to protect it. A block of wood might absorb enough if everything was held tight. I still think the way to do it is to separate the shaft from the transmission but if you can't or it's just to hard then the next best thing, I suppose, is the wood. My only thought is that if it didn't come off with the usual amount of force, which shouldn't be all that much, then you're going to be at the next level of force. That's when bad things start to happen.