When you don't have the right cassette tool - make one.
 

The tabs that go in the notches on the cassette are 1/4" thick steel strips, welded to the bolt. I didn't get the hole in the bolt perfectly centered. If I had a thicker piece of metal to use as the die for it that would have been better. I locked the vice in and drilled the die hole, then swapped bits and drilled the center of the bolt so both the die hole for the bolt and the bit for the axle hole in the bolt were on the same axis - only the bolt moved a bit too much in the die hole. Oh well, good enough. It doesn't have to be real precise. The axle hole is only a few thousandths over the thread on the axle so it is a nice, very little slop, fit (letter X bit if it means anything to anyone).

I also filed the tabs down a bit to get a better fit in the notches. They were intentionally cut about .015-020" over and welded on.

Question - does this style cassette nut loosen regular? Or reverse? As in - lefty loosey? Or righty loosey (reverse thread)? I used a long 1/2" ratchet and tried to back the nut out lefty loosey and put an abnormal amount of torque (that I felt was way too much) on it and didn't get it to budge. If that is the right direction I'll put my lighter impact wrench on it tomorrow and see what happens. It is an old bike and hasn't been maintained too well so it doesn't surprise me to get in to a stuck part.


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It's a RH thread-
The usual method of destroying the tool happens when it cocks a little bit and the pressure on the "tabs"gets concentrated in a small area.
IF you could add a close fitting pilot that went all the way through to the NDS, it would help keep the tool "square" when applying force.
I hope the metal didn't anneal too much.

So normal "right hand" to tighten? That would mean left/counter clockwise to loosen - which is what I thought. All my others are that way so I don't see why it would be any different, but ya never know.

I’m not sure that’s a cassette.
It looks to me like you’ve made yourself a freewheel puller. Freewheels tighten by pedalling action and can be on wickedly tight.
A very common method is to stick the tool in a vise solidly mounted to a bench solidly anchored to a wall, put the wheel on top, grasp it like a bus steering wheel, then ”turn left”.

If it is a cassette, you’re about to open the part that holds the DS wheel bearing cup and the coasting mechanism.
On Shimano Uni-Glide - which is somewhat similar to yours - that is a reverse thread.
Determine what you have before trying harder.

I’ve made DIY freewheel pullers on occasion. Never managed to get one made out of ”household” grade steel to work. Have had some luck starting with an appropriately sized tool socket, then grinding away material to form the tabs.
I appreciate the attempt though.😁👍

It's a Sun Tour 2 prong FW.
PARK FR-2.equivalent.

As I thought then - freewheel, not cassette.
Uni-Glide also have the smallest sprocket holding the stack together, but doesn’t have the dimpled ring outside the sleeve with the notches.

I see a chain whip in your pictures, it is not needed to remove a freewheel.

As others have pointed out, put your "tool" into a vise with the tabs facing up. Slip the wheel onto the tool and turn "the bus steering wheel" to the left. easier to do when a tire is mounted on the rim, provides extra grip.

Another method I use, especially when a vise is not available, is to use a long (25") breaker bar with a socket to fit the tool like this one

https://www.harborfreight.com/12-in-...bar-60819.html

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I have a buddy kinda like you.

Will machine a tool to the thousandths just because he can. Will mill a new bolt to avoid another trip to the store. It's an art and I'm jealous.

Did it work?

Ultimately what I need is those gears off the hub so I can clean them. I also need to open up the hub because the wheel has resistance on it. The person who's bike it is never said anything about the resistance - I suspect they don't have a clue. The chain and gears need a good scrub down and re-lube for sure, but the resistance has me more concerned. So I want to open it up and see whats what. The axle does spin rough and tight off the bike (spinning the axle in the hub by hand).

I haven't had a chance to work on it yet today. I will get to it here this afternoon or evening. I may have to run out for a few hours.

I don't want to transfer the torque through the hub. I'd rather a gear/cassette take it. Especially with as tight as it appears to be...

You don't have a choice. The vise method described works. The breaker bar method can work but it's really hard, bashes knuckles, and breaks tools. No pressure goes into the hub, unless you mean spoke holes. I've never heard of them failing like that (overall force / 32-36).

I spun one off relatively easily with a vise from an 87' that likely had been on since new.

My guess is that you're going to have a lot harder time getting the seatpost out of the same bike.

Dual chain whips will remove the cogs for cleaning, something that surprised me when I figured it out. The freewheel will still be attached though.

That's a freewheel, not a cassette. Looks like the old Regina two-notch style, also used by Atom, Caimi (Everest), and even early Shimano Dura-Ace freewheels. The problem with them is that it is very easy for the remover tool to damage the slots of the freewheel body. Better tools included a stabilizing ring to hold the tool in proper alignment and reduce the chance of damaging the slots.

The freewheel itself comes off the hub counter-clockwise. The cover plate for the freewheel mechanism comes off clockwise.

Just to be clear... as other have mentioned

Old style freewheel.
You hold the wheel and unscrew the entire Freewheel (with cogs) from the wheel
You must not use a chain whip! - you will be holding the same assembly you're attempting to unscrew.


New Style cassette
You hold the cassette cogs with a chain whip and unscrew the cap.
The cogs then slide off of the freewheel that remains attached (and is part of) the wheels hub.

Reassembly... the Cassette cap has to be torqued to the correct value, the old style freewheel tightens when you ride it.

All the best

Barry

Blast it with an impact. That's what I did.

The "gears" on that freewheel are not going to be easier to clean if the freewheel is removed from the hub. If cleaning the cogs is the goal, you need 2 chainwhips to remove them from the body of the freewheel. If cleaning the internals of the freewheel is the goal, it isn't necessary to remove the freewheel from the wheel. It is possible to service the bearings of the axle without removing the freewheel although it is a bit easier to do with the freewheel removed. The only time it is essential to remove a freewheel is if you have to replace spokes

You are aware that your tool - if it holds up - will spin off all the sprockets and the coasting mechanism as one unit?
Advantages WRT cleaning mainly consists of not getting the wheel dirty.
On occasion, I’ve been able to pull the axle by removing the NDS locknut, spacer and cone while leaving the f/w in place. Getting the DS cup clean is fiddly and slow, but doable.

I believe you are overthinking this.

I have removed hundreds of freewheels using the methods I described previously, with and without a vise. I have only encountered one freewheel that beat me and would not come off. I have never damaged a hub in the process.

The resistance you describe in the axle has nothing to do do with removal of the freewheel, that is a separate problem and the issue is having to do with the bearings in the hub and proper adjustment of the cones on the axle. The freewheel is threaded onto the body of the hub and had no direct connection to the axle.

No need to remove freewheel from the hub or the sprockets from the freewheel body to clean them. Use a strip of cloth soaked in mineral spirits to "floss" between the sprockets to remove grime.

Having a house with a well equipped shop, rather than just an apartment also helps..

Thanks for the input everyone.

The freewheel assembly came off fairly easy when I spun it against the whole wheel (no chain whip). I guess I was interpreting the assembly differently than it actually works.

In any case, I got it cleaned a bit.

The bad part is the hub is toast. The races are pitted and grooved in the cones and at that point I don't trust the assembly going back together. As to how things got pitted - that I don't know. I am thinking perhaps that it was installed incorrectly with too much tension on the cones and the riders weight, plus road bumps, exacerbated it. But those races should be pretty darn hard.

The wheel was apparently replaced a few years ago, it wasn't the original wheel. The freewheel + gear assembly is original (and from what I can tell is still in pretty good shape - just a tad bit of slop in it, but nothing that stands out as being a problem yet).

Looks like I am going to be rebuilding a wheel next if I can find a decent hub.

A couple more suggestions:

1) as long as you're replacing the hub, consider moving to a freehub system rather than a freewheel. This would bring the advantages of a stronger wheel (less likely to break the axle), compatibility with modern parts, and potentially more sprockets on the gear cluster.

2) unless you have a burning desire to build your own wheel, it is often more cost effective to buy a built wheel. You mention that the current wheel you're replacing doesn't seem to be original to the bike, so there should be little concern about using another replacement wheel.

...or coarse string like binder twine, dry, not soaked in anything. Much less messy, just needs more elbow grease. Avoids use of toxic solvents that have a way of finding their way into the water table, which should enter our minds at least long enough to say, deliberately, “Oh, eff it, can’t be bothered,” instead of just not thinking about it at all.