I am not sure if, in the original running of this string, this idea has
already been put forward, but I recently borrowed, and have now bought,
a little gadget used in the motor trade for pulling ball joints. It
worked brilliantly on even the most stubborn cotter, and is now a
permanent part of my tool kit. They are available in the UK for just
over 8 GBP from Machine Mart (see
http://www.machinemart.co.uk/
Peter Brown, Lincolnshire, England.