The Plot Thickens

Today's project prep consisted of finding two identical (or nearly identical) bikes from the junk pile and stripping them down to the bare frames.  Or at least trying to.  The crankset on one frame refuses to come off.  I've snapped a screwdriver, nearly stripped a pair of visegrips, broken my hammer in half, and spent about two hours trying to cut it off with a hacksaw, only to be stopped by a hardened steel insert.  So in the morning I'm going to try a sledgehammer and if that fails, an acetylene torch should finish the job nicely.  I will prevail!