I can't get the little nubbin thingy out of the lever! HELP!
 

Here's me; "Oh, I buggered up installing my derailleur and the cable is a mess, what should I do?"
and you were all like "Take it appart, look closer and do it right" (you all were very kind in NOT calling me a ******) and now I'm all "oh, I tried to take every thing appart but the little stopper that seats the shifter cable into the shifter lever is STUCK in it's little recieving hole and WILL NOT come out. Presently I have it soaking in liquid wrench but other than that I'm at whitt's end. How do I get this thing OUT and keep the one that I put in to replace it from sticking as well?

Are you saying that the metal piece at the end of the shifter cable is stuck inside the shifter?

What kind of shifter?

YES! A simplex friction shifter.

Try moving the lever through the gears SLOWLY while pushing and jiggling it to see if it won't come loose.

Already disasembled and cable is cut.

So, you cut the cable off short?

Well, yes. It frayed close to the lever while I was wiggling it back and forth trying to loosen the nubbin. It was breaking so I cut it so it would be claen. Of course, that is all fayed now too........

So is there some fraying inside the end housing?

I would tend to think so, yes.

I would cut the cable close to the lever and then try to push the cable-end out with a stiff wire (like a paper clip). Holding the paper clip with a pair of pliers will help.

Hmmm.. part of my problem is I don't know exactly how these things look. I would probably try poking it out with the finished end of a new cable? Any chance of a nice sharp closeup?

Yes, or a thin provisional punch.

Since the end is soft, you may have some success with drilling a small hole, running a small screw into it then using that to pull it out.

In any case, good luck. I've had some stubborn ones myself.

I was discussing this same topic with a coworker today. He ended up drilling and kinda egging the shifter hole. He said he thought the end piece was lead. I asked if he tried a heat gun or torch to soften up that end piece.
Might give it a try. Probably dissimilar metals that would react differently.

The end piece is magnesium, and you won't melt it with a propane torch.

Well then I'm glasd that I didn't have a propane torch with me last night because I would have taken that sucker to it thinking that it was lead too!!! I like Norwood's idea of the paperclip. I tried a little screwdriver and a coathanger. I think the paperclip would have done the trick. My wife brought it o a guy today and he got it out. He's giving her a "proper" cable for it too. It seems that it requiers a smaller diameter thingie than a newer cable(???). So, when I install the new cable should I pack the hole with grease or something so that this doesn't happen again?

Certainly wouldn't hurt.

Just a light coating before installation should do the trick.

Occasionally some of the cheapo cables that I buy will have an end slightly oversize and tend to stick in the shifters of some of my bikes. I will use a file to "dress" down the diameter slightly and then they're just fine.