Oooh, what find! Oh, bugger.

On 17/04/2006 15:37, Call me Bob said,

Quoted message said:

And then I saw it. Some dozy twonk had actually sawn the seatpost off
right at the top of the seat tube. It was obviously seized in place
and they'd been having a fight with it. God knows why but their last
act had been to hack it off. I don't mind a struggle with a seized
post (some you win, some you lose) but with absolutely bugger all to
grip I decided that one was a non-starter.

There has to be a way to sort this. Did you take the frame anyway?

Hopefully there will be lots of people thinking up lots of suggestions
as to how to remove the remains of the seatpost. It will presumably
need to be cut up in situ, and I'm trying to think of a way to do this!
Maybe it can be threaded internally, and some sort of press rigged up
to pull it out (with the aid of loads and loads of penetrating fluid)

Don't give up yet!

--
Paul Boyd
http://www.paul-boyd.co.uk/

Call me Bob said:

And then I saw it. Some dozy twonk had actually sawn the seatpost off
right at the top of the seat tube.

Not an insurmountable problem. If the usual penetrating
oil/ammonia/light heat methods fail, there's still the slitting method -
AUSHTA, http://sheldonbrown.com/stuck-seatposts.html

You might be able to get pull if you can get an old headset wedge in it,
too.

R.

Paul Boyd said:

On 17/04/2006 15:37, Call me Bob said,

Quoted message said:

And then I saw it. Some dozy twonk had actually sawn the seatpost off
right at the top of the seat tube. It was obviously seized in place
and they'd been having a fight with it. God knows why but their last
act had been to hack it off. I don't mind a struggle with a seized
post (some you win, some you lose) but with absolutely bugger all to
grip I decided that one was a non-starter.

I have this dilemma with my brother's frame and a seized (too low for
me) seatpost; I reckon get one of those hacksaws where the blade
protrudes from the handle rather than a Norman one and slice out a
groove from the inside; you should then be able to contruct some sort
of puller to remove it. If you have taken the frame that is;-)

Richard said:

Call me Bob said:

And then I saw it. Some dozy twonk had actually sawn the seatpost off
right at the top of the seat tube.

Not an insurmountable problem. If the usual penetrating
oil/ammonia/light heat methods fail, there's still the slitting method -
AUSHTA, http://sheldonbrown.com/stuck-seatposts.html

You might be able to get pull if you can get an old headset wedge in it,
too.

That could be hard as to get sufficient force you may also expand the
seat pin tube.

Is it a steel or alloy pin? Alloy should be quite easy to slit with a
hacksaw. Try removing the seat pin clamp and sawing down the slot. A
large screwdriver can be placed in said slot and used to gain
leverage.Careful application of heat and cold in the right places will
also help.

The idea of threading it internally is also good if there is enough
thickness in the metal and you have the appropriate tools to hand.

...d

at least he didn't pay Real Money for it from a boot sale etc before
finding out.

on the subject; I once saw a frame for sale at an autojumble where they
had presumably lost the key to the d lock, so had simply sawed through
one of the rear stays; I presume they didn't want any money for that
either, and that it was also not half-inched.

Call me Bob said:

And then I saw it. Some dozy twonk had actually sawn the seatpost off
right at the top of the seat tube. It was obviously seized in place
and they'd been having a fight with it. God knows why but their last
act had been to hack it off. I don't mind a struggle with a seized
post (some you win, some you lose) but with absolutely bugger all to
grip I decided that one was a non-starter.

What a disappointment.

That's rescueable. What was the frame material?

--
Tony

"The best way I know of to win an argument is to start by being in the
right."
- Lord Hailsham

in message <[email hidden]>, Call me Bob

(') said:

I live in the kind of neighborhood where people seem to enjoy throwing
whatever unwanted [censored] they can't fit in their dustbins into the road.
This means that grass verges and alleys end up piled high with
knackered old sofas, broken fridges and smashed bathroom suites.

Nice, huh?

Anyhoo, this morning as I passed one such heap something caught my
eye. A bike frame.

Most of the abandoned bikes I spot around here are utter [censored], but
this was very interesting, a nice old GT mtb frame

It was a bare frame and felt quite light as I lifted it and ran my
eyes over it...

My size
No dents or cracks.
Rear mech hanger perfectly straight
Drop outs in good shape
No major rust
Threaded holes on dropouts and seat stays for mudguards and rack

Woohoo!! I was chuffed to bits, a lovely find and a nice future
project.

And then I saw it. Some dozy twonk had actually sawn the seatpost off
right at the top of the seat tube. It was obviously seized in place
and they'd been having a fight with it. God knows why but their last
act had been to hack it off. I don't mind a struggle with a seized
post (some you win, some you lose) but with absolutely bugger all to
grip I decided that one was a non-starter.

Don't give up on it yet. Seeing the frame is free, and scrap anyway if
you don't get it out, there are a number of things you can try. See

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/stuck-seatposts.html

Personally, I would start by trying ammonia, which dissolves aluminium
oxide.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

Morning had broken, and there was nothing left for us to do
but pick up the pieces.

Call me Bob said:

What a disappointment.

Lucky you didn't get too far with it! I found a similar frame last year at
the council tip. Removed all the siezed-up parts, cleaned up the frame...
and only then did I discover a split at the top of the seat tube; bugger
indeed.

Simon Bennett said:

Call me Bob said:

What a disappointment.

Lucky you didn't get too far with it! I found a similar frame last year at
the council tip. Removed all the siezed-up parts, cleaned up the frame...
and only then did I discover a split at the top of the seat tube; bugger
indeed.

they let you take it? my one is strictly no removing stuff; I've even
been hauled up for going through my own junk after putting it in the
skip to make sure I haven't put any non-junk in by mistake. And I've
seen some very haveable frames etc. Although there are always plenty of
white vans up there driving off with tv's etc.

MartinM said:

they let you take it? my one is strictly no removing stuff; I've even
been hauled up for going through my own junk after putting it in the
skip to make sure I haven't put any non-junk in by mistake. And I've
seen some very haveable frames etc. Although there are always plenty
of white vans up there driving off with tv's etc.

Don't know about EG, it's a bit posh so perhaps they don't like to encourage
scavenging ;-). This was in Sarfampton. All the bikes/frames are neatly
stacked in a corner of the tip. I didn't ask, and no-one said anything as I
was removing it!

I also once tried to remove a rather nice Dawes in amongst the tellies and
unwanted exercise equipment, only to find it was attached to the most
enormous bike trailer I've ever seen, which in turn was padlocked to the
side of a shed. Turned out it belonged to one of the employees. Oops!

We recently advertised our old fridge freezer in the free ad paper; it
went within 10mins and for the asking price (note to self; ask for more
next time) but decided if it didn't go we would put it in freecycle.

If I CBA I would stand outside the EG tip with a placard saying how
ungreen they are; at weekends and bank holidays they close all the
recycling bit and it all goes into a big shed down the bottom. I'm sure
they preferred the previous system of filling up the cutting of the old
trackbed of the adjacent Bluebell Railway (anyone wanting a Hetchins
frame when they finally dig it all back out form an orderly queue)

Quoted message said:

And then I saw it. Some dozy twonk had actually sawn the seatpost off
right at the top of the seat tube. It was obviously seized in place
and they'd been having a fight with it. God knows why but their last
act had been to hack it off. I don't mind a struggle with a seized
post (some you win, some you lose) but with absolutely bugger all to
grip I decided that one was a non-starter.

Use another old post and a big hammer to force it further in until it is out
of the way?

Heanor tip has a recovered things section where you can buy old bikes,
not usually very desirable ones, mind, fridges, hoovers, bar weights
etc.
TerryJ

POHB said:

Quoted message said:

And then I saw it. Some dozy twonk had actually sawn the seatpost off
right at the top of the seat tube. It was obviously seized in place
and they'd been having a fight with it. God knows why but their last
act had been to hack it off. I don't mind a struggle with a seized
post (some you win, some you lose) but with absolutely bugger all to
grip I decided that one was a non-starter.

Use another old post and a big hammer to force it further in until it is out
of the way?

Probably not. The seat tube will be reamed down to a certain point.
Then the stuck seatpost will be well and truly stuck *and* inaccessible
and you will be up a certain smelly inlet without a means of
propulsion.

<don't try this>
If aluminium, try dilute mercury salts (and stand well back). Then get
the frame resprayed.
</don't>

...d

Simon Brooke said:

Don't give up on it yet. Seeing the frame is free, and scrap anyway if
you don't get it out, there are a number of things you can try. See

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/stuck-seatposts.html

Personally, I would start by trying ammonia, which dissolves aluminium
oxide.

Thanks. I've read Sheldons advice before on this subject (when engaged
in previous battles) and the ammonia method looks very good. However,
I couldn't see at the time how it would help. With absolutely nothing
showing above the top of the seat tube I couldn't think of a way to
grip the post with enough force to ultimately free it.

In the past when I've used penetrating oil and the like, the posts
still always needed plenty of brute force to get them past that
sticking point. Feeding oil or an ammonia solution would free up some
of it, but I figured it would still need it's neck wringing violently
to free it. *shrug*

"Bob"
--

Email address is spam trapped, to reply directly remove the beverage.

On Mon, 17 Apr 2006 16:51:35 +0100, Tony Raven <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

That's rescueable. What was the frame material?

It was steel.Nothing too desirable though, cromo I think.

"Bob"
--

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MartinM said:

Quoted message said:

Lucky you didn't get too far with it! I found a similar frame last year at
the council tip. Removed all the siezed-up parts, cleaned up the frame...
and only then did I discover a split at the top of the seat tube; bugger
indeed.

they let you take it? my one is strictly no removing stuff; I've even
been hauled up for going through my own junk after putting it in the
skip to make sure I haven't put any non-junk in by mistake.

My local tip is an excellent source of cheap bikes. Usually only fit
as pub bike junkers, but gems to be had if you're persistent. The
staff pull interesting items out of the skips and stack it all up for
sale. I assume what they raise gets divvy 'd up between them.

They generally ask 5 or 10 pounds for a bike. I once got a nice 531
framed Raleigh Royale from them at that price. The frame is still
upstairs in the garage. Err, I mean the spare bedroom.

"Bob"
--

Email address is spam trapped, to reply directly remove the beverage.

Thanks for all the encouragement and suggestions. After reading the
first few I decided to give it a go and went back to collect it, but
of course it had been nabbed.

Never mind, I hope whoever has it manages to free it up.

"Bob"
--

Email address is spam trapped, to reply directly remove the beverage.

Call me Bob said:

In the past when I've used penetrating oil and the like, the posts
still always needed plenty of brute force to get them past that
sticking point. Feeding oil or an ammonia solution would free up some
of it, but I figured it would still need it's neck wringing violently
to free it. *shrug*

Have you thought of dropping a length of threaded rod through it and
bolting on a suitable washer via the bb shell. You can then pull it up
and bolt it up from the top and you have something to grip it with to
exert extracting force. If you were to then put in a couple of old bb
cups to protect the frame, you could hang it by these from the ceiling
of the shed, and find something heavy which vibrates (like an orbital
sander?) to attach to the threaded rod and leave until it drops out.
Something soft on the floor would be good so you don't break the sander,
and a power lead which will pull out as it falls would be a good idea
too. Most things which vibrate seem to have a tendency to fall out
eventually, and it would be nice to have this effect work to you
advantage once in a while.

I really like the old GT cromo frames, even though I made mine into a
recumbent...

JimP

--
Let's think the unthinkable, let's do the undoable, let's prepare to
grapple with the ineffable itself, and see if we may not eff it after
all. - DNA