Removal of the brass sleeves from the poles proved to be our most difficult task. The poles had originally had lead wool packed into the gap between the sleeve and the stainless steel pole. this prevented water from entering the gap and causing the steel pipe below to rust. One pole had no lead wool and this sleeve was the most difficult to remove.
We fabricated a pair of steel plates. to which we attached a pair of come-alongs, in order to press the sleeve off of the pipe. The sleeve didn't budge. Next, we tried wrapping the end of the sleeve with heat ropes which we erroneously hoped would melt any remaining lead wool and allow the sleeve to slide off. After reaching 500 degrees F., we decided that there was no lead wool and that rust must be the culprit.
We finally removed the sleeve with a combination of methods. first, we hung the pole up-side down and filed the gap with penetrating oil. Next, we imparted a vibration to the pole by clamping the end to the bed of our vibratory finisher. After an hour of vibration to help the oil to penetrate and break up the rust, we attached the heat ropes and come-alongs again. The expansion afforded by the heat ropes was just enough to tip the balance in our favor. In the photo below, note that the rusty portion of the pole is noticeably thicker than the stainless portion.
