Butchering an old Pompino into a shiny fixed/front disk winter commuter

Thought I'd do a bit of a thread for this. Picked up a very cheap Pompino that looks likes it's had more hard days sat in the rain than it has being ridden around. My plan is to strip it down, angle grind all the unwanted bits off it, add a disk fork, give it a rattle can paint job, throw some mudguards on and ride it to work when the weather sucks.

Here's a pic of how I picked it up. It looks even worse in the flesh. I'd hoped to be able to sell some of the unwanted bits, but most of it is rusted/seized to shit. My first major problem is a very stuck seat post. I've been umming and ahhing over caustic soda or cut it out. Think I've settled on the latter. First substantive update will be progress on that....

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if the paints coming off anyway you're probably best off going the chemical route on the seatpost. chopping them out is a ballache, especially if there's a lot of post in the frame.

Hmmmm. Its a tricky one. Chemical looks a ball ache too though. I have young kids and even doing it in the garden and taking a week seems like it would be overtly damgerous/annoying if I can't leave it out during the day....

Neither method rules out the other so I'll see how pissed off I get with an evening or two of sawing before maybe getting the bubbly going too. I know it won't be fun either way round. I've bought one of these as a starter.

I’ve taken out a post using one of these before. Post came out in multiple pieces and took a while but didn’t have to fuss about any chemical.

if that PX seatpost is like my one, it's gonna be a long way into the frame!

Thought this might be the case....

there's another option here
https://forum.cyclinguk.org/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=93589&p=871077&hilit=ream#p871077
look down till the pic of an altered flat wood bit from a guy called "531colin".

What is this called? Have a stubborn bb it looks ideal for

i'm having real problems chopping a thomson post out at the moment.
it's about 20cm into the frame... i'm working away with a saw but it's really difficult to get a uniform cut all the way down the length of the post.
i'd deffo go the caustic route if i wasn't bothered about the paint. i might try for a local metalworkers and see if they can ream the fucker out for me.

Google "hacksaw holder".

Yep, I've fully mullered my post over the weekend. Not budging. It's in too deep as @TheShipwright suggested.

Gonna have to get caustic on it. Do people think it might help remove the paint...

I'm hoping the fact I've put all these cut marks into the alloy, and prised it away from the top of seattube might help the caustic get in and around the post, allowing me to pull it out at somepoint beofre I've eaten all the alu out. Could be a long process. Hope I (and my children) can still see at the end of it.

The altered drill bit is another option, but I only have a relatively cheap handrill, which I just can't see working.

What a mess.

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@Scrabble Your other option is get a bike shop to melt it out? Obviously most folk want to avoid this due to paint damage.
The wooden drill bit looks very tricky to me.
From memory varonha frameworks has a price on its website for burning it out.
Edit: I was bored and looked up the cost at Varonha frameworks and its £25 not bad if you're painting it anyway.

Thanks for the research. That is very reasonable as I've no doubt this will be a complete pain in the arse. It's all part of the challenge/"fun" though. I could have bought a nicer frame, that already had a disk fork, got someone else to build the wheels and paint it, but nope, I'm a gonna do it all.

Probably too late, but I got the seatpost out of my Freddie Grubb by drilling a hole straight through the post and then putting a long screwdriver through and using it to twist the post.

@Scrabble I admire your chutzpah. You've got it a backup option if you get bored.
Not used caustic but by all accounts not nice and will def strip paint as I think it generates a lot of heat.

That could be a bonus as need to strip it anyway. I'll try and get a gif of the action.

@mashton - think that ship has sailed, but it's wedged itself in more than a really wedged in thing. I reckon there must be 25cm of post down there...

A. DRILL

B. INSERT

C. TIPPY TAPPY

I might be missing something, but how does that help me get a stuck seatpost out?

• Stick the “B. INSERT” in the B.B. shell.

• Rest “insert” against the underside of the seat post

• “TIPPY TAPPY” the seat post out by hitting the “insert”

I think it would need to quite some "tippy tappy" to move about 25cm of corroded post!

Cut through the seatpost lengthways. I've done it 3-4 times and it's only an hours work. Wrap cloth around blade to make a handle, ensure that you pull to cut not push or the blade will snap. Shine a light dwn occasionally to ensure that you are cutting through at the bottom of the tube.

You will meed to make 2 cuts, I've never managed it in one. it's shocking how little of the tube will be "welded", probably an inch at most, but that's enough :-(

nope, I'm a gonna do it all

Good mindset. Makes for the best projects!

Seen it done, was impressed.

Not sure on gauge or spec of rod but it was something that didn't want to buckle when given a thump

I guess with all mechanical methods of removal success depends on the level "stuckness". I've seen some on youtube etc where a set of stilsons was enough to release it.
I had a Kona PW which had a stuckpost and I tried all the usual stuff, WD40, boiling water on the steel seattube and twisting an old saddle on the post, amonia etc.
I also tried cutting the top of seatpost to get a flat surface and whacking it downwards a few times with a sledge hammer (full force not tapping it) hoping that a sharp crack would be enough to get it moving but no joy.
In the end, I clamped the frame in a vice, drilled the seatpost and put a really sturdy nut+bolt through the hole and then levered the post with 4 ft sash clamp and a scaffold pole for an extension and bounced on the pole and gradually increasing the pressure as I got more confident. It took a lot of force and when it went it made a real crack! This was a welded chromoly construction frame (the same as a Pomp) and could take the stress but I doubt a nice lightweight brazed frame would.
Next shit frame I get a stuck post I'm gonna have a crack at the home made reamer.