The stem of my 1922 Elgin grade 315 pocket watch is really really hard to pull out. I asked a watch repairman to fix the stem. A week later, he said it works, but it has to be pulled out REALLY hard. He is right. I can do it, but it seems unnaturally difficult. If I look really close, I can see that the stem might not be coming straight out of the case collar.
I'm afraid that sometime while I'm pulling REALLY hard on it, I might break something. Pocket watches weren't designed such that you'd have to pull this hard, were they? It's the kind of thing where you have to hold your breath, grit your teeth, and pull with all your strenth, so hard it leaves little grooves in your fingers and hurts.
Is there anything I can do about this? Could this be as simple as just having to realign the movement with the case, or is this a problem inside the movement, or is this a problem with the case?
