Stuck/fused pedals. What’s the solution?

A little agitated today as we've just put in an application for a rescue labrador so retreated to the shed for some stress relief. After selecting yet another set of bars for the Andy Powell. I sat in my campaign chair listening to the gentle patter of angel tears on the shed roof. No, not tears but whispers........ mocking my pathetic attempts to remove a small insignificant pair of pedals. So, I thought about the sage advice on the previous pages and set to the task at hand. First I removed the pedal bodies which involved sawing through the cage tops and bending them back to access the caps and bearings. Once removed I placed to spindles in my engineer's vice, used my full body weight to tighten the jaws and then began to heat the arm.

Once the smell subsided i began to select a suitable implement " Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it and i'll move the world" - "but not if I have to stick to what I can find in your shed." So said Aristotle Onassis when Jackie asked him to remove the lid from the pickled onions on christma eve 1974. Or was it Archimedes?

So leverage failed. Despite my bulk and a three ft tube. So. How hard can you hit a crank arm? Well the answer is hard enough!!!!!! :p There was no crack or pop, just an imperceptible movement after a number of swings and solid contacts. Then a little more.... and more......

I ended up using a soft hammer and turning the spindle in the vice to obtain the perfect strike angle.

Success. I achieved a quarter turn. Reheated the pedal arm and refitted the tube and on swinging from it and almighty graunching groaning noise resonated through the wooden building, summoning a distant humpback from the deeps. It was more akin to the ecstatic roar of a climaxing wildebeest by the end of the rotation.

Well dear reader, this continued for about half an hour a side eventually becoming easy enough to turn by hand.

So, draw file glass paper combo? Thanks for all the hints and tips guys.

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So the rescue dog is not needed after all, result!

And the fleeting moment of wanting a bike ride from your neighbour has probably passed by now :)
 
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