# A couple of cotter press options



## Andrew Gorman (Oct 17, 2011)

I have  real weakness for cottered steel cranks- they're just so pretty!  I have a Bikesmith press that works very well:
http://bikesmithdesign.com/CotterPress/index.html
But while poking around on the interwebs I ran across someone using an inexpensive ball joint separator as a cotter press, like this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Tool-Aid-6190...RI/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1318866623&sr=8-16
And better yet I found this relatively easy mod of a Harbor Freight chainbreaker at bikeforums:
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php/731167-16-Cotter-Press
A press really makes these unloved cranks much simpler to work on.  Just because you can use a hammer doesn't mean you should use a hammer...


----------



## curtis odom (Oct 19, 2011)

I have an original VAR cotter pin press. The big huge two handed cast iron one. Nothing beats this thing.


----------



## jackomeano (Oct 28, 2011)

*cottered crank arms*

I also love the look of the 50 and 60s steel cranks, And if I told my Wife that I needed a press for working on bicycles It would be the last straw... 
I love to just put the cotter in the freezer the night before and they hammer in easily


----------

