The bike wasn't as fucked as I Thought it would be
I posted last week about starting work on an old Fuji S10-S I received from a family member, its original owner. I mentioned that the stem was seized and that dreaded having to use a hacksaw to remove it.
Turns out that the stem was NOT seized. I was unable to remove it myself, but when I took it to the co-op, one of the guys there just whacked it REALLY hard with a hammer, and that fixed it.
I'd been following guides online which made it seem like whacking the shit out of the stem with a hammer, metal to metal, would be a bad idea. Everyone on YouTube is using wood to cushion the blow, or something. Turns out that they're just being ginger, and I should have taken my rage out on the bike with a regular metal hammer directly on the stem bolt.
Unfortunately the stem is temperamental and gets stuck every single time I install it, so I've now whacked it with a hammer three or four different times.
Anyway, I took the headset apart, cleaned it, and reinstalled all the bearings, the stem, and the brake. It now looks like this:
Beautiful!! By which I mean: fairly normal!!! Similar to the state in which I received it!!
I still have to get the crank off, which probably requires another visit to the co-op. There's remarkably little wrong with this bike, however, and I should be done with it soon!