On 02 Nov 2011 20:45:51 GMT, John Doe wrote:

I would really rather buy a gear puller. Is there anything for
pulling small DC motor gears off?

In the R/C world, the small gear on the motor shaft is referred to as
a pinion. If you search for "pinion puller", you'll get lots of useful
information. Here's a picture from one of the hits:
http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/yhst-9458232..._2180_53538897

It's probably faster to make than to buy.
--
RoRo