Disassembling an HP Color laserjet 4550

**Bamcis** · 10-27-2012, 09:29 PM

Originally Posted by brucie

why are you removing the plastic from the bars? are you going to put them in something other than shred? i have a handful of those rods that i saved/have been using a punch tools. i have been wondering if the ones thicker than 1/4 inch could be put in another class. for the few i have a put them on concrete and hit w/ hammer to pop off the plastic. after a few of them i just left them on the frame and put the whole thing in shred.

I saved all of the plastic gears from that and a few other things I took apart and advertised them on Craigslist in the arts and crafts section for whatever anybody would be willing to give me for them. No takers yet, but if somebody calls tomorrow and offers a buck, I'd take it.

By the way, the idea about using the rods as a punch tool is pretty ingenious. Are there any specific applications requiring a punch that they are particularly useful for?

**KzScrapper** · 10-28-2012, 09:28 AM

Originally Posted by Bamcis

Are there any specific applications requiring a punch that they are particularly useful for?

Anything that is pressed in and needs a good smack from something smaller then a hammer head to dislodge it.

**brucie** · 10-28-2012, 02:52 PM

have you tried ebay w/ those? i had a stack of similar metal stuff and see a bunch of clock parts under arts and craft.

use the punches for everything. i make sure to save a couple of the ones that have a very small (dont know what this field calls them) male joint (?) pieces. usually they are on one end and the other end is flat. i sometimes use those ends to tap a bolt in the loosening direction if its stuck. i think the norm is to hit it w/a flathead screwdriver but the indention of the piece that has the male joint on it sometimes lines up perfectly and the male piece steadies it; it stays better than a flathead for me.

one other thing ive been using that i really like is fondu forks. i had a couple weeks of finding several fondu sets so i had 50-60 forks. i started playing around w/ altering them in different ways to make little tools. one i broke off one prong so that it was maybe a couple millimeters long and left the other prong long. originally i was trying to loosen up the plastic and paper inside these Rise of the Machine,,,,,,, | Flickr - Photo Sharing! things. the one i was working on had thick paper on top of the plastic pieces inside those slot gaps. i put the little shelf like prong edge from the broken one on the paper or plastic and used the long prong to steady it along the edge. gave it a little hit and they both fell out nice and easy. i also use the long prong to fish around inside and pull out stuck pieces. i am sure there are tools and better ways to do it but i dont have much strength w/ my back/neck so i make little tools to make it easy w/ not pushing/pulling.

**Bamcis** · 10-28-2012, 04:30 PM

Originally Posted by brucie

have you tried ebay w/ those? i had a stack of similar metal stuff and see a bunch of clock parts under arts and craft.

use the punches for everything. i make sure to save a couple of the ones that have a very small (dont know what this field calls them) male joint (?) pieces. usually they are on one end and the other end is flat. i sometimes use those ends to tap a bolt in the loosening direction if its stuck. i think the norm is to hit it w/a flathead screwdriver but the indention of the piece that has the male joint on it sometimes lines up perfectly and the male piece steadies it; it stays better than a flathead for me.

Hmm.. I guess I'll have to save a few of the rods just for that. I understand what you're saying about the male ends. The ones I have have them on both sides. However, I have a tool that can saw one end off flush with the thicker part of the roller, and that would make a perfect impact surface for a hammer.

I haven't used ebay at all yet. I'm still doing some research and trying to decide if I want to get that involved with it yet.