"Clive" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi,

I need to replace a few tap heads that have become a bit "tired".
One for a sink and one for a bath. The tap operation (to date) has been
fine. I have had the tap heads off before and they have (what I guess
is) a standard brass (?) rod with vertical grooves (splines?) on to
which the tap head slides and is held by a small screw.

I have taken the screw out of the tap head, but because (I guess)
I live in a hard water area, the tap head has "stuck" on to the brass
pillar. Will WD40 do any good to free the tap head or do I need to hit
the head underneath (it does not matter if the plastic head gets
damaged) with a hammer, or even "split" the tap using a wood chisel?

I wouldn't go hitting anything too hard or levering underneath the head.
Those taps have a circlip holding the shaft into the outer body which can
get bent or pop out if you apply too much force. Try rocking the head from
side to side to break the seal. A hairdrier might also expand the head
enough to let it slide off.

A last ditch approach might be to undo the retaining screw just half a turn
to give a few thou slack, you pull up on the head while someone else taps
the screw down gently with a small hammer on the appropriate screwdriver.
That should shock the shaft and the head apart much as you'd pull a bearing
out of a machine with a slide hammer. Once the head starts to move it should
be free when the screw is taken right out.
--
Dave Baker
www.pumaracing.co.uk
"Why," said Ford squatting down beside him and shivering, "are you lying
face down in the dust?"
"It's a very effective way of being wretched," said Marvin.