seized.

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seized.

Postby poorboy » Mon Oct 04, 2010 7:00 pm

How does evryone get seized pins out of some of the insulators. I got a half dozen on the weekend that could not be removed even using a strap wrench. had to take pin and all. After I got them home I tried using the strap wrench and a pair of large water pump pliers and still no luck. I hate to drill them out for fear of damaging the insulators,one of which is a CD154 Dominion - 42 clear,with RDP's.
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Re: seized.

Postby Sluggo » Mon Oct 04, 2010 9:17 pm

Hi there,

I've found over the years that if the insulators are found outside, the wooden pins are often swollen from moisture.

Try storing them indoors somewhere warm and dry for a month or so, then try your strap wrench again.

You can also clamp the pin tight in a vise, and use the strap wrench. The vise lets you put more force into the wrench as you don't have to hold the pin at the same time.
Happy collecting,

Doug Netzke (Sluggo)

Collector of Foreign glass, carnival glass, spool type, radio strain and non-glass/non-porcelain insulators.
Accidental collector of glass fishing net floats.

Website: http://www.myinsulators.com/sluggo
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Re: seized.

Postby Robin Plewes » Tue Oct 05, 2010 6:02 am

Hello:
You can also get your hands on an old microwave oven.
A 20 second blast will usually warm up the old creosote that is holding the insulator to the pin. Once the hardened creosote was turned gooey, the insulator can be removed from the wooden pin.
Don't do this inside the house. Some pins make a heck of a stink, even with just 20 seconds. Sometimes an extra 10 - 20 seconds is needed, but not very often.

Now don't laugh at this idea :) I've done 100s of insulators this way. I let an old 143 ( old glass ) go for over a minute and the pin did not cause any cracks. I think there was a crack or two from other imperfections in the glass, but no explosions of any sort. There may have been one insulator crack on me doing it this way, but it is a very rare occurance.
I have done rare insulators this way, all though I did it with 5 second blasts to minimize the stress potential etc ;)

My only warning is to look for metal, either in the pin or bits in the insulator. Oh, and don't use the good microwave from the kitchen. Creosote is not nice stuff to have around unless you are preserving wood.

Good luck ............ Robin
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Re: seized.

Postby poorboy » Tue Oct 05, 2010 10:52 am

Hey robin I don't think I would use the wife's good micro or I could find myself in the little guest house out back with the kennel attached :lol:
I may just try letting them dry out in the house for a while like Sluggo suggested.
Thanks guys.
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Re: seized.

Postby Robin Plewes » Tue Oct 05, 2010 8:06 pm

Hi Poorboy:
No worries.
Perhaps you can keep it in mind though. You never know when a roadside offering will give you a working microwave. I picked up a 2nd one this summer and it has a turntable .... can't beat that for evenly warming up the stuck pin.
I can see the doghouse being kinda cool in Oct / Nov 8-) Wait till a junker turns up. Oh, you need to keep the junker micro in the basement actually. If a micro oven freezes, there is a good chance of the large capacitor not working the next time you turn it on.
Besta luck ........... Robin
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Re: seized.

Postby noelstar » Wed Oct 06, 2010 5:59 pm

I've had many insulators that had the wooden pins swollen because they were water loged. If the whole pin was there I'd put the pin in a vise securely and turn the insulator of by hand. If the pin was broken off inside the insulator I've used a firm or heavyduty butter knife. First I'd place the top of the dome down on a folded rag for cushion for my next step. Then I'd pound the butter knife carefully into the wood as deep as I could get it to go in. During this step I'd keep a close eye on whether or not my knife was going in at an angle that would threaten the threads. Most times when the knife was wedge in well and deep enough I could turn the broken pin out with an opened end wrench that was only opened the demension of the butter knife. At other times the threads were actually stopping this set up from working because of annealing cracks. In that case carefully with a steak knife I'd chissel all the wood out a bit at a time. That is often a lenghty process depending on whether the pin had rotted any while waiting for me to find the insulator. :ugeek:
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