Lego Removal Tools

[JM1971]

What do most people use for stubborn axles etc.?

I was looking at some soft jaw pliers http://www.amazon.co.uk/Silverline-595757-Quick-Adjust-Soft-Pliers/dp/B000LFXBC8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1381270519&sr=8-1&keywords=soft+jaw+pliers

But also need something to push axles without damage.

[Phoxtane]

The new brick separator has an axle on the top that's designed for such an event:

[VKTechnic]

I use tweezers. They're very good at small situations, plus you can close them and use them as an axle pusher. Be careful not to stab yourself though!

[dr_spock]

I use a 10L axle to push out other axles. It's long enough for me to get a good grip on it and pull out after the stuck axle is pushed out.

For axles that can't be push, I use a pair of small needle nose pliers to pull.

Edited October 8, 2013 by dr_spock

[BobSmithHello55]

Yes, I always use some kind of longer axle to push those out.

[weavil]

Always used the 10L axle too or 8L. And the needle nose pliers handy just in case.

[Lost_In_Noise]

5.5 axle always was the best for me.

[D3K]

I use a 5.5 axle with a 20z bevel gear on either side of the stop, so it looks and feels kinda like a syringe.. That way you can pull it out after you pushed the other axle, even if it has alot of friction:-)

[Rockbrick]

HOG steering knobs seem to be great for pushing on

[Marcel1980]

I use a 5.5 axle with stop between 2 5L beams.

[Junpei]

I use a small flathead screwdriver for everything, it can pry (almost) any two bricks apart and can even take apart impossible connections (like a 1x3 axle joiner in a 5x7 frame).

[Johnny P]

I use my leatherman for all tricky situations.

[aol000xw]

I use my leatherman for all tricky situations.

Does it include a magnifying glass?

[Johnny P]

no but i have glasses on 24/7 .

[dr_spock]

I use my leatherman for all tricky situations.

You do realize there is a whole bunch of us over 40 here.

[aol000xw]

When I was younger my tool of choice were teeth

[Eigenbroetler]

i use this for pushing axles

http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=30493

[JM1971]

Good solutions here, does anyone use a pin punch like these?

Looks like they might cause scratches.

http://www.screwfix.com/p/parallel-pin-punches-5-piece-set/16551

[pluto7443]

Yup, teeth are as useful as my hands.

[rumpletump]

In older sets lego used to include instructions on how to build some useful tools to pop out pins and undo other tricky sitations.

I used the "T" shaped pin popper many times to get out the black pins they could be very tight in old sets like 8865.

[Paul B Technic]

I have a small screwdriver which is the perfect size for pushing out axles.

[Johnny P]

@dr-spock

A leatherman is a multitool. IT has knives,pliers,saw,screwdriver in bit form,....

Or was 't that the question?

Grtz johnny

a little under 40

[TasV]

I made a small tool for this because I am sick of drilling holes in the palm of my hand. I've just uploaded it to Shapeways here: https://www.shapeways.com/model/1404450/axletool.html?li=shop-results&materialId=6 (I should note that all money raised from selling this tool, and any other part on my Shapeways account, goes towards funding my school robotics class so we can purchase additional EV3 kits, parts, software licenses (for RobotC), and sensors). It has an 8L axle on one end which should be long enough to push most axles out, or at least far enough to give you enough grip to pull them out the rest of the way, and a cross-axle hole in the other end to help me push the axles in when I need to push them through lots of pieces when building. The ball on the end is 20mm in diameter with a cup in the end for your thumb.

I'm pretty happy with the cost of it too. I made a solid one that was going to cost a massive $18 to make, so redesigned it recently to make it hollow, which reduced the price to just over $5 Australian dollars.

Edited October 10, 2013 by TasV

[N-4K0]

To push out axles, I use any axle long enough. Otherwise I use small tongs when I need a good grip to pull one out.

The small tongs I also use to hold e.g. bushings when I need to get them into tight places.

[JM1971]

I use a 5.5 axle with stop between 2 5L beams.

This works well, much easier to push those axles out.