offshore

Okay- I recently acquired a large lot of crystals, and as I have a couple of el cheapo presses ( one with nylon dies, and one with brass- this is more a case back tool I think) proceeded to install some new crystals. Measured the watch in question- ascertained that it was definetly a snap in crystal, measured and remeasured the crystal- checked the dies as the right size, and proceeded to snap the crystal in to place. Poof.... 10,000 shards of glass over me, my bench, and worst of all inside the watch. So clean it out- and do the same checks again- same result. Had another crystal to replace - for one of our people here- but this one had the movement removed. Same result- Bloody good thing I got many thousands of these crystals!!!!! So rechecked, and found I may have been out maybe .01mm on my dia of case ( Maybe its not exactly round), also thought that maybe some lubricant may help, so ran a smear of vaseline around the outside edge of the crystal which was the next size down- success. But I remained, and still do, sceptical of my ability to carry out ongoing crystal installs. Read up on a few articles from NAWCC ( One attached here for info) http://nawcc-mb.infopop.cc/groupee/forums/...61/m/7701010671 and found a discussion about heating the watch with a hair dryer- to get the case to expand to better accept the crystals. Have tried this, and am getting better- not perfect results. I wonder if the crystals I have, which are pretty old, have to some degree gone a bit "fragile' with age?? Is this possible? Also is it time to buy a screw type crystal press, is this cheap stuff just not up to the job? There are a number of interesting threads on the various NAWCC forums- both watch repair, and Horological Tools, ( which I commend to those like me- still learning) So end of experience one- Who else has had any experience with this?- any advice? Offshore

Crazy sale airforce? Sure you're not Jetmids brother? offshore

I must admit - I'm bemused by the focus some of you guys have on crystals- particularly these Tropics! Personally- I have difficulty getting a hardon over crystals , but to each his own! Have been looking at an ebay sellers site, and have just ordered a bit of gear from them- can't buy it here in Oz. http://stores.ebay.com/Florida-Watch-and-Jewelers-Supply So as I was browsing - spotted some tropic crystals.... don't know if they are of any use?? Also some interesting movemnts in here ..Valjoux 7750... and a bunch of bezel inserts for Rx. You WIS are probably way ahead of me here... but if I don't post it you don't have the ability to say...... Yup seen it! Offshore

Neil, Personally I think this is an excellent suggestion- Yes.. it is a two way street- and I would be delighted to chat with you about this- and take it up with the other admin here- shoot me a PM or mail. We do try to follow all the questionable deals-and if we had more input from the dealers- we could watch things a lot better than we do! ( This written with my mod hat OFF! ) But would like to explore this one- and get feedback from the other dealers too....afterall - one the objects of this board, is to try to remove the scammers- ALL OF THEM. offshore PS Back on topic- for me- E Gold......no way!.

I'm 59- but they say- " You are only as old as the woman you feel" or something like that- and mine's quite a few years younger offshore

'Bout as good as chewing gum!

I have been using the product Rodico, for some time now, and just stumbled on an alternative. GS Products put out a sealant tape used in the fiberglass industry as a tape to hold down vacuum bag. Commonly referred to in the industry as "tacky tape" - It works super well as a Rodico substitute. And a lot cheaper!! Buy a roll at your local fiberglass shop- you'll have enough for years! Offshore

I know who IS going! AUSTRALIA! offshore

Now Gentlemen, I suggest you view rule 13 of the forum rules! 13.The official language is English. And we don't have a section for "unofficial" posts. offshore

ahchard, Lack of a screw down crown, does not necessarily take away the "waterproof/ness" of a watch. I have a Mido Ocean Commander -(Gen)- By Midos advertising- "One of the most water/pressure proof watches ever made'. It has a push crown! I have tested this to 10 atm, with no sign of a leak- and suspect- due to the fact that it only has two points available for water ingress. ( It is a solid one piece case) that it would test a lot higher. But yes- a screw down crown is certainly a positive for stopping water ingress. For all those newcomers reading this- That ( Screw crown) doesn't make your rep waterproof- GET IT TESTED- there is no other solution. Historically reps are NOT waterproof. offshore

Couldn't agree more- Tell us who to warn and who then would be banned! Not being difficult here, I sincerely agree with the sentiments expressed. But this thread is long on concepts- but short on facts. Whilst its not a forum rule, I'm sure we can take up the cudgel- with these perpetrators- when we know who they are!! offshore

Hey- we have posted a bunch of links to parts suppliers in LINKS- Don't know if what you want is there - but its a great starting point! Offshore

Yep- that crown probably isn't screwed down hard- but don't forget- this is exactly what this type of test is geared to. If the watch had a leak ( faulty seal or failure to tighten crown) The 1st sign would have been bubbles from the seal area. Then you simply lift it out of the water - BEFORE the pressure gets to ambient! No harm done. In this case the seal was holding anyway! Clever thinking on the part of the designers EH! I can however offer a couple of scenarios, when it could all go pear shaped- but would hate to put anyopne off WP testing! But this method sure as hell beats a fishing line with 300M of line- aboard a boat- sitting in 300M of water- with a watch attached to the hook end!!! offshore

Yep- probably better to research rep Swatch, or Rip Curl

No - but you could declare it a PAW.... with its 1st stop sunny Australia! Can't guarantee it would do much more travelling. Lovely piece. offshore

Yep

Won't go there slay- that becomes political One thing I got very peeved about at our old home, was the religious/political threads, and am avowed to not starting/getting involved in any! This was a discussion about fuel prices- because it is topical at this time.... sure it may have political undertones.. but that is neither the intent, nor the substance. Gee we could even have a mod come in and caution us BTW and I know this is , I must say I am encouraged that you have chosen to offer much useful discourse to the forum of late. It really is so much better when the input is positive, and yours of late has been exemplary. Great stuff. So lets not run off in to a political abyss, ............ Who's got the best sub? offshore

Well slay, Australia did, went arm in arm with Dubbya to Iraq, but it certainly hasn't helped our fuel prices! offshore

tourbillon, Have a look in our links section, there are a number of parts suppliers listed. I've just added ..Dashto... who has a good array of stuff. http://www.dashto.com/ offshore

rmcsherry. The owning and appreciation of any watch- is really in the eye of the beholder. So whatever you choose will be based on your own likes. Having said that- the tourbillons are not something based on any model yet made. ( fantasy) Also if they are low$$ they will at best be Chinese tourbillons, and probably more likely non functioning. My counsel, would be to spend a little time reading and absorbing what is available, and then spend on as high a quality as you can. Maybe one better quality, will end up giving you more satisfaction, than a brace of " cheapies". But -your call-what you like is what will finally make you happy. But look and learn before you dive in. And maybe you should put just a couple of $$ aside, as a little bird whispered to me that our "Boss", may have a raffle on the horizon. and that is sometimes a good way to increase your collection- I can vouch for that, from a couple of forums I am a member of!!! Offshore

Wow JTB, I even got an email from someone that I could download it from iTunes! Musta been your manager, or PR guy, or that blonde promotions assistant. Or maybe it was your road manager, or one of the other of the hundreds in the entourage Nuff jokes- thats really great- I do hope it at least gives you some fun. ( and $$) Offshore

OK So it appears that in the US, it would be fair to say that an average price is around $3/gallon. How does this equate to our $5 + and some prices I see there from the UK and Europe, which are even higher? Surely the oil has to be shipped- so the freight content, would not vary much? One would expect there not to be too larger variance in processing costs ( I realise that the US is a much larger market- so the costs may be marginally lower), but that still doesn't explain these huge variances. The only other thought I have would be taxes- I know in Oz we pay a VERY large tax on fuel ( interestingly some states are lower than others) but the state tax is not big. Its our Federal government who take the lions share Does anyone know the % your govenment tack on for (whatever) tax? Offshore

Here in Oz, fuel just hit A$1.50/litre, for unleaded. A quick conversion ( hope I got it right!) shows that this equals U$5.18 per US gall. How does this equate with what you are paying? offshore

Yeh - welcome back to the shady one. But gee, my headache had decreased, now I can feel it rebuilding again However we need all points of view here, even if some are a little varied to our own! Must be an age thing offshore

An open letter to member Nais, from the board Admin and Mods. Nais, of late, your contributions to this forum have been nothing but snipes at the dealer Lucky, (who is not a dealer here), off topic posts on others threads,and "crapping" on others threads to push your point with regard to a deal- apparently gone sour. After repeated warnings you were banned for 24 hours; but not content with that you re registered under another name, to continue your activities. This was in complete disregard of being warned that such an action would incurr a further ban, so you are now banned for 48 hours. On your return, you are now warned, that at the first instance of any of these activities, or any others in contradiction to the rules of this forum, you will be banned. PERMANENTLY. Your IP will be put on a permanent ban list, and if you reappear in another guise ,you will be ejected without notice. We counsel you to take this notice seriously, and, on your return, try to add value to our little group, not detract from it. To other members- We are running a democratic, free speech forum here, however it does have rules. Any breach of these requires action, and this is the action we have opted to take in this instance.