Axle stuck in Side Effects - any tips for removing?


I went to swap the bearing on my Markmont Classic and noticed that the axle is stuck on one of the Side Effects. I’ve tried grabbing the axle with pliers and can’t seem to twist it out. Any tips?

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Someone correct me if i’m wrong but i don’t think that the axles are supposed to come out of the SE completely. All of my SEs seem to have the axle ‘stuck’ in one half. I think its by design.

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The se’s i have I can see some red (what i assume is) loctite on one side I don’t think they come fully apart like that.

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Careful, you could strip the threads super easily doing this and render the SE’s useless.

I have tons of SE yoyos and even more SE’s, and I believe @venom is correct - it’s this way by design. Not sure what you would need to remove it for.

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One Drop uses threadlocker to keep the axle in one half of the side effects. If you insist on removing it, you would have to heat up the axle enough that the threadlocker melts. Take the O-Ring off before you do so and obviously be careful not to burn yourself.

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Hi all,

I clearly made a mistake here. I didn’t realize that the axle is to remain in one half of the SEs. Some of my SEs can be unscrewed easily from both sides of the axle, and I notice now that many do not.

In my haste, I definitely marked up the threads on the axle, which really stinks. It still screws together ok but I can feel a bit of resistance from what I’ve done. I guess no harm no foul, though of course this happened with a pair of SEs I cannot easily replace! (Do OD release them ever?)

Anyway, trying my first Markmont string (Night Moves) and am going to forget about this and enjoy throwing outside on this unusually balmy October evening!

Thanks for the replies.

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Yes, the axel will come out of the side effect. I have removed the axel from several One Drop Side Effects without Heat.

If you ever use pliers on the threads of the Axel, without protecting the treads, plan on replacing the Axel

Using the correct tools always helps. The Double Nut Method above is the Safest.

Standard Pliers are not good for this task. Look at getting a pair of these;
Crescent RT24 Pliers

You can always buy another Side Effect if you damage that one.

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Those are Markmont SE’s. Gonna have to scour the BST for another set of those.

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Yeah, they screw together fine but upon further inspection my inclination is to try the double nut method to remove the SE so as to not damage the other half with the marked up threads.

I dont know if there’s legitimately any risk of my doing so, but it’s better to be safe. In the meantime, I’ve popped in a pair of ULs and it looks pretty awesome!

(And ugh… if anyone is selling some Markmont SEs hit me up?)


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If you know someone with a tap and die set you should be able to run that through a die to straighten out the threads. Not sure what a die of the right size would be but check a hardware store.

If that is not an option you could just buy a nut of the proper thread size and run that over the axle a few times. That may straighten them out well enough.

Thanks, I’m going to try the latter.

Do NOT screw that axel back into the other half.

If you look at the left side threads in that picture, they are flattened and messed up. If you scre this into the other side effect, because syeel is harder than aluminum, the axel will deform the threads.

Carefully remove the axel from the side effect. Clamp/Hold with pliers. You can use Electrical tape around the alluminum to help prevent from marring it.

I recommend the pliers I showed you above. The teeth are angled to aid in gripping the axel to get it to turn.

You need a new axel.

Good luck.

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Sometimes you just gotta cut your losses. WTB post forthcoming… Thanks again for the input, everyone. Lesson learned. At least the yoyo is fine!

As I recall the axles are secured into the SE with loctite or something. The axle should be able to be removed and replaced though. Worth a shot since Markmont SEs are hard to come by. I would email One Drop and ask them or pm @The_Machinist or @da5id.

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I can guarantee they would recommend people do not try to remove the axle :laughing:

But the best way I’ve found to remove them is heating up the axle with a grill lighter. It will take a couple minutes, but when the threadlocker melts the axle comes out very easily. Removing it with force and pliers will almost surely damage the side effect itself.

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Didn’t say it would be recommended, just possible. Definitely worth a try since he already damaged it.

Yeah, I’m an idiot. I’ve spent a lot of time and energy futzing with this now and I realize my mistake. I do wish I’d done so with a pair that’s not going to be so challenging to replace! I need to cut my losses and so I’ve posted a WTB.

I’m thankful that the yoyo isn’t damaged and I do appreciate all of the good advice here. Lesson learned :smiling_face_with_tear:

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Ugh you guys.

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Yeah they’re glued in with red loctite(generally considered non-servicable). Ping Mark Montgomery to see about buying replacements.

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