Bricks is a question and answer site for LEGO® and building block enthusiasts. It only takes a minute to sign up.
Sign up to join this community
A problem that sometimes occurs during disassembling is an unslotted length-2 technic axle being stuck in some axle hole that is a dead end, i.e., you cannot push the axle out with a longer axle from the other side, e.g., like this:
With longer axles, you usually have a better grip and more leverage to get them out, and slotted axles can be grabbed by the slots. But an unslotted length-2 axle may be quite difficult to remove.
Are there any tricks to do this?
The method I use is not as "purist" as Wrzlprmft's, but it also works. Wrap the exposed section of the axle in a piece of cloth (a T-shirt works well), then gently grab the cloth-wrapped axle with pliers and pull out. The cloth is to prevent any marring of the axle piece, and it also provides a good grip for the plyers. Needle-nose or other small pliers work the best as they give you the most control for manipulating small LEGO pieces.
Take a thin technic beam or plate with an axle hole, preferably in the middle. I like the rotor 2 blade, which already has a firm grip on axles to begin with.
Push it over the axle.
Apply a slight rotating force like this:
Slowly and straightly pull out the axle (while still applying the force).
Free the axle from the tool with standard means.
For me, I try to use any gears or wheels that is more stiff to pull it out by attaching it with the gear or wheel. If cannot, I directly use a tapered nose pliers with a piece of cloth to pull it out.
