How to remove these clock hands

[chaplin37]

Good aftdrnoon everyone,

Does anyone know how to remove these clock hands? I feel like ive tried everything and nothing is working

[willofiam]

Hey Chaplin37, they look like they should come off the conventional ways. They do appear a bit rusty which will give you a more difficult time removing. I have used something called PB blaster from the local auto store used specifically for getting off rusted bolts and nuts. I will spray some into the cap and use a toothpick to get it right where I want it and let it sit until I cant bear it anymore and give it a try again, there have been times where I have enough patients to let it sit overnight and have had good success. Also, do you have any hand pullers? they do help when dealing with stubborn hands. William

[chaplin37]

Thanks for the response, actually it might look like there is rust but it doesnt have any rust. I had the same problem with an alarm clock with the same type of hands, i tried everything, used hand pullers and i ruined the hands and never removed them. I tried the hand removers on this one and its starting to bend them. is there a such thing as riveted hands? Thanks for the help

[willofiam]

I dont know of hands that are “riveted” to the shaft, but I could be wrong on that. Sometimes that old dried up “GUNK” can be pretty tough. You probably already have these type of hand pullers but I am posting them for others to see. The ones on the left are a bit clumsy yet effective and can get under things better, The long one in the middle is missing a sleeve that slides down and closes the prongs but I have been able to use them with finger pressure, I find the ones on the right to be a bit limiting since there is no adjustment for size but are good and sturdy if they fit correctly….I try to get under the minute hand collet and not the hand itself, if possible….as a side note, make sure you cover the dial…just in-case….It can be very frustrating, try to be patient and you will save time and money in the end.

[arutha]

They do just pull off but as William has already said they do get gunked up over time and almost weld themselves on. You can try putting some penetrating oil on there and applying some gentle heat to the minute hand collet with a soldering iron, this might just expand the collet enough to loosen it. I have had to resort to pulling the hand off of the collet on very stuborn hands before now. get it warm and keep working it and it should eventually pull off.
Paul.

[jim1228]

Hello Chaplin37,

I agree with William and Paul. I also have had difficulty removing hands from certain clocks. From the pictures, the minute hand arbor doesn’t look square but round. If it is round then the minute hand is probably is somewhat pressed on. With time and a slight bit of oxidation, they can be a pain in the &%#$ to get off. Use the Deep Creep or any of the corrosion removers and that should do the trick. If it was me, I would let it set for a while like William said before trying to pull it off.

Good luck,
I wish you well
Jim

[chaplin37]

Hello everyone,

So i bought the hand removers that are to the left of the ruler but that didnt work, i used the penetratiob oil abd that also didnt work. Im kinda out of ideas on how to get these hands off

[arutha]

When you say they didn’t work, what happened?
Paul.

[chaplin37]

I bought the suggested hand remover and they didnt fit under the pipe of the hands as the ends of the hand remover seemed to be too thick. I tried using screw drivers to remove them and it just wont budge. I tried another hand remover that was able to get under the pipe and even after using the penetration oil it just wont budge at all.

[arutha]

Ok, your only option left if they are not moving is to cut away the brass collet holding the hand on, you could force the hand up but you could end up damaging the hour wheel.
If you clean up around the minute hand where it fits on to the centre arbor you should see that it is attached to a brass collet, the only way around this problem is to remove enough of the brass so that the steel hand comes loose. You can then pull the hand off and you will be left with the hand collet still stuck to the arbor. Slit through the brass until you can remove it. You might have to do the same thing with the hour hand. The down-side to this is you will need to make or source 2 new hand collets.
Paul.

[chaplin37]

Okay, thanks, I’m going to give it one more college try to see if i can get these suckers off. It seems like the minute hand i can move up and down so I dont see that as a problem removing that, its just the hour hand that is not budging. Thanks again

[bernie weishapl]

Is it the top hand or bottom hand that is moving? Bottom hand is the hour hand. Also what is the make of the clock or movement? Looks to be maybe a Junghans. How were/are these hands held on? One other thing I have tried when I have had them stuck is to use a small torch or a alcohol lamp and heat the top hand then grab it with a pair of pliers and try to twist it. I also would heat them up and after they have cooled somewhat put some more penetrating oil on them.

[chaplin37]

well the old college try worked and both hands are off. Thanks everyone for your help.

[bernie weishapl]

Glad to hear it.

[arutha]

What is a college try? Glad you have got them off.
Paul.

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