I was at the step of inserting the movement, holder, and dial into the case. The assembled components went in crooked, i.e. not perfectly level in relation to the case and are now stuck and won’t seat properly nor come back out of the case. How can i remove them from the case?
Try to flip the whole thing bottom up, then use the case top as the “bottom” to catch the whole movement component, and push it out from the other side
Don’t know if I’m wording this clearly lol
Thanks for the suggestion, but the entire assembly is stuck inside the case. The edges of the dial are hung on the inside of the case and cannot be freed. It went in at a slight angle and is now bound by what look like threads inside the case. It’s as if the dial is too big for the case.
I was unable to remove the assembly or to push hard enough on the movement holder to unbind the dial from the case sides. I ended up gently prying the movement out of the assembly. That allowed me to force the dial forward towards the crystal beyond the sticking point and seat it properly behind the crystal. From there it was easy to remove and reinstall after reassembling the movement, dial, and hands. A bit of a harrowing experience for me a first timer. Hopefully it didn’t cause any damage to the movement, dial, or hands that might show up later. As of now, the watch is complete and keeping good time so far. All in all a satisfying but humbling experience, and a fantastic gift to receive for the holidays!
That reads like a horror story! Though I really enjoy reading how us DIY people encounter a problem and then slowly working a way around it. Good thinking on the gentle prying and unsticking the dial. Must have been a stressful but rewarding experience. And congratulation on your new DIY watch!
Hi there just wanted to chime and and say my dial is stuck in the case. This is the second time and this time I have already managed to break one of the locating pins so may have to get a new face. Sure doesn’t seem like it is coming out without damage to the face so walked away for the night. Can I even use the face with a pin missing?
Look up dial dots. Those are adhesive used to secure the dial to the movement. Most modders use it to with the pins removed to mod a 3 o clock dial into a 4 o clock dial.
But in your case, the dial should still be quite usable with just one pin. I might put a bit of double sided adhesive on the opposite side of the remaining pin to secure the dial.
Thanks Bud, the dial was so stuck that it bent coming out - a new one is on the way. Sad but we will see how the next one goes. thanks for your input!
Hi - just found this topic. Exactly the same experience here building a Mosel lite with silver dial. It became wedged sideways on the case threads and just wouldn’t move. To me, the dial appears fractionally too large for the case. I can’t see how it would fit. I had to destroy the dial to unjam it and remove it from the case. Before I order a replacement, can someone who’s built a Mosel Lite silver dial recently reassure me this is not a design fault. Did your fit OK?
Thanks from Australia!
I’ve got the same issue. I assembled the dial and hands to the movement and inserted it into the case. At first the assembly just went in fine, but the caseback didn’t fit. Flipping the case the movement got out, but the dial got stuck. I could manage to get it out, and assemble the parts again. When inserting the assembly again, it went in crooked, and the dial got stuck, but I cannot move it. It seems that the dial is just a bit large for the case. I’m disappointed.