Expert: Martin Meyer - 12/17/2007

Question
The clock in question looks to be about a century old three hand (minute,
hour, and day of the month). The minute hand appears to have a brass hub
that is crimped to the steel minute shaft. I thought at first that these might
be threaded together but reasonable force turning in either direction had no
effect. Also the hand resisted reasonable force for a friction lock like todays
hands. Most of the older clocks I have worked on have a square minute shaft
which pierces a square hole in the minute hand and are secured via a spring
washer and tapered pin through a hole in the minute shaft.
Could you advise if there is some special tool I require to remove this hand?

Answer
Hi Gary,
    I have never seen an antique clock with a crimped-on minute hand. The minute hand is generally held on by a threaded nut, or by a taper pin and washer (as you describe).
    The hand nut is sometimes so worn from previous removal that it doesn't look like a nut. The thread is always right-handed. Sometimes it is corroded on the shaft and is difficult to remove. I use a small flat-nosed pliers and, of course, turn counter-clockwise.
    On occasion, I have seen a taper pin that is broken off and not easily visible, but still has enough of a burr on it  to hold the hand on. I look for the pin with my optivisor on, and carefully drive it out with a small punch.
    There are modern mechanical alarm clocks which use a press-fitted minute hand. In these cases, I use a hand remover. If your minute hand is, for some reason, mounted this way (don't discount the possibility that some past repairman has made some incorrect modification), I use a hand remover. These are available in screw-types, where a round prong device holds the hand, and a screw-down punch pushes on the center shaft. I don't find that these work very well, and usually use a hand remover that is a pair of steel rods with angled and flattened ends. I place a piece of plastic cut from a milk carton, with a V-shaped cut in it, under the hands to protect the dial. Then I pry off the minute hand with one hand remover opposite the other so that I don't bend the hand shaft. You can purchase these removers from clock materials houses, but you can easily make them from too-steel rods about 8" long. If your minute hand is actually crimped on, this would be your best bet for removal.