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Two days of soaking in soda did the trick, it fell right out.
Cheers guys!

Blog of a german bikefriend:

http://cyclitis.wordpress.com

Feel free to contact him. Never met the man in person, but he has helped me tremendously with bike building tips. Nice chap.

Dibs pending pictures, and if it could be posted to Belgium?

Dibs on chainring and cranks if you do end up splitting.

That's clear now, thanks. Decided to give coke one more try... She's soaking in it right now.

http://www.foerch.co.uk/product.aspx?p=ee42f099-05ff-4e32-a064-dbe0502219ac&g=b6061310-176e-4e67-8edd-957aedddbc72

I'll see if I can find it... (I'm in Belgium)

What's Black Magic? Not http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_magic right?

I guess anyone - including myself - trying their first build without much knowledge should be pointed towards Sheldon Brown.
Loads of very useful information.

http://sheldonbrown.com/

Good luck, and let's see some pictures!

I've tried that. Coke, ammonia and WD40, all to no avail. Although the coke did bring quite a bit of rust with it. Maybe I should try that again.

Not sure what you mean by the screwdriver shaft though.
And what do you mean by FBH?

And giving up would mean resort to cutting the stem and using caustic soda, right? That should do the trick either way? Both stem and wedge are aluminium?

Yes, the wedge seems to be still wedged. The bolt just barely clears the top of the stem when completely unscrewed, but in order to hit the wedge through the bolt, it is better to turn in 'in' a few turns, hence nail punch. I actually used a drill as a nail punch, which is wider and fits into the hexagon head of the bolt.

A few more pics:

The bolt completely unscrewed, just clearing the stem:

The bolt comes out

With bolt removed, you can see through the stem

The help is much appreciated!

So in answer to you question mrgumby, I loosened the bolt a few turns and it rose out of the stem. I whacked it using a nail punch, but it didn't drop down.

To clarify: the bolt itself comes out without problem. The bolt head has been damaged slightly, but an Allen key still grips it fine. But when the bolt is out, the stem is not loose. I therefore assume that the expander itself is stuck inside the fork, or 'fused' to it.
Meager consolation: when cutting the stem, I won't have to cut through the bolt, as I can just remove it.

It's a shame if the stem wouldn't survive the makeover, but c'est la vie.

Pictures, perhaps not very helpful, but maybe someone can help before I start cutting the stem...
(I've been using a pin to hit the bolt head, as it is sunken into the stem)

I've hit it hard. As hard as I dare without damaging the forks (on which it rests). There have been proper hammers and sparks flying around.
I think I will have to resort to the destructive method, although I was hoping to salvage the stem.

I believe it is threaded, but the headset unscrews without trouble. I can unscrew it all the way so I can slide the fork + stem up and down in the steerer tube. It is the stem clamping into the fork tube which is stuck.
I have not tried hitting the stem itself with a rubber mallet, instead I've been hitting the stem bolt after slightly unscrewing it (as hard as I dare without damaging the fork).

The fork turns fine, and as I said I can unscrew the headset cups.

I'll try to post some pictures tonight.

Hi all,

Probably not the first stuck handlebar stem question on here.
So the handlebar stem on a Colnago I'm stripping is stuck. I mean properly stuck. I've tried inscrewing the bolt half an inch and 'tapping' it with a hammer, but even after applying considerable force it remains completely immobile. I've tried pouring coke into it, WD40 and ammonia. All to no avail.

Am I missing something? Are there any other hints or ways of going about this?

Any help is much appreciated!

Pity this is too small for me. GLWS

Dibs, will send pm.

And in light of that, I'll have to pass it up. Actually dreamed about having to LDN to see the frame, but it's not for me after all...
Undibbed, sorry. GLWS!

Sad face.

That, is a nice bike.

Intresting link regarding painting flutes, pantographes, and more

http://www.raydobbins.com/misc/paintfill_tips.htm

Haven't tried it myself though!

That IS a lovely frame. Built a fixie from an identical mocca-colored Union - and love it.
I'll not mention how much I paid for that frame though.