Illinois vs Elgin hands

Are these interchageable on 18s of similar vintage? They look the same but I cannot get the to fit on the Illinois I have restored.

Different manufacturers use different size holes in the hands. If your holes are too small they can be broached to fit, if too large you will need to find other hands

You can some times tighten the holes with a hole closing punch.

You can broach the hour hand if it is a just a tad to small, but you do not have a ton of material to work with. However, the minute hand usually gives you more material to remove when compared to the two hands. Thus, allowing you to have a wider range of "tight" fitting hands to widen and make work from your hands stash.