Hampden Stem Removal Question

[BMW]

If the movement is still in the case you might want to try just pulling out the stem into it's "clicked" setting position then sort of swing out the movement away from the case. In most American pocket watches the stem stays with the case when the movement is removed. You can then grab ahold of the winding arbor and unscrew the crown. Once the crown is removed you'll need a special sleeve wrench that reaches down into cuts in the sleeve that resides inside the pendant. If this is the case, try to count the number of turns that it took to thread the sleeve out of the pendant. This will get you closer to the right depth adjustment upon reassembly.
Good luck.
BMW

[This message has been edited by BMW (edited 05-23-2002).]

[Lindell V. Riddle]

Welcome Kevin!

There is little to add to BMW's explanation, (I'm not one to take on a BMW here or on the road!) except to point out the "clicking" of the crown UP into the setting position applies to both a stem-set or lever-set watch.

Once you have removed the case screws and "clicked" the crown up, it should be fairly easy to re-install the case-back and drop the movement out from the front.

You're right Kevin, there are 12-size movements, such as South-Bend that have a stem which must first be removed, but that is not true of Hampdens.

Be sure you are in working on a clean, well lighted surface and use a lot of care.

Lindell

[KevinF]

Thank you both for the info. It was very helpful. I was able to safely remove the watch from the case tonight.

Kevin

[KevinF]

Now that I was able to remove the movement I am able to more clearly understand the problem. Basically, the problem I was having is that to wind it you have to push down on the crown a little before it "catches".

It looks like there is a little too much play in the stem when it is in the winding position. The stem does not reach all the way down into movement correctly unless it is pushed down a little. I removed the stem itself and it appears to be in good shape. I am guessing the problem is with the sleeve in the pendant that BMW mentioned earlier. Maybe I need to get a sleeve wrench and tighen the sleeve some. Although I don't really see any cuts in the pendant that a sleeve wrench could fit into for adjusting.

Kevin

[This message has been edited by KevinF (edited 05-24-2002).]

[mikeh]

Kevin,

Those cuts are in the sleeve itself. If you look down inside the pendant you should see them. There are usually four slots, but sometimes only two. Based on the problem you describe, you should try turning the sleeve clockwise about a half turn at a time until the winding works, then turn it in or out if finer tuning is needed in order for both winding and setting to work properly.

Regards,
Mike