Patience, perseverance, & persistance pays, eventually.

[mike j]

Picked up this wartime CWC cycle truck frame at Copake this spring. I'm guessing that I started pulling it apart in June. The stem would not budge from the fork. There was evidence that someone else had tried to separate them earlier. Tried all kinds of penetrants, literally. Heated it, as best I could, a couple of times. Left it alone to soak for weeks & even a month between poundings & vibration with a hammer drill. Sacrificed five bolts & washers to preserve the stem. Finally, yesterday as I was using the hammer drill, again, I began to see minuscule bubbles forming where the stem goes into the fork. It was filled with K-1 and automatic transmission fluid. A couple of taps & a twist with an old handlebar & it moved, finally.

 

[BWbiker]

Picked up this wartime CWC cycle truck frame at Copake this spring. I'm guessing that I started pulling it apart in June. The stem would not budge from the fork. There was evidence that someone else had tried to separate them earlier. Tried all kinds of penetrants, literally. Heated it, as best I could, a couple of times. Left it alone to soak for weeks & even a month between poundings & vibration with a hammer drill. Sacrificed five bolts & washers to preserve the stem. Finally, yesterday as I was using the hammer drill, again, I began to see minuscule bubbles forming where the stem goes into the fork. It was filled with K-1 and automatic transmission fluid. A couple of taps & a twist with an old handlebar & it moved, finally.

View attachment 1070417

View attachment 1070418

Had a similar experience with an extra long seat post stuck in a prewar Schwinn. I used penetrating oil, heat, it wouldn't budge over a long period of time. Since the post was already wasted, I finally welded a piece of angle iron to the end and rotated it out, like a tee handle. A guy at a meet recently told me white vineger works faster. I've used it for surface cleaning with sucess, will try it the next time....might make sense dissolving the rust for clearance.