Learn how to make a headset cup removal tool. No more sketchy hammer and screwdriver sessions.

This tool is similar to the standard Park RT-1 Headset Cup Remover, but uses less than $5 in materials and can be made in under an hour. Which is perfect when you just don’t have the patience to wait for a mail order, or you don’t have mad coin to begin with.

Details after the jump:

You’ll need materials:

• 1/8″ square steel rod, enough for 6 sections each at least 8″ long
• A 16 penny nail
• Thread
• Super glue

And you’ll need tools:

• Hacksaw
• Tape measure
• Marker
• Hammer
• A pair of pliers or a bench vise

First:
Cut the sections of rod to length. The 6 sections will need to be the same length for the tool to drive the cup out squarely. Plus or minus 1/16th of an inch should be close enough.
I started with one 3′ section and a couple of 8.5″ scraps. I cut each rod to approximately the same length and then clamped them in the bench vise and squared them off with the hacksaw. I found square section rod at the Home Despot, but if you can’t find square section then round will probably work.

Mark the rods 2.5″ in from one end and bend them roughly ten degrees at the mark. The angle doesn’t need to be exact, but it has to be enough to snap the rods into place inside the head tube while not being so much that it’s hard to insert the tool.

Now tie the first rod to the nail with the thread as pictured. A drop of superglue can secure the knot. Use the thread to bind the rod to the nail. Just snug is good enough, don’t get very tight with the thread yet. A drop of superglue when you’re done will hold the thread in place.

Not all 16p nails are created equal. Try to find one with it’s head pretty well centered over the shank. The nail I used was galvanized, but that’s not intentional. This tool doesn’t need to be rust proof

Fix the second, third, and fourth rods to the nail in a similar fashion. Place each rod next to the last one, get things as close together as you can. Use superglue to help you cement your progress.

Attach the fifth and sixth rods at once. Really jam them close to the nail, how tight these are relative to the first four determines how nice and symmetric the tool will come out. Once you’ve got the rods arranged satisfactorily start wrapping the shank of the tool in thread.

At this point the ends of the rods may not be perfectly flush with the head of the nail. No problem, just hit it with a hammer until everything looks nice.

Really bind the handle up tightly with the thread. Keep the tension on the thread as you wrap it around the handle. Pay extra attention to wrapping the end. Get it as tight as you can, and use a lot of thread. The integrity of the tool comes largely from the thread. Taken all together the thread becomes a very strong and very tight way to bind things together.

Once the handle is fully wrapped use superglue to cement it in place. Coat the top 1/2″ and the bottom 1/2″ in glue, and run a 1/8″ bead from the top to the bottom. The glue will keep the thread from working loose.

Usage:

Insert the handle of the tool into the head tube. Pull the handle through the head tube until you hear the prongs snap into place. Be careful that the prongs are latched onto the headset cup and not onto any ridges or holes machined into the head tube. Now hit the handle with a hammer. You can “ovalize” your head tube if you don’t drive the headset cup out squarely, so keep an eye on the cup to make sure it’s coming out straight. A few degrees askew is probably OK, but much more than that indicates trouble. Run a piece of tape from the inside of the cup to the frame to catch the cup as it falls out.

(The first time I tried to use this tool I pulled it up too far through the head tube and it got caught on the vent hole for the down tube. I kept banging on it trying to figure out why the headset cup wasn’t moving. I put a small notch in the rim of the hole before I figured it out. So don’t do that. Moral of the story, too much beer, not enough coffee. The bike in the photos, and the huge globs of solder on the top tube, are a story for another day.)

All done, now you can get around to building up that new frame with your freshly liberated headset cups.

This is my first post on Blue Collar Mountain Biking. My name is Nathan, and I like bikes, and tools, and the internet … And I’d like to hear back from anyone who makes this tool, so post a comment or write me an email, feedback is welcome.

-Nathan