This is from a Hamilton 628, but also see these on some of the 1960's era Zodiac movements I like to work on.



A canon pinion removal tool or a hands remover works well if there is a nice solid mainplate to push against. But, wouldn't want to try that pushing against the brass second wheel for this application.

Would feel confident in pushing against the steel wheel pinion, but I don't think I have anything (intended or improvised) that's both small enough to gain purchase & large enough to push back up evenly against the canon pinion.

What clever tricks do other folks use?

 

Tweezers on top of the wheel pinion, and then use a Presto style hand puller to grip and remove the cannon pinion.

 

You are glutton for punishment!

 

I won't touch these anymore...between the sealed mainspring barrels and offset cannon pinions, neither of which are easily found these days, it's not worth the time. Many people like to look back on the good old days of watchmaking, but honestly some of the designs out there from the past are just awful.

 

But they sure are cool looking

 

How about clean the wheel with the pinion in place on the arbor, and lube it after it is cleaned, rinsed, and dried? A solution for getting the pinion off. Two pairs of stout tweezers placed 180° apart, between the pinion, and the cannon pinion? Then “wedge” the pinion off, but don’t let it fly when it comes off.

 

In my experience, this is a bad idea.

 

In my experience, it works!

 

Thanks! I'll try this with a pair of fine tip tweezers & see if it wants to come off for me.

 

Not sure who ever thought the "barrel complete" was a good idea... The day you stop supplying that one unique part is the day every watch that uses it is made 'disposable'.

 

Well, most companies sell complete barrels, so that in itself i not a problem. It's the sealed barrel designs that can't really be opened (or closed) without damaging the barrel. I find the Zodiac calibers had the outer edge of the barrel wall sort of burnished over the barrel lid, meaning that it was going to be very tricky to get the barrel opened, the old spring out, and new spring, and get it closed up without having damage occur. Might not have been all of them but I recall one that was a triple date with moon phase that I worked on that was like this.

Longines and Bulova also used sealed barrels...and thankfully after a time they went out of use.

By the way, what is old is new again - the new Rolex 3235 the barrel can't be used over again. Not because it's a "sealed" design, but because they reduced the wall thickness to fit more mainspring in (a cheat to get a longer power reserve) and in the process made the barrel wall so thin it can't be closed without damage. Fun times...