I have J. B. Wood's book with the "unlocking the rocker coupling" article in it...I was going to scan it...but that's already been done!
http://1896mauser.com/jam.htm
Note that the lockwork will come out about a quarter inch before it hits the rocker coupling...(#4, pg 125)...
I have not been able to put the coupling in backwards...It's not that I've tried...It's that in my two C96's, it's not possible to put it in reversed...It just won't go...
Your conehammer may be different...
The way that ground & bent screwdriver works is that you pull out the firing pin and the bolt stop and then remove the bolt...leave hammer cocked, safety off, pull the lockwork as far back as you can, and stick the screwdriver down the top behind the mag wall and the lock frame, and push against the spring plunger...That should (according to Wood) unload the rocker, and with some jiggling it can pull out...
I'm looking at mine and I see how it can be done, but I don't think I can take a good pic of it...
BTW: It takes a *lot* of pressure on that plunger to move the spring...