Splitting the chain

[Greg Needel]

The reason that you can't hammer it out is a factor of the way the chains are made, the pins are pressed in which causes an expansion of the area on the outside of the pin. In most cases this is a good thing because nobody wants their chains to just fall apart during use.


While I typically support using the correct tool for the job chain breaks are particualrly good if you intend to re-use the pin for a half link or just taking one part of the chain away. Either way you will have a tough time getting the pin all the way out of both the outer and inner links with a break. For that reason I advocate using a dremel tool with a grinding bit.

Take the chain and put it in a vice and just grind the surface of the pin off until you can see marks on the outer link at that point you should be able to remove the pin by tapping it with a punch. If you want the pin completely out repeat this step on the other side and the pin will almost literally fall out. The other good thing about this method is it doesn't matter what pitch (size) the chain is.


Chain notes: The chain in the kit is #35 or 3/8 pitch. If you need to buy sprockets or more chain asking for either one of these will get you what you want as they are interchangeable terms.