Removing the stem from handlebars

Bought an old set of Benotto bars and a stem

I am trying to get them polished up, but I can't get the stem off the bars, I've completely removed the bolt, tried spreading the stem a little with a big screwdriver, but it won't budge, I can spin it a little but that looks like its just stripping the grooves in the bar

Also it has benotto bar plugs, but I thought plugs went on the inside of bars, not the outside?

Can't help with the removal, but Benotto supply caps rather than plugs for finishing tape. You can either wrap the tape over the caps to get a flush finish, or just put the cap on after the bars have been wrapped.

There's a trick for this.

The lower hole in the stem is threaded. If you insert the bolt from that side, and screw it inwards it'll start to get close to the upper part of the stem. Get a 10p piece and put it up against the upper part and as you screw the bolt in, it'll push against the coin and spread the stem open, allowing you to remove the handlebars.

I've tried to explain it clearly, but not sure if I've succeeded...

Aha, there's a picture of the technique here: http://janheine.wordpress.com/2012/01/17/inserting-a-handlebar-into-a-stem/

Cheers benbrangwyn!

I knew there must be some trick
[U][/U]

worked a treat

thanks