"bob prohaska" wrote in message
news
DoN. Nichols wrote:
On 2017-09-26, bob prohaska wrote:
I'd like to remove two snaprings from an old Hein Werner model K
floor jack. They're pictured at

http://www.zefox.net/~bp/wheel_snapring.jpg
and
http://www.zefox.net/~bp/pump_snapring.jpg

None of the tools in my collection has any chance of
holding on to these things. Does anybody know of a tool
that will get them off?

It's likely possible to use a Dremel tool to notch them
so they can be either grabbed or broken, but that promises
to be a lot of work and somewhat hard on the adjacent metal.
Better ideas would be much appreciated, I don't like any of mine.

Really big images -- took forever to download.

Three sets of hands. One holding a straight blade
screwdriver
against one end of the ring, another holding and driving a second
straight-blade screwdriver against the other end, and a third set
of
hands pushing a smaller straight-blade driver between the pin and
the
middle arc of the ring as the first two screwdrivers push it a bit
clear. Once the smaller screwdriver is in place, shift one of the
other
two to just beside it and use it as a lever to move that middle of
the
ring up clear of the groove. Then walk another screwdriver around
from
there towards one end of the ring. Once that end is pried clear of
the
end of the pin, walk the other screwdriver around until the rest of
the
ring is free of the groove.

Be sure to wear safety glasses, because the ring can snap
off
and move at high speed.

Putting it back involves just two screwdrivers. One holds
one
end down at the groove level, and the other walks around pushing
down
the ring as you go, until the circle is completed and it snaps into
place.

Thanks for looking, and any guidance!

bob prohaska

You have above what I would do.

Good luck,
DoN.

First of all, apologies for the lack of scale; the wheel axle is
about 3/4", the pump link pin about 1/2". I should have put a dime
in the photos.

I tried a simple expanding snap ring tool on the wheel and the
taper of the ring end slipped off the tool with the force I could
muster holding it in. Maybe a tool ground thin enough to go into
the ring groove would find a ledge to catch on....

The biggest issue seems to be keeping the tool(s) from slipping
off the ends of the ring. That looks difficult in the case of
the pump.

Thanks for everyone's counsel, I'll re-read in the morning and have
another go at it. If nothing else works a thin cutoff wheel in a
Dremel tool will part the rings with minimal damage to the rods.

bob prohaska

You could try clamping half the ring in place with Vise-Grips and
bashing the exposed end with a punch to bend or break it.

This is a candidate to modify with thin prying jaws.
https://www.arc-zone.com/expand-o-pl...iABEgKna_D_BwE

I have a small collection of similar automotive valve spring, brake
and panel clip expansion pliers but none of them would fit a small
spring clip. My plan is to modify a tool with a screw adjuster for the
task to leave both hands free.

-jsw