Thanks for all the advice, folks.  Lots of good advice out there, and different opinions.  Bottom line: I have to decide what is safe for me.   Probably leaning towards using a jack (with the casters well chocked) to drop the lower arm for the other side disassembly.  I like the idea of banding the springs for the install, too.  Might check into that.  

I did the bushings on both my cars. If you're repainting the control arms you can burn the rubber out with a torch. Or drill out the rubber enough to get a sawsall or hack saw blade blade in there to cut the metal sleeve just enough to break it by beating it with hammer and screwdriver or chisel. Penetrating oil helps if rusty. Burning makes a mess. worst than tracking grease in the house on your feet. The first time I took mine to a body shop to have them pressed in, but they didn't fit in their press so they hammered them in. Either way you need something between to support the arms from bending in. I used a piece of 1 1/2" PVC cut to length. Ran it through a table saw to cut out enough to slip it over the cross bars. A large 1/2" drive socket that fits sung over the rubber part of the bushing works good for hammering them in. I did rubber so I don't know if poly would be the same.
I put my springs back in with a section of 5/8" threaded rod up through the shock mount hole. A couple of short blocks of hardwood crisscrossed on the bottom with washers and nuts. Some aftermarket springs are shorter and go in with no help at all.

Yeah, I read that you can burn out the rubber with a torch and I actually tried that but it took a lot longer than I thought it would (with little progress) so I stopped.  I think drilling out most of the rubber and then burning the rest out will be the way to go - I'll try that next.  Thanks for the other tips on removal and installation, too.  Glad to hear that you successfully used PVC for the support.  I was thinking I'd need to use galvanized pipe but PVC would probably be just as good and a whole lot easier to cut.  

as far as the spring comp. I used the int. comp. with the chain without any problem in or out, as far as the bushing the easiest way is to press them in or out if you have a press or take em to a shop  and have em done before you paint em up.