How do you get a New Haven dollar watch out of the case?

[dave hong]

Have been trying to get a New Haven dollar pocket watch[ circa 1930's] out of the case and thought I'd better get help before I destroyed it.I'm sure its simple but I'm stumped.Thanks in advance.

[dave hong]

Have been trying to get a New Haven dollar pocket watch[ circa 1930's] out of the case and thought I'd better get help before I destroyed it.I'm sure its simple but I'm stumped.Thanks in advance.

[4thdimension]

Hello Dave,
These have one of the most bonehead designs
you will encounter. To get the stem out you need to do two things. Take the back off and
you will see, up near the stem,an oblong flap that covers a detent pin. This flap needs to be moved aside so the pin can be released. The next part is tricky but not hard. There is a port hole in the top plate to access the detent(retaining part). This has to be lifted to release the stem. A stiff piece of wire with
a tiny hook formed on the end is what you need
to lift the detent.Pull the detent to free the stem. It's simple, foolproof and took me a while to figure out too the first time. :redface:
-Cort
ps Any trouble, email me.

[dave hong]

Cort It worked like a dream.Thanks.When I tried to put the stem back in , it was hard to keep the detent up so turned the watch upside down-- the gravity kept the detent [down] up and it slipped right in.Many kudos to the NAWCC for having the message boards.GREAT WORK.Again thanks a million Cort.