Bicycle Mechanics - Last ditch effort to save frame! Any help?

So, my latest project ended suddenly when I found my seatpost was stuck in the frame. The odd thing was that this seatpost was just an aluminum tube without a seat clamp/attachment at the top. The seat and seat clamp just kind of sat/wedged into this aluminum tube which was jammed down the steel seat tube. Very odd. Anyways, This aluminum tube was stuck even after removing the seat tube bolt. There was about 1 1/2 inches sticking up from the seat tube which leaves about 7-8 inches actually stuck into the frame. I tried dripping a whole bottle of ammonia and a used a whole can of liquid wrench on it to no real avail. The night before I was about to take it into the LBS to ask for help.... my dad decides he will help me and started chiseling away at it...... so now it looks like that.
I am gonna toss the frame (I really would hate to because these touring types are VERY hard if not impossible to come by around here) but wanted to know if there is any hope to saving it. My ideal/dream bike would be a Miyata 610/1000 but good luck to me finding one... even on ebay. I figured it wouldn't hurt... so what the hell... I posted it here. Thanks in advance.

Not the easiest of solutions but have you thought of drilling it out? Aluminum is very soft and if you could find a large enough drill bit you might have some success. Of course, you are going to need a honking large drill - perhaps a machine shop might help you? BTW - are the seat binding flanges mangled in your pic? Closing those back up to properly work again might be problematic for you ...

Not the easiest of solutions but have you thought of drilling it out? Aluminum is very soft and if you could find a large enough drill bit you might have some success. Of course, you are going to need a honking large drill - perhaps a machine shop might help you? BTW - are the seat binding flanges mangled in your pic? Closing those back up to properly work again might be problematic for you ...

The flanges are just spread... they look to be intact without severe distortion. I guess they were fairly easy to spread and I would assume closing them up wouldn't pose a huge problem.

I HAVE thought about drilling it... but I wouldn't be able to do that myself... I figured it would probably damage the frame in the process. Has anyone had any luck with that method? I can start looking around for a machine shop. It wouldn't compromise the frame's integrity would it (considering this would be my main tourer)?

Lock up all tools to keep them away from your father. He is a danger to himself and all around.:(

Lock up all tools to keep them away from your father. He is a danger to himself and all around.:(

Hahahahaha. True. :roflmao2:

Where are you physically located? Any decent machinist can fix this in less than an hour. I would think someone on the board could do it for a pizza and a 6 pack - I will if you are on LI.

I have heard of, but never seen, people using a hacksaw blade to carefully reach down into the seat tube and split the seatpost, then prying out the remainder of the seatpost.

If you were to go this route, it might help to shorten or modify a hacksaw blade so there is no rounded edge on the end.

Good luck! The seatpost can come out - the only question is how long will it take and how much will be left of the frame afterwards.

I'm in Toledo OH. I can search around for a machine shop. Is there any type/kind that I should be looking for? I have absolutely no experience with machinists/shops like that and would be blindly choosing from the phone book.

exRunner, I really appreciate the offer! I'm going to New York for a weekend at the end of June... but the frame's gotta stay here. ;-)

I was pretty sure this frame was trashed but you guys are giving me hope!

I've done it with hacksaw blade. There are handles that let you use hacksaw blades open-ended. Set up the blade in the handle so that it cuts when you pull on it. Then just lower down into seatpost tube and saw away. Will take about 30-45 minutes for the cut. Use some cutting-oil so you don't clog up the teeth of the blade with aluminium shavings.

Personally, I would just clamp it in my mill and use a wide end-mil bit to shave away the entire seatpost.

I vote for the hacksaw blade route. Get a couple of new long blades, hold one end with a vise grip and saw a slot on the inside of the seat post. It will help to start slowly and carefully so you don't cut several overlapping grooves but only the one that you need. If you're feeling extravagent you could buy a blade holder that looks like this
http://www.mkmorse.com/hackm.html

to make it go easier. It can be done with the expenditure of one evening and a few beers and the frame will be saved. Good luck

Hmm.. any hacksaw blade will do? I actually tried that but the blades I used were so flimsy that they eventually bent. And I was just using the bare blade without any kind of holder... I may have to make my way to the hardware store....

Keep the ideas coming. Thanks!

DannoXYZ has the right idea to cut on the pull to prevent blade bending. I forgot that detail. Also there are different thickness blades available from .032 to .075 inches and thicker would be better in this case I believe

Pull out what you can with vise grips then go at it with a hack saw. I've done it, its just slow. If you are bending the blade sideways you are pressing down too hard. Simply be gentler and things will work (slowly mind you). Also, keep your father away from that thing, and have the seat tube honed after you get the post out.

I am guarding all of my equipment from his evil hands... hahaha....

I am working on it currently and think i may be able to take it piece by piece... there's a LOT of tube in there. I've already bent 3 blades :-\ but am making more progress than ever... and will move slower from now. :-)

After working on it for about an hour... and to no further progress... I am not so sure the hacksaw method is working. My main issue at this point is that I I am unable to gain enough leverage to cut farther down the tube without bending the blade. And I'm unable to pull out any slightly loosened pieces because none of my vise grips/pliers will fit in the seat tube far enough to get enough purchase on the pieces. I am only sufficiently cutting about 3-4 inches down the seat post. Maybe I should post another picture of my progress... and maybe there is something I am missing.

Here is what I have so far. I can't grab a hold of those pieces with my tools though. And now I'm having difficulty getting leverage to cut down further.

There are so many threads on this and other like projects. The final all else fails solution is ammonia or penetrating oil and using fire to heat the frame (expand the steel) and then work the post loose.

This is all making me very sad

Find a machine shop, or go pick up a very large metal drill bit, and take your time. Oh yes, don't let your father near tools or metal objects again . . . of course, my father would have done it worse ;)

It appears that I am too late. :D

I haven't actually soaked it in ammonia... I've read pouring it through the BB and letting it soak. Even if it freed up the post, I don't know if there would be any place I could grab it to pull it out. Would this still be a viable option for this particular case?


This is all making me very sad

Find a machine shop, or go pick up a very large metal drill bit, and take your time. Oh yes, don't let your father near tools or metal objects again . . . of course, my father would have done it worse ;)

I'm thinking this may be my last resort. Hell, I was going to toss the frame and search for a new one, but the comments on here have led me to try a few more things before that.

It appears the seatpost may have gotten stuck in the past and someone just cut it off and jammed the upper end of another post in there.

You've got too much stuff sticking into the middle of the post to allow you free access with the hacksaw. You need to grab the edges that are protruding inwards with needle-nose vice-grips and twist them inwards even more to break them off. You may even use a small chisel to cut the protruding pieces. Then you'll be able to push the hacksaw all the way down the opening.


It appears the seatpost may have gotten stuck in the past and someone just cut it off and jammed the upper end of another post f you've got steady hands, you may even use a die-grinder with an aluminium cutting bit. But these clog up easily with shavings and you'd have to clear it out often.

21 posts and no explosives yet?

21 posts and no explosives yet?

I'm so close to this...



I have no problem sticking the hacksaw all the way to the bottom... I just have no way of knowing if the bottom part of the blade has enough force to sufficiently dig in... and when I have the blade straight up and down and try to put more force towards the bottom, I end up bending the blade.

Hacking it apart seemed like the way to go. None of my tools can reach down and grab a hold of the scraggly pieces coming up but I don't want to invest in a bunch of special tools I'll never use again... if it's not going to be worth it. It's a vintage 80's japanese frame (my favorite kind!) so the only issue is searching for a new one...

it's a looong process. be patient. keep working at it.

i had a stuck post that i hacksawed for a few hours. it was worth it in the end.

I was in exactly your position last fall with an early 90's Bianchi race bike. I tried penetrating oil and ammonia through the bottom bracket, eventually I cut the top off and attempted the hacksaw trick. No luck. After hours and hours of cursing, I gave it to a machinist who got the post out in a couple of minutes.

If I were you, I'd call around to local bike shops and ask if they have a particular machine shop they work with and can recommend. Otherwise, open the phone book, call AAA Machining and explain your situation. I'm pretty sure my guy used a slide hammer, for what it's worth.

I am a commited DIYer but I wish I would have taken it to a pro somewhere between the first and third wasted afternoon. Good luck!

:) These past few days have been more than frustrating!

How much did you end up shelling out to get a machinist to free it? What kind of costs am I looking at.

These forums are so great. So many great ideas... and the encouragement to keep going ;)

He really went medieval on it, no? :lol:
A slide hammer could save your day, if you can get some expanding device to grab the lower end of the ex-seatpost. Or maybe you could slide some thick washers through the BB. Not sure about turning that clamp back into shape, though.
Good luck.

I still think you're pressing too hard with the hack saw given that I've removed steel posts this way. Anyhow, needle nosed vice grips may be a good bet, or a slide hammer I suppose. I wonder if oven cleaner would get that out? I should add that I know the oven cleaner will destroy the aluminum, what I'm not sure of is what it will do to your steel frame.

I think your dad killed this frame - it looks entirely too chewed up and bent out of shape at the top. - you said the frame is steel? I think you have a shim and a seat post in the tube.
Buy some needle nose vice grips. This is not a tool you will never use again You can never have enough vice grips!

If you're going to be working on bikes yourself, you'll need about $100 in specialized tools. Might as well start with the needle-nose vice-grips.

Turn the hacksaw blade so the teeth point upward so its cutting when your pulling now when your pushing, this will help with the bending. Also you can get reciprocating saw blades fine toothed like a hacksaw blade and they are stiffer.

This thread is giving me PTSD.

I forgot to mention, I also made a puller from threaded rod, a bunch of washers and some PVC pipe on the advice of someone here. It was a really neat idea, but it didn't do a thing for me. The hacksaw trick got me nowhere because the post I was dealing with was fluted and near a centimeter thick, so when I cut a section out and tried to pry it free, the aluminum would crumble and break away, leaving the lower part of the post still bonded the the frame and totally inaccesable.

I was lucky. My machinist is a good guy and a friend of my employer (as well as a bike geek) so he didn't even charge me provided I promised to get the bike on the road. I don't know shop rates in your part of the world but it should certainly be less expensive than a new frame.

Pulling would be easier with a pair of needle-nosed vice grips. Clamp 'em on tight and start tugging.

There are so many threads on this and other like projects. The final all else fails solution is ammonia or penetrating oil and using fire to heat the frame (expand the steel) and then work the post loose.
+1 on the ammonia since the seatpost is al. ammonia will dissolve the oxidation caused by the al and break the sp free. i've tried it once and it worked (granted i had to mount the seatpost in my bench vise and use the frame as leverage to twist the seatpost loose)

I think your dad killed this frame - it looks entirely too chewed up and bent out of shape at the top. - you said the frame is steel? I think you have a shim and a seat post in the tube.
Buy some needle nose vice grips. This is not a tool you will never use again You can never have enough vice grips!

+1
I just took a closer look/thought to the actually shape of the seat tube. It's beyond saving. The frame itself is nothing worth losing sleep over... it's more the fact that I have to continue my search for a vintage touring frame in my size. Thanks for all the comments... I just think this project was damned from the beginning... and I should cut my losses now.

EDIT: It WAS a seatpost shim. Who knows how long it had been there and for how long it was oxidizing to the steel frame. The frame itself was not particularly cared for so I'm sure that it wasn't properly maintained/lubed... and considering the frame was made in 1985...

This forum has turned into a community bike gang, bang. Where we each take turns doing some form of damage until the bike is no longer recognizable :D and we have pictures to monitor how bad it got haha.