If you soap up the side wall of the tire also it will guide the duckbill part of the hammer under the bead. Stand on the tire and work it around. I used to do 10 of these a day in the army including installing them on the truck
Having done hundreds of these split ring combination, this was painful to watch. Congratulations on working it out in the end. A couple of hints for future tyre work: always use the lube; use separate chains through each hole and leave enough slack to allow the tyre to inflate; look for a dot on the tyre (usually red) it is a balancing mark and put it opposite the stem; never lean over the tyre while inflating it; leave the core out for the first inflation... it will inflate faster - then allow it to deflate - this helps the tube seat correctly inside the tyre - then install the core and re-inflate; and, finally, purchase a locking clip inflator hose so you can stand back during the inflation and bead seating operation... just in case. Your Deuce looks great! Keep up the good work.
Putting in way more work than necessary to get the ring off -- you have to use the flat end to hit under the ring -- can also use a second hammer to force the flat end in, if you are not accurate enough to just swing the hammer
I broke 4 of those silver tire irons. They bend like rubber and I snapped the ends off trying to get those rings up. I gave up. Not sure what to do next😅
