Patent ID: 8468666

Claim:
An apparatus for separating a mandrel extending along an axis from a wound shell snugly surrounding the mandrel and lying against an outer surface thereof, the apparatus comprising: a base; an upright frame fixed on the base; a holder on the base forward of the frame and adapted to receive and support the shell surrounding the mandrel with an end of the mandrel in the shell on the support juxtaposed with the frame; at least three stripper jaws angularly generally equispaced about the axis on the support in the shell and movable radially relative to the axis of the mandrel of the shell on the frame between outer positions spaced radially outward from the shell and inner positions radially engaging or axially engageable with the shell, each jaw having a concave radial inner face and a small jaw segment shiftable independently of the respective jaw, whereby when a mandrel of small diameter is being stripped only the small jaw segments are used; an extractor slide shiftable longitudinally on the base rearward of the frame; a gripper on the slide extendable past the frame to grasp the end of the mandrel of the shell on the holder; and means for shifting the slide axially away from the frame while the gripper is grasping the mandrel end and while the stripper jaws are in their inner positions to brace the shell axially through the jaws against the frame and pull the mandrel out of the shell.