zOwie Omega Discussion Forum

Hi Mike, I guess they'd do....just careful how much pressure you put and try and grip the rectangular part of the stem.

Being an amateur, I once tried removing hands with a tiny pair of nasal scissors! What a mess I made of the dial and the hands - the second sweep flew off, never to be found :)

Hands sit very firmly on pinions hence the hand tubes generally are very snug, so its important really to have the right tools. My watchmaker mentor gave me an old pair of hand removing and setting tools and sent me away to practice on the junk watches. So what I'm saying Mike is you're a better man than me if you do this without the right tools and someone looking over your shoulder.

I also find some material, usually a small cutting of plastic film, to protect the dial when I'm removing and setting hands. I use a movement holder to give myself the best chance of success. I make sure the movement is unwound and set the hands at 1200. One thing to remember is dial pressure if you use some hands removers or makeshift tools. With a 1960s dial, there is always the change of cracking the paint.

I guess the secret is to make sure you have even upward pressure so as to make the job as easy as possible. Be careful with the sweep because it is the most fragile.

For a video on how NOT to remove hands...have a look at this one!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bp3JYsWDk3c

Good luck Mike and please report on progress. I'm praying for you!

Cheers

Desmond

: : I usually use a pin vise to hold the stem and then just
: wind it

: Thanks again Desmond, you seem to be a wealth of knowledge. Not
: exactly sure what a pin vise is, but ill give it a go with some
: needle nose pliers. Seems that it would be a similar principle.

: Also, what is the best way to remove watch hands? One of those hand
: prying tools (like a miniature cro-bar?) that Ofrei sells? Or
: could I find something around the house that would work as well
: like some curved ended tweezers? Thanks again for the help. Im
: talking about removing hands on a vintage Omega cal. 500.

: And once removed, how do I get them back on?

: Mike