Struggling to remove hands from vintage Bulova.
SOLVED
I recently purchased a Bulova Director for repair. It has no major issues apart from seemingly missing its original stem and crown. I was able to wind it successfully using some spare stems I had.
I also managed to remove the sub-seconds hand fairly easily. However, when attempting to remove the main hands, the hack mechanism appears to engage and lift the pinion. My concern is whether it is safe to continue removing the hands in this state, or whether I should instead work backwards by removing the movement and stem mechanism before taking off the hands or dial.
The pinion can be pressed back down, which resets the hack mechanism and locks the hands in place again, but I’m struggling with how to keep it pressed down while simultaneously removing the hands.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.