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Thread: Removing valve handle - ideas
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9th Feb 2020, 05:27 PM #1
Removing valve handle - ideas
Any ideas would be appreciated, I'm trying to remove the handle from a tender drain valve (see pictures). The handle itself is steel, the valve body is brass. The square brass boss is 1 3/16" square by 1" deep.
I've drilled out the 1/4" split pin as that wouldn't come out either - the handle is likely to have been there for 50 or more years.
The gap between the handle and the valve body is non-existent so I cannot get a puller in there. I've had the assembly soaking in penetrating fluids for 3 days but, after that, belting the boss with a hammer and soft drift result in no movement whatsoever. Using a press is going to be hard as there's nowhere to get a good grip on both sides of the handle.
I'm thinking I may need to apply heat but the valve is quite rare so I can't damage the brass part in any way. The alternative is to cut the handle off and make another one.
Any suggestions?
Tender valve 2.jpgTender valve 1.jpg
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9th Feb 2020, 05:34 PM #2Novice
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Hi Gavin, if the handle is steel can you weld a lug on each side and use a puller on it? Cheers Leigh
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9th Feb 2020, 05:40 PM #3China
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Have you tried heating it with a Oxy torch
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9th Feb 2020, 06:35 PM #4
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9th Feb 2020, 06:38 PM #5Most Valued Member
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Hi Gavin,you've a nice problem there.
When you tried belting the brass out, did you have the steel part supported in any way? Asking, as you may have set the brass enough that is jammed in there more. I have an idea that it may be a slightly tapered boss, not parallel.
Something that could be tried, is to bore a tapered hole into a piece of steel (20-30mm thick) so that the brass taper fits in, then with the washer and nut fitted, the steel with the taper is mounted in/on something solid and then the steel handle is hit downwards with a hammer, as close to the square as possible.
The reason for the tapered hole is so that the brass taper isn't damaged in any way, creating more work for you.
HTH
KrynTo grow old is mandatory, growing up is optional.
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9th Feb 2020, 06:38 PM #6
Thought of that but I don't have oxy, only MAPP gas. Also I was concerned that the heat might damage the brass valve body which is quite rare.
I might have to resort to that up at the depot where we have oxy/lpg available if I can't get it off another way.
Leigh's idea of welding lugs on might give me enough heat as a side effect.
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9th Feb 2020, 06:45 PM #7
Yep, I was holding the round arm of the handle in my vice so I could apply "exuberant percussion". No luck
Measuring another of the valves shows that the boss is parallel, talk around the depot is that they were made as a tight press fit in the day. No idea why and the people who made them originally are long gone...
I can see where you are going there, my worry is that the brass taper may be damaged and it's a lapped fit in the valve body. Also the walls of the valve body cavity are quite thin.
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9th Feb 2020, 08:22 PM #8Senior Member
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It needs heat. I’ve seen the shipwrights pull apart similar before. They sweat them off with heat, from a fine oxy torch.
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9th Feb 2020, 08:31 PM #9
Hi Gavin, Guys,
I would use a cooks torch ! A small intense flame will expand the steel very quickly without unduly heating the brass body. The steel handle will come off with a few raps with a hammer. Once the brass starts to heat up it will expand quickly. Using a large flame will heat everything up which you don't want.
Edited: to add you might find that the heat from electric welding is enough to loosen it.Best Regards:
Baron J.
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9th Feb 2020, 08:39 PM #10Most Valued Member
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Heat and/or press are your friends if you need to keep the handle.
If you don’t you could get surgical with a grinder up one face of the steel and crack it off the brass. If you’re careful you could probably weld the handle back up afterwards if you needed it, but it may need machining if it has to be press fit.
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9th Feb 2020, 09:41 PM #11Most Valued Member
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Since brass has a higher coefficient of expansion than steel, it also shrinks more when it cools. Try putting it in the freezer overnight before applying heat to the handle.
Used to be great when I was in workshops that had a flask of liquid nitrogen around for fitting bushings. Soooo many uses.
Steve
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9th Feb 2020, 10:02 PM #12Philomath in training
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On that basis, can you pack the brass valve bit in dry ice?
Michael
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9th Feb 2020, 10:31 PM #13Most Valued Member
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If it was me id probably. Cut the handle thru one of the straight sides with a dreamel or angle grinder or hack saw. the widen the cut with a wedge ,screw driver or chisel.
then just weld it back together or tack it . Grind back to flat. There is plenty of other good ideas hear too.
aaron
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9th Feb 2020, 11:18 PM #14Golden Member
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G'day Gavin,
If you immerse the valve in water with only the top sticking out you can heat the handle with an LPG blow torch which should provide enough heat.
The brass will conduct heat away into the water and stay relatively cool.
The steel handle will loose heat into the valve but will hopefully expand enough to crack the seal. Spray on some penetrating oil while its hot and let everything cool again before trying to remove the handle.
If it doesn't come off, repeat the heat, oil, cool cycle a few more times and eventually it will come apart.
Good luck.
Cheers,
Greg.
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10th Feb 2020, 01:25 AM #15New Member
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Could a machine shop use a mill to CREATE two rabbet cuts so you can attach a puller to the steel? I would think you could mill the steel down to the brass surface on two sides, and the entire fixture would still work fine when cleaned up and reassembled.
Alternately, you need to eliminate the natural corrosion that has wedged the two pieces together. There is something called "Corrosion of dissimilar metals." The corrosion is created by mating a ferrous metal to a nonferrous metal. Over time, the two metals will create natural corrosion between them. Perhaps dipping it into a bucket of hydrochloric acid or some other strong acid might dissolve the corrosion and leave the two metals untouched?
Joe
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