I have read alot about that. Some people on the internet felt it was dangerous and could crack the block. Of course this is one of those things that could happen.
Everyone who has followed these instructions so far have had good luck with no problems. Me and two other guys have been successful that I know of so far.
1) Use a very solid drift Punch that has at least a 3/8" flat end. The dowel is about 1/2 inch but is so close that 1/2 might be too large. Get a nice long punch and then use a large size hammer.
2) Mark the end of a screwdriver, safety wire, paper clip, whatever .63 or 5/8" from the end with tape. You need to be able to gauge how deep you are. You do not want to hit too hard when its already bottomed out.
3) Get a good grip on the punch, hold it centered on the dowel, and take about a half swing at first. See if it budges, then use your head on how hard you need to hit it to make it move.
4) When you get close to the mark, slow down and move it slowly. You have to be all the way in to cover the internal hole, so be sure you are exactly .63 from the edge of the block and the end of the dowel.
Heat will not help you because you can't avoid getting heat on the surrounding area, however, if you can't get it to budge, don't damage the dowel, rather heat it up and then try again. I didn't need heat and my friends who did it did not need it either. Good luck and be sure to let us know when you are done.
