......but I can see now that I need to lift of the block until the spring releases......
I just use a wooden pencil tip to push the spring into the block and get the lower part of the coil over the pin, then pull the pencil while pushing down on the apparatus with your other thumb.
The spring will slide down the pin down until the top of the coil hits the pin, then you can just use a flat screwdriver to push it back and press the whole shebang down where it needs to be.