First off, I want to thank Khouse for the excellent axle grooving advice. I had been using a dremel with a cut-off wheel...with marginal results. This topic came up at Nationals, and they say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery...so here's my own take on his outstanding idea...
A mini hacksaw kit is less than $10 at Menards..
I drilled a 7/16" hole in the aluminum mitre box and a 3/8" hole in the block of wood, so I could use a 3/8" dowel as a pedestal. A 3/32" hole goes all the way through the dowel and block of wood. That's a standard 7" pinewood block...which gives some reference as to how small the 6" hacksaw & mitre box really is.
The axle is retained by the screw in the side of the block. The screw actually pushes against a small wood plug that makes contact with the axle, to avoid scratching the axle.
The axle is removed by pushing it up with a punch from below.
A 3/32" hole is also drilled into the right side (as pictured above) of the block, just in case the wood plug needs to be pushed back with a punch. Typically, the tapered bottom of the axle is enough to move the plug out of the way.
The results:
One more tip...the bottom of an old Sharpie makes a pretty decent (and cheap) axle pusher...
A mini hacksaw kit is less than $10 at Menards..

I drilled a 7/16" hole in the aluminum mitre box and a 3/8" hole in the block of wood, so I could use a 3/8" dowel as a pedestal. A 3/32" hole goes all the way through the dowel and block of wood. That's a standard 7" pinewood block...which gives some reference as to how small the 6" hacksaw & mitre box really is.

The axle is retained by the screw in the side of the block. The screw actually pushes against a small wood plug that makes contact with the axle, to avoid scratching the axle.

The axle is removed by pushing it up with a punch from below.

A 3/32" hole is also drilled into the right side (as pictured above) of the block, just in case the wood plug needs to be pushed back with a punch. Typically, the tapered bottom of the axle is enough to move the plug out of the way.
The results:

One more tip...the bottom of an old Sharpie makes a pretty decent (and cheap) axle pusher...
