Lord Elgin monocoque case stem removal

[grenert]

I seem to specialize in having difficulty opening cases!  This time is a Lord Elgin 23J in a monocoque case.  I can pop off the crystal with a Vigor lift, but I'm not sure how to release the stem.  Is it a two-piece stem?  I am afraid to really pull on it if I'm wrong.  I don't see any opening in the dial that would allow me to release the stem.  If it's a two-piece stem, any special techniques you use to pull this off?

Thanks for your input!

[grenert]

Well, dumb luck saves the day!  I completely accidentally had the crown in just the right position and the watch upside down, resulting in separation of the two-part stem.  Fortunately, the dial and movement did not go far and gently settled on my bench.  For documentation for any future repairers looking for the solution, the two-part stem is keyed so that one end slides laterally onto the other, rather than pushing directly together.  So you need to rotate the crown until it the sliding connection is oriented 90 degrees to the dial.  Then the lateral movement allows the stem, dial and movement to move out of the case. 

Here's what each half looks like.  You can see how the linear protrusion from the inner half of the stem slides into the slot in the outer half of the stem.

 

 

[JohnR725]

5 hours ago, grenert said:

I am afraid to really pull on it if I'm wrong. 

 

1 hour ago, grenert said:

I completely accidentally had the crown in just the right position and the watch upside down, resulting in separation of the two-part stem. 

A unfortunate classic problem with split stem's is the assumption that if you pull really hard they will separate. But as you found out often times they will slide apart. It's usually best if you can try to slide them apart first because some of them will break if you pull them apart. Some actually can't be pulled apart and they have to slide. Then of course you really can't see what you have at all so you just have to try.