Seized Seatpost Removal Tricks

[EricKeller]

this is probably a whole 'nother thread, but I recently did a repair on an expensive lugged semi-production bike. I was not happy about how it was put together (and it had cracked as a result). But I was pretty much stuck with what they had done, and now that I've repaired it, I own it. Makes me reconsider the whole repair idea. No way I made money on that repair either.

Now that I've had some time to stew over the whole thing, I'd probably try to get the company to warranty it if this particular problem comes to my attention again.

[anthonymaietta]

The penetrating lubricant worked.

Hey, thanks for reading.

[Bssc]

BTW this is a common occurrence with customers with IF frames my build solve is to use a vent screw to fold the bb guide on ...... hell every frame should use one no matter

[e.Gellie]

Here's how to show it who's boss.... with an electric drill and a custom-made cutting 'slug': no torch or chemicals .... it even works with carbon fibre frames .... sorry no pictures of the tool because a Fitter & Turner mate showed me this method he devised 20 years ago, and I still just drop in to use his and say hello ... Phil DeGruchy of Lightfoot Engineering here in Melbourne ... Phil's the Aussie spoked wire wheel (car and motorbike) guru here in Australia.....so old school he doesn't have a website .... ... he still has the custom MTB frame of Prestige tubing that he ordered from me in '93 when I was only 25 ....

You should be able to work this tool design out from the detail below :-) I use this for 27.2mm seatposts ... another suitably lathed-up slug will fix other seatpost sizes

my website page for this technique ...Gellie Custom - Stuck seatpost removal



you need to lathe up a 4 to 5 inch long steel 'slug' that will fit down the I.D of common 27.2mm seatposts..... drill a 1/4" hole through its side 3/4" up from one end ... and grind a 1/4" drill bit as you would an old-school lathe cutting tool .... and drill another hole from the bottom of the slug for a grub screw or bolt to lock your 'cutting tool' in place, and finally weld on a length of 1/2" rod welded at the other end of the slug to make a long extension shaft, to hold in the drill. A bit of mucking around to set the cutting tool in just the right spot to leave 0.5mm of seatpost and off you go. Chop the top off the seatpost, insert the slug, and go slowly with the drill machining out the seatpost. The limiting part of this process is pulling the slug in and out multiple times to get the swarf out.... and the slug will rattle around if you have to do a 2nd pass ... so set the cutting tool right early on ... I do the final cut through with a file (at 2 o'clock on the pic below)

An adjustably-expanding slug would make this a breeze to do multiple passes with, as would a swarf removal channel or similar ...

Make one yourself if you reckon its worthwhile, and post your pics here to show and let us improve our work.........

[Too Tall]

That's really neat, one of those AH HA solutions.

[Dazza]

Here's how to show it who's boss.... with an electric drill and a custom-made cutting 'slug': no torch or chemicals .... it even works with carbon fibre frames .... sorry no pictures of the tool because a Fitter & Turner mate showed me this method he devised 20 years ago, and I still just drop in to use his and say hello ... Phil DeGruchy of Lightfoot Engineering here in Melbourne ... Phil's the Aussie spoked wire wheel (car and motorbike) guru here in Australia.....so old school he doesn't have a website .... ... he still has the custom MTB frame of Prestige tubing that he ordered from me in '93 when I was only 25 ....

You should be able to work this tool design out from the detail below :-) I use this for 27.2mm seatposts ... another suitably lathed-up slug will fix other seatpost sizes

my website page for this technique ...Gellie Custom - Stuck seatpost removal



you need to lathe up a 4 to 5 inch long steel 'slug' that will fit down the I.D of common 27.2mm seatposts..... drill a 1/4" hole through its side 3/4" up from one end ... and grind a 1/4" drill bit as you would an old-school lathe cutting tool .... and drill another hole from the bottom of the slug for a grub screw or bolt to lock your 'cutting tool' in place, and finally weld on a length of 1/2" rod welded at the other end of the slug to make a long extension shaft, to hold in the drill. A bit of mucking around to set the cutting tool in just the right spot to leave 0.5mm of seatpost and off you go. Chop the top off the seatpost, insert the slug, and go slowly with the drill machining out the seatpost. The limiting part of this process is pulling the slug in and out multiple times to get the swarf out.... and the slug will rattle around if you have to do a 2nd pass ... so set the cutting tool right early on ... I do the final cut through with a file (at 2 o'clock on the pic below)

An adjustably-expanding slug would make this a breeze to do multiple passes with, as would a swarf removal channel or similar ...

Make one yourself if you reckon its worthwhile, and post your pics here to show and let us improve our work.........

Ewen, to set the cutter did you access the grub screw from the BB shelll with the slug down the seat post?
the slug OD would have to be turned to a sliding fit to the seat post ID, I would think different brands of posts have different ID, various sleeves would be easy to make, me thinks


http://www.gelliecustombikeframes.co...st-removal.htm
$100 aud CRIKEY
you're not running a charity for other bike riders beneifit
that is way too cheap for your time away from the work bench making frames!
To make the tool would take $100- $200 plus time
and the customer speaking time and interaction
taking the frame to Phil DeGruchy
and you are saving their bike or frame
doing a job that 99% of bike shops cannot
That would add up to $250 to $300 with out making the tool
remember
you work to enjoy your new home and pay for your retirement

[e.Gellie]

Hey Dazza, thanks for advice, yes, that charge is too low ... fixed.

I set the cutter in position outside of the frame, using a vernier to measure from cutter-tip to the opposite wall of the slug .. and set that dimension to less than the 27.2mm so 26.0mm maybe .. can't remember .... and then lock the grub screw , then insert it into the frame. It's OK for the slug to rattle around a bit ... it tends to average out .. so a good fit of the slug inside a particular seatpost isn't essential ... I worried about that slop being a problem when I thought about it too much beforehand, but in use, it works well. Check the finish inside the seatpost ...
Cheers,
Ewen

[Dazza]

Hey Dazza, thanks for advice, yes, that charge is too low ... fixed.

I set the cutter in position outside of the frame, using a vernier to measure from cutter-tip to the opposite wall of the slug .. and set that dimension to less than the 27.2mm so 26.0mm maybe .. can't remember .... and then lock the grub screw , then insert it into the frame. It's OK for the slug to rattle around a bit ... it tends to average out .. so a good fit of the slug inside a particular seatpost isn't essential ... I worried about that slop being a problem when I thought about it too much beforehand, but in use, it works well. Check the finish inside the seatpost ...
Cheers,
Ewen

Got you, so the the slug with the cutter set will slide inside the ID of the post.
I was thinking like that but to remove the slop I was thinking of slipping a sleeve down the seat post and over the slug bar to take up most of the slop.
All good and I will do this trick next time I ever encounter this problem

bloody Bonza Ewen

[tmarsh]

To make it more versatile, you could make the body of the slug a bit more undersized, and turn down the section after the cutter to say 20mm, then make up a series of sleeves to match the ID of various seatposts. A cap-screw with a washer on it could secure both the cutter and the sleeve and you would have something that could use the sleeve as a sort of pilot to cut down on the chatter.

If I ever invent a time machine I reckon I'll advertise my stuck seatpost removal business: travel back in time and grease the bloody thing in the first place.

[savine]

coke it, stick post in a vice and brute force twist the frame backwards n forwards. thats we used to do in the shop when had this problem. if it don´t work flog the fella new frame!

[Dazza]

coke it, stick post in a vice and brute force twist the frame backwards n forwards. thats we used to do in the shop when had this problem. if it don´t work flog the fella new frame!

Never flog them a new frame
until skillful people with knowledge and tools have failed

[e.Gellie]

I once played with an old lugged frame with a stuck seatpost: the frame had the chisel-end seat-stays brazed to the side of the seat-lug ... and using the twisting brute force method the tips of the seatstays cracked as the seat-tube twisted this way then that .... ....


here's a rough sketch of the slug cutter design .... knock yourself out

Oh, and run the drill slowly, not fast ..... you would have worked that one out anyway.....
slug cutter 2.JPG

[Too Tall]

This thread deserves the framebuilder forum wiki treatment. Thanks everyone, great stuff.

[anthonymaietta]

This thread deserves the framebuilder forum wiki treatment. Thanks everyone, great stuff.

This thread also deserves this:

[e.Gellie]

A long seapost that had been pushed into the frame as far as it would go, so not as bad as a corroded-in post, but it still wouldn't budge when held in a vice and lots of frame-flexing twist (edit.. by the owner of the frame!) was applied

a big heavy slide hammer tool I whipped up showed this seatpost who was boss .... it let go on the first impact ... and that was much easier than machining out the seatpost....

IMG_1720.jpg

the frustrated customer put those ugly marks in the Thomson post ... makes you wanna cry ...

IMG_1723.jpg

there wasn't much holding the post in ...

IMG_1727.jpg

[Too Tall]

Really nice and simple solution Ewen. Wish I'd thought of that the last go round.

[b.jenks]

A monstrous thank you to Ewen for relaying this idea for cutting a post out.

I've removed far more seized seatposts than I can (or care to) remember, but this winter someone brought me the worst I've yet seen. I've used heat, brute force, leverage in a vise, jab saw, chemicals... always with success (eventually, and previously). This one's a steel tandem with a very long aluminum post, inserted most of its length, and left there (ridden regularly) without having been removed for at least 20 years. I was the one unfortunate enough to discover the galvanic corrosion also covered most of its length. Nothing worked on this one. Then I came across Ewen's suggestion and figured my only remaining option was to try it.

I'd recommend at least a 9-Amp drill, with a keyed chuck, and side handle.



Making it was kinda' fun, but having the bike ready to go home with its owners is REALLY nice.
Oh... and it's a minimum of $300 just to pull the tool out of its drawer.