disassemble retracable casters

baddlad · Post by **baddlad** » Thu Apr 23, 2009 12:46 pm

I wanted to clean up all the rust on the caster parts, so I was going to take them completely apart, and there is some kind of hollow pin that holds the bottom rod in place. Has anyone taken that out and how do you do it, without damaging things? Does it need a special tool? I was just going to try to jam a nail in there but thought I better ask first. Thanks in advance for any help on this.

Jeff

bugboy · Post by **bugboy** » Thu Apr 23, 2009 1:09 pm

it is called a roll pin and you will need to use a roll pin punch. the come out pretty easy if you have the right size punch..........good luck

mickyd · Post by **mickyd** » Thu Apr 23, 2009 1:12 pm

baddlad wrote:I wanted to clean up all the rust on the caster parts, so I was going to take them completely apart, and there is some kind of hollow pin that holds the bottom rod in place. Has anyone taken that out and how do you do it, without damaging things? Does it need a special tool? I was just going to try to jam a nail in there but thought I better ask first. Thanks in advance for any help on this.

Jeff

You need to use the correct size pin punch. That's the correct tool. Correct size = largest diameter that will fit in the hole. If you don't have or don't want to buy, be creative and think of something that will work similar. It must be flat and the just the right size to fit in the hole.

baddlad · Post by **baddlad** » Thu Apr 23, 2009 1:33 pm

Thanks for the help that's great, and the link to harbor freight, I have one not too far away.

Jeff

robinson46176 · Post by **robinson46176** » Thu Apr 23, 2009 2:07 pm

I have used nails for a pin punch lots of times over the years. I just find one the right size and grind the end off square.
If it needs a pretty good force to move the pin out you can usually drill a hole in a piece of hard wood the size of the nail (snug) and let the wood support the long part of the nail to keep it from buckeling with just enough nail sticking out of the bottom of the wood to start the pin moving.
You can also just cut one off very short to start the pin moving then move to a longer one to drive it on out. You can hold the very short one with needle nose pliers rather than your fingers.
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I have pin punches but somehow they are either the wrong size half of the time or they are in the wrong place (like the other shop).

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Thu Apr 23, 2009 2:15 pm

robinson46176 wrote:I have used nails for a pin punch lots of times over the years. I just find one the right size and grind the end off square.
If it needs a pretty good force to move the pin out you can usually drill a hole in a piece of hard wood the size of the nail (snug) and let the wood support the long part of the nail to keep it from buckeling with just enough nail sticking out of the bottom of the wood to start the pin moving.
You can also just cut one off very short to start the pin moving then move to a longer one to drive it on out. You can hold the very short one with needle nose pliers rather than your fingers.
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I have pin punches but somehow they are either the wrong size half of the time or they are in the wrong place (like the other shop).

With your resources I would think that you'd buy multiple sets of pin punches so that you'd always have the right one in the shop (whichever shop you might be in).

robinson46176 · Post by **robinson46176** » Thu Apr 23, 2009 3:03 pm

dusty wrote:With your resources I would think that you'd buy multiple sets of pin punches so that you'd always have the right one in the shop (whichever shop you might be in).

Having a lot of "stuff" in no way indicates any level of organization...

Quite the opposite.

baddlad · Post by **baddlad** » Thu Apr 23, 2009 4:53 pm

just curious, where do I get new ones? Or can I reuse the old ones?
I did a search on Home Depots website and couldn't find them.

Jeff

baddlad · Post by **baddlad** » Thu Apr 23, 2009 4:58 pm

ok sorry looks like Lowes carries them.

robinson46176 · Post by **robinson46176** » Thu Apr 23, 2009 5:15 pm

baddlad wrote:just curious, where do I get new ones? Or can I reuse the old ones?
I did a search on Home Depots website and couldn't find them.

Jeff

Here I head to Ace hardware first for odd hardware. Our local one does pretty well with small parts and supplies. You can try an auto parts place or some farm stores like TSC Stores carry some since they are common in some farm equipment. They are especially common "inside" of tractors like in the hydraulic systems. You might even try a farm equipment dealer if there is one in your area.
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We have a auto parts jobber here in town that ships all over the country and while I don't know if they carry that size roll pin they do carry an awful lot of small hardware items and stuff like JB weld etc. as well as a lot of stuff most places won't bother with.
They have a tiny walk-in counter area with room for about 5 people to stand if they are all friendly,

but otherwise they don't even have a sign up. One of those places you have to know is there. They give excellent service and have for years now. Anyone that putters with stuff should ask for one of their free catalogs. They can also get a lot of stuff not in the catalog. I have no interest in the company but have used them for many years now. They are on line at :
www.natauto.com
They are usually way below the chain parts places in price and they have a fairly large staff in their shipping dept.
I know that isn't a woodworking site but if you need a fish you go to the river, not the desert.