removing and adding chain links on motorized bicycle chain

Someone asked where to get the chain breaker in the picture. Tractor Supply has that one and even a bigger one.
Yesterday, I removed 3 links from my 415 chain very easily with one good punch, using a 1x12 board with a hole gouged into it with a knife for the pin to go in. Then today I needed to remove one more link and I gave it a LOT of good punches with a small phillips screwdriver and hammer and the pin would not budge. I gave up and just used the chain tensioner.

i've never used a chain breaker, i just lay the chain over the bench vise and adjust the vise jaws to just allow enough for the pin to go and whack it with a punch, then when its started use the old groundoff nail method. i thought everyone did it this way...more to learn every day. if you switch to the no 41 chain the links, halflinks and masterlinks are way way cheaper and more available, but i guess everyone knows this.

A bench vise would make all the difference for a good surface but I don't have a shop or place to even have a vise, so it has to be the hard way. Last time I broke some chain down to size, I couldn't find my punch. I first used the chain breaker to get the pin started, then pushed an extra chain link into the hole and squeezed it on through with vise grips. If you have an extra link lying around of the same size chain, the pin will be the perfect size for the hole and you won't have to hunt for something else like a nail, which is rather soft.

This is the tool I got.. Park Tool CT-3. It was about $35, but well worth it. should never have to buy another one again.. ever.

Park Tool Website

Pablo, when you press the chain apart, the pins retain the tight fit they normally have when you press it back in. You just press it back together with the tool. To make sure the chain joint is not too tight, I usually turn it around in the tool and press on the other side just a hair until the chain loosens up and has the same side to side play as the rest of the chain.

Yes, that one should do the job. The only drawback on the cheaper one pictured in the earlier post is that the pin is short and only goes about half way into the link, forcing you to have to resort to more primitive, sloppy ways of getting the pin the rest of the way out. The Park Tool appears to have a thinner, longer pin that will go all the way through and push the link pin all the way out in one smooth operation. That's the way to go.

Yes.. the Park Tool works very very well & will push the pins all the way through if you want. I usually push them just out of the front of the link and pull it out of the chain like a normal master link. If the link is stubborn, I'll push the pin almost all the way out and then press it back through when reassembling.

I forgot what a real chain tool looks like. Is this one?
Vintage ELDI Germany Chain Punch Cast Pliers Tool - eBay (item 300247181046 end time Aug-09-08 17:21:08 PDT)

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Wow, tools for the job. I have a chain breaker that you bolt to a board, lay the chain over it and use a wrench to force the pin out, the pin from the tool
gets stuck in the chain but a couple of taps with a hammer and it pops loose.
Belonged to my grandfather. Old school but it works well.

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