I'm trying to get a 925 out of an open face case.
But, the stem appears to be stuck in the movement.
Am I missing something?

If the stem does not have a wind-pull to set detent in the case neck then it may be held in by a small locking screw you should see exposed at the side of the neck itself.

Thanks for the quick reply Dave,
There's no set screw and I've tugged pretty hard on the stem with no movement outward.
Actually, the movement clears the case okay, but the stem won't come out.
Here's a picture. It's a Reliable case and the stem slot is factory.

Dave T.

I ran in to this with a South Bend 227. A lever set watch where the male case stem had bonded with the female half of the stem in the movement. As a lever set, the stem never needed to be pulled up, so over a hundred years had become one with the other.

I eventually had to remove the barrel bridge with the movement still in the case so I could expose the stem and roll the movement out of the case minus the stem.

Then I was able to soak the case and stem... and be more aggressive with the frozen stem without being so worried about damaging the movement.

I do not know if this is possible with a full plate 18s watch, but that is how I got out of this situation with a 3/4 plate 16s.

Best of luck, Paul

Thanks for the ideas Paul.
I can almost get at the stem between the movement and the case if I had a thin pair of pliers to hold the stem. I could then screw the crown off and pull the whole thing out including the stem.
But, you've given me some food for thought. Maybe I can take it apart in the case!?

Paul makes a good point. If the stem has become inexorably "bonded" to the Crown winding arbor, disassembly "in-sutu" may be the only choice. If you want help with that let me know . . . david@glopar.com

Thanks Dave,
Appreciate the thoughts. It might be coming your way. Got a decent Hunter case I can put it in?

Does this movement have a little arrow on it?

Paul's explanation is worth reading and probably describes the the situation Dave is experiencing. His too is a Lever Set watch with no need to pull up on the stem unless the movement is being removed from the case.

Try this before you get too extreme, Lindell once suggested to me that I move the crown counterclockwise while attempting to remove the movement, that makes it a lot easier to dislodge those old, dry and maybe slightly corroded parts.

Working some thin oil down into the area around the crown, turning it counterclockwise a few times then positioning the watch with the stem up overnight might also help work it loose. And you can very carefully pry between the movement and the case as a last resort along with moving the crown counterclockwise a number of times, eventually it will come loose.

Don

Jerry, I don't see any arrow.
Donald, Some good ideas here. I'll try a little oil and let you know how it goes.
Here's the backside picture.

Paul, Thanks to you and Lindell, the back winding did the trick! I don't understand why, but I could feel it giving way gradually as I backwound it and kept a little forward pressure against it. And it slipped right out.

This forum is great!
Thanks guys.
Note: I removed the balance staff and hands before I started.