Impossible LEGO

[MajklSpajkl]

2 hours ago, Erik Leppen said:

I once put a light sabre 4L rod in one of the small holes of a knob wheel.

It was already hard to push it in, but I have never been able to take it apart...

Did that once with minifig microfone - it's still there...

[Lego Nerd]

4 hours ago, Erik Leppen said:

I once put a light sabre 4L rod in one of the small holes of a knob wheel.

It was already hard to push it in, but I have never been able to take it apart...

Have you tried twisting the 4L rod? Also, sometimes using lots of the half-width 2L beams stacked on the remainder of the 4L as a grip can be enough to overcome the friction, and each individual beam can be removed one by one.

[zux]

@Erik Leppen , @Victor Imaginator I think your issue or lack of it might be due to the plastic used in rods. Was it translucent rod or not?

[Mantarri]

39 minutes ago, zux said:

@Erik Leppen , @Victor Imaginator I think your issue or lack of it might be due to the plastic used in rods. Was it translucent rod or not?

Light sabre...

Looks transparent to me.

[Victor Imaginator]

1 hour ago, zux said:

@Erik Leppen , @Victor Imaginator I think your issue or lack of it might be due to the plastic used in rods. Was it translucent rod or not?

No, i used non translucent rods... What if TLG will produce translucent pins in the future? Will they hold my MOCs like glue?)

[Josephiah]

I have a contender (from disassembling the 8480 sub the other day, so this is from official instructions!):

Any ideas?  Genuinely at a loss as to how to separate them.  Possibly (gently) heating them would help...

[N-4K0]

Is that two regular round 1x1 plates? I don't find regular single studs any difficult to separate from pin holes, haven't found any studs having that much friction inside a pin hole.

[Mantarri]

5 minutes ago, Error404 said:

Is that two regular round 1x1 plates? I don't find regular single studs any difficult to separate from pin holes, haven't found any studs having that much friction inside a pin hole.

They do seal nicely though, and with one on the other side, the air has nowhere to get in (my theory).

[Josephiah]

20 minutes ago, Error404 said:

Is that two regular round 1x1 plates? I don't find regular single studs any difficult to separate from pin holes, haven't found any studs having that much friction inside a pin hole.

Yes, and until now, neither have I!

 

[Buddy010702]

2 hours ago, Josephiah said:

I have a contender (from disassembling the 8480 sub the other day, so this is from official instructions!):

Any ideas?  Genuinely at a loss as to how to separate them.  Possibly (gently) heating them would help...

Brick Separator? That's all I can think of, I've never had an issue like this...

[zux]

8 hours ago, XtremeBuilder said:

They do seal nicely though, and with one on the other side, the air has nowhere to get in (my theory).

And older parts tend to have tighter connections, make situation worse.  

5 hours ago, Buddy010702 said:

Brick Separator? That's all I can think of, I've never had an issue like this...

I'd say try using two brick separators from both ends at the same time.

[aeh5040]

11 hours ago, Josephiah said:

Any ideas?  Genuinely at a loss as to how to separate them.  Possibly (gently) heating them would help...

[doug72]

12 hours ago, Josephiah said:

 

Any ideas?  Genuinely at a loss as to how to separate them.  Possibly (gently) heating them would help...

I use these tools for seperating parts when dis-assembling a model.

Needle nose pliers for grip and pull.
Craft knife for easing beams apart.
Modified screwdriver with a needle point for pushing out axles etc. - also useful for lining up parts and connector pins.

IMG_4308 by Doug Ridgway, on Flickr

[Josephiah]

Thanks for the suggestions folks.  Had another go at it today, and didn't need to break out the toolbox in the end.  Heated it up in hot water to expand/loosen the joint, then wrapped in a towel to get enough grip without ripping my fingernails off!  And no damage to the parts - bonus.

[Chilly]

On 2/11/2017 at 2:21 AM, Buddy010702 said:

Brick Separator? 

Or two brick separators 

And some of that grip mat stuff, I have some really thin stuff that helps me to grip the other part when removing bricks.

[GroundskeeperWillie]

Stumbled upon this:

[Mantarri]

Oh my, that is just too funny. 

[Didumos69]

I put this together without stressing parts. But how do I take it apart?

 

[Slegengr]

@Didumos69 Could you just remove them in pairs by pulling two opposite the other two?  There are still two in-line pin connections joining them together if considered as pairs.  On each pair, one hole will be removed from a pin while one pin will be removed from a hole.

[nerdsforprez]

I have long noticed that this piece,  along with its smaller sibling,  http://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=15100#T=C

Have incredibly thick pins.  Thicker plastic than 3l pins.  Even the black, old style.  Still, with enough force, they should come apart as @Slegengr mentioned 

Edited March 3, 2017 by nerdsforprez

[Didumos69]

11 minutes ago, Slegengr said:

@Didumos69 Could you just remove them in pairs by pulling two opposite the other two?  There are still two in-line pin connections joining them together if considered as pairs.  On each pair, one hole will be removed from a pin while one pin will be removed from a hole.

D.mn it, you're right! I got them apart. I never looked at it that way. I was convinced I had to pull all four simultaneously. Stupid me .

Edited March 3, 2017 by Didumos69

[Slegengr]

2 minutes ago, Didumos69 said:

I was convinced I had to pull all four simultaneously. Stupid me .

You are not the only one that makes silly mistakes!  I just knew that most pin connections that do not stress the parts should be able to be removed without stressing the parts.

[Didumos69]

Btw, I think these belong here too (see original topic):

On 14-5-2016 at 5:31 PM, Didumos69 said:

Who is the first to provide legal instructions (legal as in 'not making use of slack') for this cube? It is possible .

LXF-file here.

On 14-5-2016 at 10:55 PM, Didumos69 said:

its smaller brother fits inside.

 

 

Edited March 3, 2017 by Didumos69

[letsbuild]

6 minutes ago, Didumos69 said:

*snip*

It would be pretty easy to make legal instructions. I just don't have enough dog bones to do so.

[Slegengr]

@Didumos69 I see how it is possible and can be done legally, as you can use the double-length portion of the black pins (without the collar) to slide the pins out during pre-assembly and lock them in once all pieces are assembled.  Removal of the pins is entirely a different story, as you would need to grip the revealed shaft-portion of the black pins to slide the pins back out incrementally.  The "little brother" one does require the use of another cross-axle to push the internal cross-axles out for removal.

As a mechanical engineer, I find these connections quite fun to decipher, though I do not build much in the Technic realm.  If I had the time and funding available, I probably would expand beyond just LEGO System.

Edited March 3, 2017 by Slegengr