Just got a stubborn axle out of an early 8-3/4 (tapered axle). 5 lb slide hammer didn't budge it. I thought about many ways to get the axle out and finally decided to drill a hole in the top of the housing end and attempt to crack the outer race. I couldn't crack the race, but I was able to get the race to move with an air chisel with a pointed tip. I'll just weld the hole back up and rough machine it. Turns out the housing end has been welded on before, around the radius...