rmcsherry

I've just read the whole topic (when I was about to post my own), and I'm interested in correctly resizing hands to fit a Cortebert. I've considered a staking set, but can't afford to shell out a great deal on a decent set for this task - if I'm only resizing from Unitas to Cortebert hand sizes, can I get away with (for example) simply owning the correct stakes and improvising, or am I better to get a staking set and do it properly?! My budget for a stake would be about

Broaching hands is sometimes easier than staking (from a DIY perspective!). Not sure what others think. I'll get you the hand sizes this evening - I've got a couple of sets of Cort 616 hands, and a Bergeon hand sizer which should give you accurate enough dimensions. I'd say 13mm and 17.5-18mm is about right, certainly no longer than that (for the blued ones). I think there'll be huge demand for the blued ones - there really is nothing even close in the market at the moment. Thanks for bringing us this great project!

I'll upload some more photos later - the work is perfect; couldn't be happier - thanks R and FGD!

It looks amazing - thanks for sharing the photos! Love the non-matching dial / hands, and the OEM screws from the 90's - the cg pin is perfect, I always prefer the original SS pin on a PVD case. Can't wait to see more

Got it - thanks! I went through a google proxy (web translation) and it let me view them - your photos are either now fixed, or their just left in my viewing cache!

Looks like an interesting post - it's a great forum for reference pictures. Could you possibly host the images? Even though I've got a forum account, I'm not allowed to view full size images for some reason!

Great photo - puts my atempts at capturing the engraving / wax to shame! Good luck with the project.

Firstly, a huge thanks to FGD. I've been lucky enough to own each of his dials (201A, 202A and 002 - in 1st, '1.5' and 2nd generations). The 202A is having a Canadian Spa treatment right about now, but the other 2 have eventually been fully assembled and been given new straps! The Pre-A 009 was completely FGD's work - I installed a new sapphire (AR stripped) kindly given by him, and a PVD T48 crown - a big thanks to T for this one! The case is a JimmyFu which has been PVD'ed by Rolli - the colour and finish is nothing short of perfection. The movement is a Swiss 6497, the hands relumed and 2nd gen FGD 002 dial, Pre-A caseback, great modded CG and Heroic18 complimentary Anniversary strap with PVD buckle to finish it all off. The 201A was built by myself, and consists of a stumpy-lug case, T48 SS crown (thanks again, T!), relumed hands, 2nd gen FGD dial, Swiss 6497, reworked LH CG, replacement sapphire (AR stripped), DSN 201A caseback and a Heroic18 Black Arrow strap with brushed buckle. The lugs were drilled to fit some Pre-V double lug screws (reproduced from my genuine Pre-V screws), and that's it I didn't think I'd like the 5218-201A because I'm really not in to shiny watches - but it's one of the favourite pieces in my collection now, and the PVD 009 looks great and very understated with a suit! Thanks again to FGD - who's been very generous, and I couldn't be happier with the collection now. And for the photos - no photoshop used for this set, so ignore any dust and scratches!!

Great project and photos - all I've got to say is:

I've tried it before, and only suceeded on one screw - and the thicker bars aren't easy to come by! I'm just putting together a 201a into this case at the moment, and think I might stick with the standard pre-v screws (just have a tiny bit of movement on one side) - if it bothers me after a couple of months, I might look to do what is suggested above! Great starting point though, can't wait to see the finished piece.

The Swordfish is comfortable, and the PVD is extremely durable. I love my Swordfish, and couldn't give a monkeys that I can't tell the time for 70% of the day

Looking good - I've used the same in my 201A that I'm putting together - this is the one with the 1.8mm lug screws, right?! They're a bit problematic if you want to use the double screws, but the threads of the existing 1.8mm screws are compatible with the Pre-V tubes (cut, score and polish the 1.8mm screws to get a 'snug' fit on the CG side of the case!).

Glad to be of assistance, sorry it took so long The next job will be to source you some vintage blued hands - these are good for the moment, but there's nothing like true blued hands. It's in good company with your 616 - and I'm sure there'll be more around the corner!

No.

Amazing job on the project - the coating really looks great, and the other mods compliment it nicely. I'd second the question above - I've seen the rep movement before, but it looks like an Asian 21J base - is this correct? If so, I'd be interested to find out the canon pinion height / sub dial spacing, as I recall that A21J Auto's have subdials at about 9mm - in which case, it's compatible with a certain custom made Angelus dial !

I wasn't trying to find fault - I thought the picture looked domed! I agree, there are models like this with flat casebacks which makes this 100% correct - and the dial / movement / case combo are to die for! Well done, and you'll have to share your dial techniques

Amazing case - a job well done, must have been very difficult! Is the solid caseback slightly domed (as per the gen specs) - one of the pictures appears to be! Great project.

Thanks for the kind comments - I try to be helpful wherever possible, and just wait for the next project (on behalf of an esteemed member ) to see some slightly more in-depth information on these projects!

I'm looking for a thick sterile display caseback. As far as I know, they don't exist, but thought it'd be worth raising the question. I'm talking thick... If not, any ideas from people who have made their own casebacks in the past?!

... so would I (I did ) I'll get some better photos on Friday, with a bit more info on the mods involved. Just off to polish out the scratches I've just put into the plexi!

Thanks for the work on the case - it looks great! 3 years included a number of Angelus / Cortebert / Molnija projects, this project is just the one I was working towards for all of that time (as you know, making the dials, sourcing the correct movement etc. are all time consuming tasks!). Still keeping good time, and it's great to not have to wind it everyday!

Back when Enzo made his first Angelus, I decided it looked amazing and I'd give the same project a go. I didn't take long to source a movement, but I then realised that if I were to build a 6152 homage, I'd be better off with a non-alarm Angelus cal.240 (just as the original's had). Fast forward nearly 3 years, and all of the hard work has paid off. Just as the final pieces of the watch were being pieced together, there was a knock on the door - our postman delivering THE BEST strap I have ever seen / worn, with thanks to my good friend Marco. I have to give a HUGE thanks to the people that made it possible (a large involvement from some of our esteemed members!); clint_eastwood, Marco, Tourby (for overhauling this beast of a movement!), dadog13, fishgodeep and VDB. Enjoy the photos, and thanks again to everybody who made it possible.

If I had a gen CG in front of me, I'd give the CAD a go - I'm still learning Solid Edge, but something like a CG seems quite straight-forwards?!

Why deviate from the perfect recipe you've got?! I've got genuine OEM crowns that I can't distinguish from yours (other than the tube thickness) - IMHO, making it 2.1mm is pointless, in the same way that a 1.8mm crown is wrong, a 2.1mm crown is wrong! I've got a few ideas that could definetly benefit from some Ti / PVD T48's in the future!!

I think that's why the 7750 was chosen - but an Angelus 240 has a subdial spacing of 8.9mm, a 6497 is 10.25mm and a 7750 is 8.2mm. Neither are an accurate replacement; the 7750 is 0.7mm out, the 6497 is 1.35mm out - ironically, the Asian 21J auto would have been the best option in terms of subdial spacing!! It was never going to be 100% perfect - hats off to DSN for trying to meet demand and supply a truly unique offering.