# What tool?



## Mike120

Yesterday I took off a PTO shaft with an overrun clutch to replace the bearing cross. Naturally it was seriously stuck to the equipment shaft with no way to get behind it because of the guard and location. After much cussing and swearing, trying to invoke a lightening bolt toward the offending shaft, I broke down and built a slide hammer. I did manage to get it off and got it fixed, but it got me thinking.....There's gotta be a better way! What the heck is it?????


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## gradyjohn

Can't answer how to get it off but when you put it back on coat the shaft with anti seeze.


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## slowzuki

We usually wrap a chain around or through the yoke and wrap other end on a 10 lb sledge as a makeshift slide hammer.

The other option is to get someone to tension with the chain and use a rod to get you past the guard and use a hammer to bang on it. Usually lets go if just partly rusty. Need to use an air hammer if really bad.


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## urednecku

And don't forget PB Blaster & time for it to work in.
Also, I've found at times it helps to hit it with an air hammer someplace that will send those vibrations thru the seized parts, but not mess up an area that has to slide. Doing that with a little pressure in the direction it needs to go has worked for me some times.


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## mlappin

urednecku said:


> And don't forget PB Blaster & time for it to work in.
> Also, I've found at times it helps to hit it with an air hammer someplace that will send those vibrations thru the seized parts, but not mess up an area that has to slide. Doing that with a little pressure in the direction it needs to go has worked for me some times.


I've used our rotary hammer and a ruined bit in much the same way. Turn off the rotary part and just let it vibrate. A careful amount of heat several time will also make things much more co-operative.


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## mlappin

Another way if the cross is bad anyways is to take a torch and cut thru the crosses the rest of the shaft attaches to leaving the remnants of the cross in the stuck yoke. Then i weld a nut to the cross so i can attach my slide hammer.


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## slowzuki

Be really careful doing this, the grease can explode when you hit the oxygen lever, in some cases. I'm guilty of doing it myself too but it does happen every so often.



mlappin said:


> Another way if the cross is bad anyways is to take a torch and cut thru the crosses the rest of the shaft attaches to leaving the remnants of the cross in the stuck yoke. Then i weld a nut to the cross so i can attach my slide hammer.


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## Mike120

Thanks guys.....I like the chain and the cutting torch that fits my temperment. In this case, I couldn't get in there because of the guard and the overrun clutch. I could barely get my hand in there to release the blasted thing, so no room for an air hammer or any place to spray PB Blaster. It was a friend's old disc mower and I don't think it had ever been off since it was new. Didn't have any anti-seize, so I just cleaned it up, greased it and put it back on.....I just won't offer to work on the damn thing again.


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## Mike120

slowzuki said:


> Be really careful doing this, the grease can explode when you hit the oxygen lever, in some cases. I'm guilty of doing it myself too but it does happen every so often.


You're right, I had forgotten about that little tidbit. In this case, there was little grease...that's why the cross was bad. When I get back from my next trip, I'm going to buy a plasma cutter.


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## mlappin

Go a size or bigger than you think you need. Kinda like a pole barn, always build a size or two bigger then you know you need.

I have a 60 amp Thermal Dynamics. Will sever 1" thick material, cuts 3/4" really clean and moves right along in 1/2" material. Get the right tips and it will be more useful than a oxy/acetylene torch. Gouging tip is especially useful for washing welds out or cutting races off shafts.

Have built myself a few templates for it as well. Like one to cut the openings for the grommets for clearance or tail lights. Have moved all the tail lights from under the grain trucks to the back of the grain beds, people see em a lot better when they are eye level instead of under the box on the truck frame. They really pay attention when you install some hi count LED's. Much faster than using a hole saw, cutting two holes then using a sawzall or disc cutter to connect the holes on the oblong ones.

Also have a made a circle cutting jig adjustable from a one inch hole out to 24" diameter.


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## Mike120

That's the one I had decided on Marty....Cutmaster 52. What do you use to make your templates?


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## slowzuki

I've got a hypertherm 600, if I'm not using the templates again, I use cardboard. If they need to last I use thin plywood or pressboard panelling.


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## Mike120

slowzuki said:


> I've got a hypertherm 600, if I'm not using the templates again, I use cardboard. If they need to last I use thin plywood or pressboard panelling.


Well, you've probably got the best selling unit they ever made. Hypertherm was my other choice. They're one of the best engineering-driven manufacturers out there.....I can just get a better deal on the TD. When I get back from scenic Kurdistan, I'll order it and you guys can instruct me in the fine art of plasma cutting and building templates. I have a lot more invested in ways to cut steel than to stick it together. Hopefully the plasma cutter will be the end of that track and I can invest in a fancy power unit like Marty has and use more spray transfer. BTW, when I was in Norway last month, I got to play with STT (Surface Tension Transfer). For the root weld on heavy wall pipe it is REALLY nice.


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## mlappin

I used pieces of 14 gauge with an 1" angle iron welded on each end to act as a foot. Use a c grip on the angle iron to clamp it in place. Most of the cross members on the back of my grain beds are too thick for use with a drag tip. Take into account whether you'll be using a drag tip or a standoff guide on the insulator of your gun. I use the stand off and with it on I have 9/16" of a inch from the center of the tip to the OD with the guide on.

Round marker lights were easy, I had to have the right size hole saw to make the template. The oblong one was a little trickier. Drilled two holes with a hole saw then connected the holes with a disc cutter. Made three before I found one just right. First one was too tight, second one I was afraid the grommet was going to fall out of the whole unless I glued it in, third one was just right.


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## cmd

They make the tool you need actually, but you can make one. get the univeral cross knocked out of the yoke that is stuck. Then you need a shaft as long as the yoke is wide and as big as you can fit in the bearing holes. drill and tap in the middle for a piece of all-thread, weld a nut to the end of the all thread and you have a puller.


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## Hayguy

[sup]I've used a ratchet come-along to pull off stuck yokes . Can always srike the cable or chiain with a mall or heavy bar for a little "impact".[/sup]


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## Mike120

Thanks CMD & Hayguy. A little more info about the situation. I had the mower in my shop up on a dolly stand (so I can sit on my butt in a chair to work on it and not crawl around on the floor). It's on wheels so I can't use it's weight (or much else) to pull against. That's why I built the slide hammer (I may buy a much heavier one). The rod through the bearing holes and the cable are good suggestions but in this case if I was going to pull, I needed to brace against the 3pt hitch points of the mower. I considered building a bracket that I could put on the hitch points and pull with either a turnbuckle or a hydraulic cylinder. It was just more effort than I wanted to spend on a one-shot tool.


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## cmd

for graphic effect


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## Mike120

You described it very well, but I love the graphic and will definitely build one. That is slick! What in the heck is it called? In my case I had the overrun clutch so I couldn't push on the PTO shaft. I assume I could build an extended cross with an all thread on either side to accomplish the same effect....or do they make one already?


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## cmd

google something like "yoke puller"


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## Mike120

Thanks! I knew there had to be something out there, I just couldn't figure out what to call it.


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