I may have a go without the tool and then reluctantly order it.
Follow the diagram below. My experience is that it makes extraction of the shim easier. The slot is for the insertion of BMW's tool—maybe some type of plier or tweezer for which you have a substitute in your collection—that grips the shim for extraction when the bucket has been pushed down. A pick can be put in that slot to lift the bucket. I used a narrow, flexible magnet and a pick to position, pull and replace the shims.
To sum up the diagram, once the cam lobe isn't touching the shim, the bucket can be rotated so its slot is oriented per the diagram. To extract the
intake shim, the bucket is pushed down on the right side of its rim then the shim is extracted from the lower left quadrant. To extract the
exhaust shim, the bucket is pushed down on the left side of its rim then the shim is extract from the upper right quadrant. Once the shim is loosened from the bucket, sometimes gravity will extract it for you. The trick is to push down on the rim firmly and steadily enough without your pushing-tool slipping off it while the shim is being extracted to the background sounds of howling, cursing and moaning. :giggles The extraction tools eliminate the variables and lower the decibels.
I purchased Ken Lively's valve shim extraction tools when they were thirty-five bucks for the pair. There might be a pair kicking around up there that one of your compatriots could mail to you on loan. They're slim and don't need to be boxed—at least down here they don't.
