Howard Miller

[fcporto50]

I have just adoptyed a 7 year old howard Miller.Works great.I wanted to oil the movement.I couldn’t remove the hour hand.I wanted to take the dial out but I didn’t want to damage it.Would a crow bar be the right tool to use to remove the hour hand?

[willofiam]

@fcporto5/0 wrote:

Would a crow bar be the right tool to use to remove the hour hand?

with a big sledgehammer 😆 I hear yah, they can be tough to get off. There is a thread here somewhere about getting hands off a smaller clock, the same techniques and solution can be used. You have probably tried firmly grasping the hand at the center and twisting / pulling at the same time. These hour hands most likely have a split collet, friction fit on a tapered tube. When they are gummed up or way too tight it just takes a little more “careful” force. Have a look at other threads on the subject, youll get it….be careful not to damage your dial….William

[bernie weishapl]

Like William said most of the clocks hour hand are just friction fit with a split collet. I generally get a hold of them and twist gently from side to side while pulling at the same time. Some can be a pain but most will come off. You could put a little penetrating oil on it and let it sit for awhile then try it. Wipe it down when it comes off. I have some hand removal tools kinda like a miniature crow bar but make sure you put something down on the dial so you don’t damage it. I use a piece of leather with a V cut in it to put under the hand to cover the dial.

[tukat44]

William and Bernie once again have given EXCELLENT advice. I took a movement down at a customer’s house, and I had the same problem- solved with a “crow bar” or for my purposes, a lever, (a pair of them each about three inches long), made out of a piece of 1/4″ brass rod and carefully filed into a cup shape at the end, then used a piece of stout cardboard between the hands and the clock face, used a couple flat wooden shims when I needed a little more lift, and was successful removing them without leaving any trace that I worked there. Take your time, think it through and you should be okay- Good Luck. Regards, Tukat

[Author]

Posts