot and hit that with a hammer rather than the screw head directly.
'Give me my bike, a bit of sunshine - and a stop-off for a lunchtime pint - and I'm a happy man.' - Reg Baker
yes it is a bit unkind and bit inappropriate perhaps but it made me chuckle when I first heard the expression.
Oddly enough I have since wondered if the expression also hints at a no-nonsense approach; best way to get the job done in the least time and so forth. Clearly there are like minds at work somewhere because there are now fasteners available that are 'hammer in, unscrew later as needed' for some applications. For these you would 'put the screws in with a hammer'; that is how they are meant to be fitted.
Mick F wrote:Hammers are generally seen as a brute-force tool, but in the right hands and used skilfully, they are a wonderful in many areas of engineering.
'Give me my bike, a bit of sunshine - and a stop-off for a lunchtime pint - and I'm a happy man.' - Reg Baker
Just to be clear, I won't be applying my Manchester screwdriver to the problem, if it does turn out to be a problem.
So far I have applied only moderately strenuous force to a normal length adjustable spanner, with the tool bolted to the axle. The reason I've not applied more force by putting a pipe over the spanner is that I am not convinced the Cyo tool has a good engagement with the splines on the cup and I'd rather not chance it. I'd sooner go into a bike shop with the splines in good order. So that is the plan of action. Keep applying penetrating oil over weeks or months then take it to a shop.
If things need a helpful shove, I find something really heavy works. Bolt your splined remover to the axle, then put your bar/spanner/lever so it is approx horizontal and needs to be pushed down to unscrew things. In the past a 2' handle adjustable spanner has sufficed for me. Support the frame well (underneath, but also against sideways flex - so against a wall/work bench is good). Now the "hammer" you need here should be a very hefty piece of wood (think 1/4 - 1/3 or so of a fence post). Bringing that down with a firm thump may well work. The wood will have a lot of momentum - due to its weight you don't have to wack it very fast, just firmly. Heating before hand to dry out the threads also is worth trying, rust expands when wet, so drying out allows the rust to contact a bit. If using WD40, don't use the standard blue can, there is a whole range of them, I get my unsiezing WD40 can from Halfords. "Plusgas" is also good for unsiezing.
I just built a rat bike up and had a similar issue The frame had been sitting for god knows how long stripped outside and the BB was to my powers well and truely stuck , had in soaking in cola, hot water etc etc and when i put it in the stand and used mebbe 2 foot long lever the little arm yu use to steady the bike that was attatched to the chain stay to stabilze the frame snapped with the force i was able to apply . Took it to the LBS aka halfords as i know the mechanic-is half decent at mine and within the hour he had it undone , he did say he had to use a lot of force so im guessing his vice mounted stand and fark off lever must have done the trick.
John Wayne: "I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, and I won't be laid a hand on... I don't do these things to other people, and I require the same from them."
Hmm, I always unscrew BBs with the bike onthe floor. Putting the bike in a stand seems like a recipe for bent metal, at best!
MJR, mostly pedalling 3-speed roadsters. KL+West Norfolk BUG incl social easy rides http://www.klwnbug.co.uk All the above is CC-By-SA and no other implied copyright license to Cycle magazine.
