Can any of the experts out there explain what they use to install the hour and minute hands back on a watch. Usually the hour hand is not to bad but the minute hand has given me problems. Is there a recomended tool for doing this?
Thanks,
Steve

Slow Careful Patient Hand Holding and one of these . . .

The "School Book, instructs to use a staking set to support to the other end of the #1 Wheel staff to reduce possible damage to the Friction jewels for the wheel, but I am (try to be ) careful, and this tool is less cumbersome and faster, plus it has a small hole at one end and a larger at the other. The hand should have the right size hole in the first place. If you have to do a "Mogilla" push, the hand is not fitting and something else is going to get bent.
A WORD OF WARNING! When you are messing with putting the hands back on, and you (for any reason) pull the hour hand off again, you have probably also "lifted" the Cannon Pinion and lost the Hour-Minute Hand gear meshing. That can be REAL "meshy", so BEFORE, re-pressing on the hour hand try turning the hand settings to confirm that BOTH Hour and Minute parts of the staffs are turning with their indended gear ratio.

Dave-I always thought when that happened to me if was some kind of strange error on my part-I never thought about that cannon pinion loosening. One more question answered-thanks!

Hi Marty,


For a long time I used a staking tool that worked great but like everything else great care is needed to avoid damage or marking, of course you have to make sure the hands are correct size, I have seen many that are forced on as to scour the hour wheel. My favorite hand remover are the Bergeon lever set, I use these on the smallest Ladies wrist watch to pocket watches you can maintain great control and feel, of course use a dial protector at all times. My master jewelling set came with a hand setting tools also, some brass and some hard plastic pushers, these work well, Horotoc now have hand setting presses single and triple (triple one allow you have main sizes set up all the time and not to keep changing dies) tools like this are essential for wristwatches and chronographs, Rolex movement holders have adjustable pin to provide support for the center jewel. This should be taken into consideration when setting sweep hands.
Also I would like to add there are hard plastic tweezers avialble now that are great for handling and placing hands, without risk of marking.

David,
Is that a tool that can be purchased or did you make it? It kind of looks like a half of tweezer with a hole slightly larger than the second hand shaft with a countersink to help see the alignment of the tool in relationship to the shaft.
Thanks,
Steve

Chris,
I was also wondering where you find a little arbor press like that and how much do they cost? Looks like it has a variety of drivers for different size hands.
Thanks,
Steve

They cost about $60 for single and about $125 for triple, having said that, I was looking at a press I wanted last week $625 this week $735 seems like all supply house are putting up prices due to the weak $$, if you can find at old prices buy quick

The hands setting press Chris mentions here is still available for $66.20

Horotec

I'll be waiting for the answer to this question too.

I know you can use a staking set, but looks like that procedure tends to round inward the very end of the hole center only. Which would make it difficult to get the hand started on the pinion.
Answers I have heard are to put a dimple in the canon pinion, to fit the hand.

Looks like there should be an easier way.

opening its easier all you will need are cutting broaches
to close hole this is what I do I use same broach that I open the hole just give few taps pull out rotate the broach a bit and give few taps again what you will have is like a star of David in a hole (use your imagination) works for me
other method is very small hard metal ball set that ball in hand hole tap with hammer till hole gets smaller (staking set can be use to get hole smaller as well) picture of the ball next to dime and 3c tweezers

Thanks Peter, That never occurred to me as a possibility.

also found these in our forum

https://ihc185.infopop.cc/helphand/hands/Slide02.html

https://ihc185.infopop.cc/helphand/hands/Slide18.html

https://ihc185.infopop.cc/helphand/hands/Slide19.html

Yes, I saw those too. But is the contact point of the staking tool at the upper end of the tube or the flat part at the bottom.
I see it as slightly rounding inward the upper portion.

the finish part of hand is down