And if there aren't two or three such lucky spokes? This idea assumes a lot of hopeful serendipity, including the ability to get multiple drive-side spokes (which may not exist at all), clamped in a vice, to pull equally.
I have successfully removed freewheels, using only off-side spokes, I believe three times over the decades, from hubs brought to me by people who had cut their hubs from their rims w/o removing the freewheels. Not theory, shop experience. Perhaps I was lucky; perhaps the freewheel threads were well lubricated. Your mileage may vary; my mileage was excellent.
Cheers,
Peter Bridge sdcausa
In a message dated 8/2/2005 11:34:51 PM Pacific Daylight Time, dddd@pacbell.net writes:
If there's 2 or 3 spokes in the drive-side flange, these can be secured in a
vice so that they become roughly tangent as reverse torque is applied and the outer edges of the flanges rest against the (protected) top of the vice jaws. A stout, well-anchored vice is needed, and one should fully tighten the vice on the spokes only as the spokes both start pulling equally, with the spokes tangent. Hopefully the cut spokes are long enough to reach into the jaws. I'd use cardboard to protect the edge of the flange from the top of the vice, and reposition the wrench as needed so that the hub shell remains parallel to the jaws as increasing torque is applied.
I sure wouldn't trust the center of the hub to transmit that much torque.