One other suggestion for anyone else with a similar problem: if you put it in the freezer for 4 hours there is often enough contraction to allow the cell to release much easier.
I was thinking about making a suggestion along this line - with a small alteration.
After freezing, do a very quick warming of the tube. The aluminum tube will gain heat very quickly and expands first. The inner part will be colder and since it must wait until the heat pass inward, it will expand later.
Mind you, this is hypothetical as I have not tried this, so do it at your own risk.
- Put the battery+flashlight thing in the freezer as
Crazyeddiethefirst suggest.
- Get a plastic bag like the one you use for food storage - a big bag say about 8"x10" as insulation against the flashlight getting wet.
- Before you take the flashlight out of the freezer, boil some water and put it in a bucket.
- Take the frozen flashlight out from the freezer and put into the plastic bag, holding the bag's open end, dip the flashlight (flashlight-end of the bag) into the bucket. With the bag as insulation, the flashlight should stay dry.
So, while the flashlight almost immediately goes to near boiling water temperature, the inner parts should still be very cold.
That temperature delta should make the aluminum tube expand more than the battery... may be. Perhaps it would just create enough separation for you to use a pair of pliers to pull the battery out - may be.
This is less destructive than the drilling method, so, if this doesn't work, it doesn't make the situation any worst when you start drilling. So it is worth trying, I think.
Reminder1 - this is hypothetical, try at your own risk and good luck...
Reminder2 - water and metal lithium doesn't mix well, so make sure you keep the battery part from getting wet. Check to make sure your bag is not leaking and careful when taking the tube+battery out of the wet plastic bag.
Keep us posted if it works or not. Good luck!
Rick