We Have Pin Extraction!

The 66 is stripped.  Finally!  After a couple of weeks of trying overly complicated expansion systems for badge removal, including an attempt at locating the worlds tiniest hydraulic ram, today I was struck with a simple idea.  Why not use a c-clamp to press the badge pins out.  Now right away it's a non-starter because most c-clamps have too much of an arc in them to be able to maneuver around inside the pillar.  But those aren't the only options.  While at the hardware store today I found a small bar clamp that fits the bill perfectly.  It's has a 2 1/2" deep throat, which is just deep enough to reach both pins.  The brackets were only 3/4" high, which gave room to work them into the pillar with a little bit of play.



With the clamp picked out I needed a spacer for inside the pillar, since the clamp is pretty flat.  To get some loft I used just a scrap piece of wood.  I was going with some annoyingly hard to work with tiny pieces until the wife pointed out that she had put several pieces of nice scrap wood on the work-in-progress treadle on our back porch.  The pins are held pretty tight so I needed firmer material than wood to press against the pin.  I used an old textured metal knife handle that I glued to the wood.

Finally I needed to build a little scaffold to keep the outside part of the clamp from crushing the badge when I started applying pressure.  That was taken care of by gluing a few square dowel pieces together.

First I worked wth wood/handle thing into the pillar and lined it up over one of the pins.  The pins had been straightened inside the pillar during my previous attempts.

Next I slid the clamp into place and held it tight against the wood to keep everything from slipping while slipping the scaffolding over the badge.

Finally I slowly tightened the clamp and forced the pin out.

The whole process for both pins took about 45 minutes.  Multiple sets of hands were needed at times.  At one point it was me, the wife and our son all with our fingers holding various things in place.

This is what success looks like.  Yeah, a tin badge, but it's not bent!  The pins are a little wonky, but it's hard to get them completely straight inside the pillar when you can only see them from one direction.

The 66 is now 100% broken down.  Next will be figuring out my system for sand blasting it.  Stay tuned.

Oh yeah, Black Swan's wheel guard offset is taking shape as well.  It's still ugly and not quite at the right size but I'll get it posted as soon as it's presentable.