Removing a stuck back shaft…

I have a hard time trying to remove the back shaft on my c&p 8x12… The press has not been used for many many (many) years and it is stuck in rust, old oil and lots of old ink… It wont rotate at all. I tried liquid wrench, heating the bed frame with a torch, I even made custom woodblocks to put on the ends and hit it with a large hammer… nothing would do. Do you have any tips? I also have a similar problem with my small head and lock cam wich is stuck on the shaft. I’ve been looking for a gear puller but couldn’t find any large enough for this. If you have any tips, it would be helpful!

Thank you

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Hydraulic pressure is likely the best way to move these shafts. If you can, load it in a truck and take it to Napa or the like. Most machine shops are equipped with portable hydraulic presses. Last time I used this service, It cost me $5 per pressing. I spent days, in my own shop, trying to budge the part to no avail.

Some photos would be helpful. If the shaft is truly rusted solid to the frame in the bearings you may need to build a trough around each bearing and fill the troughs with Liquid Wrench and allow enough soaking time (at least a week) for the liquid to penetrate all the way through.

The torch is a good idea but do it after the soaking and then only put the heat directly on the bearings, not on the shaft. The heat will expand the metal and you want only the bearings to expand and thereby seperate from the shaft.

While using mechanical force is generally no problem and I’ve removed stuck gears on presses using that means, the gears were not solidly rusted in place. If it’s rusted that solidly I’d hesitate to try and force it mechanically as a broken casting will likely be the result. It’s one thing to mechanically force two pieces apart when they are simply wedged together but in this case they are actually bonded by the rust. They may break apart from one another as desired or they might simply break.

As far as the gear goes, you’ll need to clean the shaft down to bare metal and likely give it the same soaking and heat treatment, as well as remove the key from the keyway.

Patience is a virtue.

Rich

Front Room Press
Milford, NJ
http://frontroompress.com
http://frontroompress.blogspot.com

Thanks guys! I finally got it out!