cudak888 

About a week ago, Dave (Mad Honk) and I had a chat about his VAR cotter press and the general accessibility of crank cotter presses overall. We both realized that there are a number of forum members with basic, cottered-crank bikes who may not be in a position to commit $69 + shipping for one of Mark Stonich's legendary BikeSmith cotter presses, for a single removal job - especially if swapping to a square taper crank.

Long story short, I wound up acquiring Dave's VAR press, leaving me with one more press than I need: My trusty, first-generation BikeSmith press. As such, Dave and I came up with a plan:

To aid anyone on this forum in need of a cotter press for a short amount of time, we're going to offer up my old press as a pass-around loaner to any forum member who needs it.




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The rules of The Classic & Vintage Pass Around Press are simple:

1. The press will be shipped in a Small Flat Rate Box to you upon request.
2. As nominal payment for using the tool, you will cover whatever the going rate is for a Small Flat Rate Box to ship it to the next person. Don't ship it back to me - that's inefficient and I'll wind up getting stuck for a constant $9 cost to ship it out.
3. If the Small FRB is too tattered to re-use when you get it, please replace the box. Always circle the box with w/packing tape around the long end, as the tabbed ends tend to pop open with heavy objects - like this tool.
4. For now, let's keep it within the US - this means we're only talking $9-10 to ship for each user, not $29-30.
5. Everyone requesting the press must announce so in this thread and when they have received it, thus making it clear who has the press at any given time.
6. Please post photos of its use!
7. You can use the press as long as you need until someone else requests it. When they do, please communicate via PM to the current holder of the press with your shipping address. The holder of the press must ship it out to them within four (4) days, and provide the tracking number.
8. There is no limit to requesting the tool; we realize that you may have to re-install the cranks a number of weeks or months after you removed them.
9. If you wreck your cotters using this tool, that's on you. It's possible; smooth removal is a blessing, but not a guarantee.
10. If you drop this tool on your foot, that's on you. Try not to, it's heavy.

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Do not request the press if:

• You have less than 10 posts.
• You cannot use the PM system.
• You cannot expect to ship the press within the aforementioned four days (within reason - if you wind up incapacitated for a week from a cold or COVID, this will be understood, of course).
• You intend to use it at a profit-making bike shop. This offer is for enthusiasts, not for businesses.
• You intend to sell the press.
• You will be banned from this and any future goodwill tool loaner efforts Dave or I may offer if you violate any of the rules above.

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If the USPS loses the press:

• The last person to ship it out will be expected to place the USPS insurance claim on the Small Flat Rate Box it was shipped in, and they will be expected to do so within a reasonable amount of time.
• With these funds, you will be expected to replace the tool. Yes, it sucks that you'll have to cover the difference - remember, Mark's tool is $69 + shipping and USPS base insurance is $50, minus your cost to ship. This is a small price to pay to keep this loaner system running even if the USPS screws up.
• If you really don't want to have to cover the difference, feel free to spend the additional $ to add $100 in insurance to the package. Up to you. Just remember that the last person with the tool will be expected to replace it if it gets lost.

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Recommended instructions:

• ...are located here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/e...79keHb1bqi/pub

Also, If anyone with the ability and desire wants to mill or etch "The Classic & Vintage Pass Around Press" into the body, go right ahead. It'd reduce the chance that the tool will get lost or misplaced.

That said, be warned that the BikeSmith tool does have occasional limitations. On some really thin crankarms, like the one on my Moulton Mk.1, it hits the chainring before centering on the cotter. This won't be the case for most bikes, but that's definitely something to keep in mind. They do really well on Raleigh cranksets, like this one.




Looking forward to the first taker! Let's make this a thing

-Kurt