Recently picked up a Series VIII Howard at a garage sale. I can not finish taking it apart - the cannon pinion will not budge and there is a cap on the center wheel that I do not know how it comes apart. I do not want to force anything until I understand how it comes apart. Can any of you Howard experts offer some advice? Thanks

To remove the cannon pinion from these movements requires a staking set. Support the top plate on a stump with a center hole large enough to let the end of the center shaft through. Then use a flat or slightly concave stake to gently drive the center shaft out until it is about even with the top of the cannon pinion. Remove the movement from the staking set and pull the loosened center shaft out from the top plate side. Remember when you do this, the cannon pinion will fall off, so be ready to catch it so it doesn't get lost. Reassembly is done by supporting the partially inserted center shaft in a concave stump and gently driving the cannon pinion onto the shaft with a round flat faced punch with a hole just large enough to pass the shaft of the cannon pinion through, so it will drive on the pinion gear on the base. This will friction fit both the center shaft to the inside of the hollow center wheel arbor and to the cannon pinion.

Thanks. How do I remove the center wheel cap? Does it pull off or thread off?

The "center wheel cap" is just a washer that can stay on the pin that you have just driven out (per Ed's instructions).

By the way, if you have not already done so, be sure to use a couple layers of watch paper or some other cushion between the hollow stump and the top plate of the movement when you tap the center pin down in the cannon pinion. This will protect the movement finish from getting marred by the bare steel of the stump.

Thanks - just want to understand completely before I do this. The "pin' that sticks up through the cannon pinion, I am to stake it down? But if the center wheel is captive between the plates, where can it go? Is the shaft of the center wheel hollow?

Mark,
Yes, the center pinion of the center wheel is hollow. The pin that goes through it tensions on both the inside of the center wheel and the cannon pinion.
The stump used with the staking set to support the movement while the pin is driven out from the dial side should rest against the washer under the pin square, rather than on the watch plate itself. The washer is a loose fit around the pin and is not attached firmly to it. That being said, the use of some watch paper to protect things from marring, as suggested by Jerry, is still an excellent idea.

He found that Howard at a garage sale?

All I ever find is tupperware!

Regards! Mark

That's a pretty clean-looking movement too!

Thank you very much. That makes sense. Yes, at a garage sale. I really lucked out. I got the Howard, a Hamilton 992, and an Illinois First model Kw/Ks (I have to restaff the Illinois). The Howard came in a Dueber case with the original paper tag. I had to put them each in a tupperware bowl to carry them home. I was disappointed that the Howard did not have a Moorhouse dial. I'll live.

Guess I'll have to keep looking in those tupperware bowls, Mark. (grins)

Man, what a haul!

Regards! Mark

Thanks. It came out very easy. Should I use a microtad of oil when I put it back together?

Mark, what a great find. On my side of Stark county we are all too poor to have that nice of watch. I'll bet you didn't even pay the asking price LOL!! Nice find

I'm back! I put the watch together and the hour and minute hands do not move. There appears to be nothing that mechanically links the center wheel and its center pin together. Below is a picture of all the parts associated with the center wheel. Are there any parts missing? Also, where does the doo-hickey go? I didn't see it when I took the watch apart. Thanks.

Mark,
The doo-hickey (its actually a tensioning washer, but I like doo-hickey better) fits under the flat washer and on top of the top plate. The three protrusions shoud go toward the plate side. With both washers in place, lightly oil the pin and insert the center shaft through the center wheel, and place the cannon pinion over the shaft on the pillar plate side.
Now, rest the square end of the shaft on a staking set stump that has a slight concave depression on the top. Find a flat faced punch that will just allow the smooth diameter of the cannon pinion to enter freely. With the square end of the shaft in the stump, lower the stake over the cannon pinion so the end rests on the pinion gear and gently tap it into position. This should tension the pin against both the center wheel and the cannon pinion. Don't overdo it. Tighten until you can feel tension when you turn the setting square with the key while holding the center wheel so it cannot rotate.

Thanks - it works great. Here is the finished product.