The gathering pallet is part of the strike mechanism of a clock. Disassembling a clock requires removing it. Because it holds tightly to the arbor with a friction grip, removing it is difficult and can bend or break the little arbor which holds the pallet. Here's a pair of pliers modified to remove it quickly and safely.
The pliers work by slipping the lower jaw under the gathering pallet and setting the upper jaw on the top of the pallet arbor. Giving them a squeeze pops off the pallet "slick as a whistle", as my father would say.
The front of the lower jaw consists of a small portion of the original lower jaw with a channel ground behind it. It then can slip under the gathering pallet and support it at its center.
The lower jaw is also slitted to fit round the gathering pallet arbor. Because the pallet is supported under its center the pliers force won't bend the arbor.
The pliers are made from a pair of cheap pliers ground with a Dremel cut-off wheel, although some of these pliers are soft enough to be subject to a file. The outside of the lower jaw is also ground with a bench grinder to make it thinner. Thinned so it can fit more easily under the pallet.
I've found a few cases where the pallet is too close to the plate to permit getting the lower jaw under it, but this tool will remove 90% of the pallets I see. In addition, when you use the pliers, the pallet won't go flying off somewhere as it has a tendency to do when you pry it off. (Pried-off pallets have been found in near-earth orbit, they tell me.)
The Dremel cut-off wheels are Dremel stock number 409.
Another way to remove pallets involves using a pair of pry bars to lift under the pallet. These are made out of 1/4" inch square key stock. Simply clamp two pieces side by side in a drill press vise and drill a 5/16" hole near one end. Finish off the outside radius with a bench grinder. Contributed by Tom Faragher.
