I was very excited to build my first watch, but I can’t get the second hand onto the cam pinion. I bought two loupes and I had someone else look at photos of the movement and it doesn’t look like it will fit.
I’ve tried two separate times and I can’t get the second hand to sit on the pinion.
I have a problem getting the second had on also. I found that if I use something to support the second hand over the pinion, such as rodico, or a small stack of papers, or really anything that will keep the hand steady and centered just a bit over the pinion so I don’t have to hold it with tweezers, I can then, using a loupe, get it centered over the pinion (check from several positions) and press it down with the provided tool. Make sure that the pinion is straight up and has not been bent by previous tries, as this will be all but impossible to fix. That happened to me on my first try, Good luck!
I have a loupe, I used rodico, I bought a hand setter.
I’m sure it is a faulty pinion - as others have commented on, but I’m outside the return policy and none of the admins here will help. I wish I went with another supplier
I had the same problem as I posted above. I had to take to a real watch repair place and the put it on with no problem or fuss. I didn’t get to watch how they did it. I wish I had. One person told me they use a minimum of a 10x loupe to visualize it though.
-Andy
Pilot watches are designed for legibility in low-light conditions, so the second hand is often very thin and difficult to see. Additionally, some pilot watches have a “deadbeat” second hand, which means that it moves in increments of one second rather than sweeping smoothly. This can make the second hand even harder to see.
That’s crummy you can’t get it replaced!!! But you make it sound like it’s the movement. Fortunately those aren’t too expensive, but not fun 
you might still email customer service with your findings.
I’ve replaced a few movements, fortunately always knowing I was the one who broke it.