Jeez... I'm honestly embarrassed to admit I did this..
I really am going to make every possible rookie, idiot mistake in the book. Last night, I attempted to seat my crown race but I put my bearing on first, then the crown race on upside down, and then proceeded to use my home depot pvc pipe special crown race setting tool to wedge my bearing in between the crown race and and fork base. Doh!
I didn't realize my idiocy until the bearings wouldn't spin (no crap, how could they!?) and then had to spend the next hour using a screw driver and hammer to get them off. I ended up having to use the screwdriver and hammer to wedge space between the bearing and crown race. At first I tried to wedge space between the fork and bearing but not only was it not working.. but I also was scratching up the white paint on my fork. Hahaha.. I was so pissed by this point. I finally got the bearing and crown race off with most of the damage going to the blue rubber seal on the crown race.
It's all installed correctly now and seems to functioning smooth as can be. After a small bit of white touch up paint on the fork.. there is no visible damage either. But it does bother me knowing that the blue seal is damaged and I'm inclined to just order another lower bearing and crown race set since they're fairly cheap. Then again, it's functioning just fine and I may just ride it and see if it causes any issues. I suspect that it won't as I assume the seal is mainly to keep out dirt and grime. I probably shortened the life span of the lower headset, but maybe I'll just leave it for now and see.
Don't worry.. I bet I do something even dumber..
UPDATE:To stop anyone from making the same mistake I did (surely somebody will, right??)..
Your Cane Creek 40 series lower will arrive looking just like the pic below, and that is exactly how you will want to install it. DO NOT attempt to make the words "Cane Creek" read right side up (that's what threw me off).. the words will be upside down when you install it.. just like the pic below. Separate the two pieces, apply grease on the two sides that will be touching each other, and then install just the lower part first (the piece that doesn't say Cane Creek on it, that's the crown race). Hammer it down until flush, then the bearing (the piece that will say Cane Creek upside down on it) will simply drop down and sit on the crown race.
To seat the crown race you will need to spend about $4 on a 3 foot piece of 1.5 inch, schedule 40 pvc pipe, and a 1.5" pvc pipe cap. The cap is so the hammer will have a contact point. The open end will be resting on your crown race.
This vid was one of the only ones I could find that actually showed the orientation of the crown race when installed.. Wish I would've seen it before my mishap.