After two very scary and cringe-worthy re-assembly events with a Channel-Lock pliers, I found and read this thread and liked the idea, so I went out and purchased a Buss fuse puller identical to the one described here.
Having access to a small milling machine, I milled the 1/4" slots in the end instead of drilling them, and tested the tool.
It works very well indeed. There's an added benefit in that I can use it to compress the inner spring a bit which allows me to clean and lube the inner guide rod and spring easily, then assemble the outer spring and insert it into the slide. Because everything is plastic the cringe factor is well under control. Thanks to OP for the tip - necessity is indeed the mother of invention.
