Any Tricks For Getting Stuck Bat Pins Out?

[Polydeuces]

I've got this old, Alpine wheel that I got from a retired potter. It's rather "OG," as some might say. It's been great.

 

But it came with the bat pins on. I usually prefer to throw off the hump, and I'm not a fan of scraped/battered knuckles. They're really stuck. I've hit them with some lubricant, have tried tapping them, unscrewing them, twisting them off with vice grips -- nothing. I'm really sketched out by attempting to drill them out. Any gurus here have any advice? Do I need to take the head to a machinist?

 

Thanks!

 

 

[Mark C.]

Have you tried some mild HEAT 

Some of the best soaking lubricants are Deep creep ,liquid wrench

Drilling would be my last resort-then a sharp center punch and drill press would be best.

You could call Alpine and ask them if the pins are drop ins or threaded??

[Guest]

Are there wing nuts on the bottom side of the bat pins?

 

You can still use a bat on the wheel and throw off the hump.

[oldlady]

ron is onto something.  just get a good flat bat, not one of the kind made of plastic that has a waffle pattern on the bottom.  stick it on and pretend it is the wheelhead.

[Benzine]

Ditto to everything said.

 

Try a heat gun, make sure there aren't wingnuts on the bottom, or just get a really nice bat, and throw from the hump off of that.  I say a really good bat, because some of the cheaper bats I got for my classroom have become worn, and when coning up, the bats have "jumped" off the wheel head and taken out the water buckets.  It has happened enough, that I've had to give the students a warning.  It even happened to me...

[Polydeuces]

Thanks y'all! I had been originally using a bat, but was having similar problems with the jumping or rattling when coning. I'll look into a fancy bat. At this point it's more about the fact that I can't get them out, and I want to be able to get them out. I will not admit defeat!! 

 

I'll try some penetrating/soaking lube and after that sets, some heat as well. 

 

I'm pretty sure Alpine no longer exists as a company -- this wheel was made several decades ago, or so it would seem.

 

And no, there are no wingnuts under the pins. I'm not THAT much of a plebe, folks 

[Guest]

A picture might help of both sides of the wheel.

 

Also, I'd be careful using heat, it can cause more problems than it cures.

[neilestrick]

Alpine still exists. You can still get parts for kilns, but i don't know if they're building new kilns or not. Regardless, they won't know anything about that wheel. It was made at least 3 company owners ago. Chances are the pins are threaded into the wheel head. Just leave them on and get a good bat. That way you don't have to mess with putting the pins in when you do need to throw on a batThat's what I do. I haven't taken off my bat pins in 15 years.

[Pres]

Check my blog site for the solution for wobbly bats that I posted in Ceramics Monthly for December of 2016.

 

best,

Pres

[oldlady]

not a fancy bat.  if you can, make one of a waterproof material and drill the holes accurately so it is tight when you put it on.  the silly one-round-hole-and-one-slot  design on some bats is ridiculous.  the homemade bat can be whatever size is best for you.

[ronfire]

Can always grind them flush with an angle head grinder.

[Chris Throws Pots]

Can always grind them flush with an angle head grinder.

 

I cross-threaded one of the bat pin holes on my Soldner S50. Trying to remove the pin by force ended up tearing the cap part off the bat pin, resulting in a little dagger protruding from my wheelhead. I ended up bringing it to a machine shop where they ground the metal spike flush and drilled two new threaded holes. Maybe the best clay-related $50 I've ever spent.  

[ronfire]

My wheel had no pins so I drilled holes and placed in Allan head bolts with a nut on the bottom side. No need to make treads.