...you are totally not paying attention to what you are doing?



Never had a problem with my BikeSmith cotter pin press before and I cannot blame the tool for my own lack of focus.

Urgh.

Ouch.

Been there, done that, the drilling that follows is not fun.

The bent pin sheared off with a sharp blow of a hammer and chisel. That left me with the remaining cotter pin level with the crank arm. I then wound up using a pin from a door hinge (wonderful and useful multi-use tool!) to drive the cotter out the rest of the way.

Guess I'll run down to the LBS and pick up a couple of new cotter pins.

Nice save!

I tried that on the one I did this to and it just got worse so I ended up drilling it.

I was going to suggest a drift pin but you beat me to it.
- I've only once had the need to do this with my BikeSmith press, but it can happen on particularly stubborn cotters, and IMO, this is a better alternative to drilling, because you don't risk galling up the cotter hole in the crank arm.

On occasion, a cheap cotter will do this, even with Mark's tool. The rotation of the bolt against the cotter will help twist the top off center, and the cheapness of the cotter will determine how easily it shears at the step between the wedge and the threads.

-Kurt

The cotter just didn't like being called a cotter pin.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotter

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotter_pin

Probably French.

Heat it and beat it.





Yes, I phrased it that way on purpose.

I made my own cotter pin press and have learned, through many uses, to put a bit of grease on the top of the pin when pressing it out of its fit. You should also do this when pressing a pin into place. Also...

I snug the press up but not overly so. Then I give the press a sharp tap with a hammer, and tighten up again. The impact, and I do not mean beat the crop out of anything, will help to shock the pin loose. Go slow, watch the results with each repetition and the pin should move.

If you do beat the crop out of a pin, during removal, it would be wise to check the bottom bracket bearing cups, cones and balls. Sometimes, vigorous banging will actually dent the races and/or damage balls.

What happened to you happens more often than you think even when using the proper tools. The method you used to remove the damaged pin is how we use to do it back in the day except we had a support that was placed on the floor and under the crankarm.

I took 8 stitches in my palm removing a cotter pin...I was hammering a huge brass drift with a 5 lb hammer and couldnt get the cotter to break free. The mistake on my part was holding onto the chaingaurd/big ring to support the drift. After 10 attempts I wound up real good with the hammer and...missed the drift and hit my hand, yes, the one on the chaingaurd/chainring, with the hammer.

I built a support when I knocked off the twisted cotter using a board cut to the exact measure from floor to support of the crank. I cut a notch out of the board so I wouldn't be banging against the wood. Fortunately, it didn't take but a single, well placed blow with the chisel and another blow with the hinge pin. (I'm not crazy about the idea of mucking up my BB, so I proceed with undue care in these instances!)

I recently had that problem on both sides of my new2me Raleigh Lenton Sports. I don't think the cotters had moved in sixty years (the grease in the bearings had dried to soap chips) and the BikeSmith press just flattened them as in the photo above. Part of the problem may be that the BikeSmith tool is a little too bulky for cotters that are really close to the chain ring.

But this is what the Harbor Freight cotter press (made from their chain breaker) is really good for. You take the $10 harbor freight tool and drill out the hole at the receiving end so there's room for the cotter head, and you drill a hole in the cotter. I also ground off some extra metal from the side of the tool so it could get closer to the chain ring; like the BikeSmith tool, it's a little too bulky. As you can see from my photo, the pushing end of the Harbor Freight tool has an outer bolt that you snug down on the cotter, then bring the inner part down. It's a thin pin that should fit right into the hole you've drilled, and it is on a fine thread that delivers a firmer and more direct push than the BikeSmith tool.



As you can see from the photo, the tool pressed both cotters out. They're totally ruined, but they're out.

Don't get me wrong; the Harbor Freight tool is a pain in the neck to use. I'd much rather use the BikeSmith tool. But sometimes the other one is necessary.