JoeyB

Baby SEALS?

(Popeye's nephews, Pipeye, Peepeye, Poopeye and Pupeye.) 

On 2/23/2019 at 3:03 AM, Nanuq said:

Okay, yes everyone knows Alaska has bears.  Lots of bears.  But when they attack it's horrifying the amount of raw damage they can do, and how quickly it happens.  It's unbelievable.  Grown men are eviscerated with one swipe of the paw.

 

 

Those are cubs. I'm not a fan of the Cubs. I like the Sox. But if you want to talk about Bears that are quite viscous, though not yet as destructive as in 1985, I'd be happy to.  

And yes, grown men are eviscerated with one swipe of the paw.

12 hours ago, mead861 said:

 That's a very nice watch by the way.  I had this problem too with a build I did a while back. The movement is too tight against the dial causing the date wheel to bind. You have to remove the hands, dail and add the small spacer ring. It also could be that the case screws are too tight. 

That, or did you ever see the movie 'Groundhog Day'? 

I made this a few years ago for Donerix. You are welcomed to you use it. 

I made this one several years ago. You re welcomed to use it if you like. 

oops! Wrong thread. Sorry. 

Like people, and all else in life, watches age by what they are subjected to. Personally, I've aged beautifully to the point that I get excited just looking in the mirror... 

The color looks good here. I use brown water color to tint the lume which starts out just a bit 'beige'. It all depends on what you want, and as far as gens go, what they've been through. Many have chapter rings and marker outlines that look white, but that's from oxidation of the gilt over the years. Use google search images for the old Rolex models. There are plenty.  

My lume is far from perfect, or even good. It is passable and surely better from a distance! Practice. That's all it is. I've tried all sorts of tools to lume with, oilers and toothpicks and ultra fine brushes. Women used to hand paint lume on dials using a brush, licking the tip for sharpness and getting radiation poisoning in the process. I use a bamboo shish-ka-bob skewer for the round markers, flatten the tip, dip and one touch in the center of the marker. Being older than dirt, I need more help with the coronet and straight markers. I use a nib pen, which gives me better control. If you look at pictures of the gens taken back in the 1950s, they aren't perfect either. That is a clear benefit of replicating 60+ year old watches. They weren't perfect, nor cranked out by machines, but hand made with all the human imperfections. And I can do imperfections like an expert! 

'50 year old GMT...'

Very nice, for a new watch. Let it age a bit. 

Microset is used to set the decal, it slightly flattens and stretches, wrinkles and bubbles are smoothed easily with a wet Q-tip.  I wouldn't make a dial without it. MicroSol is meant to 'melt' the decal to form on/around shapes, like rivets or bolts on model trains or airplanes, etc. It will kill the decal for our use.  

I use Krylon Crystal clear to seal the decal after printing, still on the paper and before mounting on the dial. Dust is the only issue I encounter. I usually print 6 dials on a sized blank decal paper, spray, and pick the best to use, or do it over again if a speck of dust ruined it. 

I print my dials on a Canon printer that has a max of 9600 dpi. I found that anything over 5000 dpi just made puddles. I use clear decals and the prepared brass dial face shows through for the gilt letters, numbers and markers. 400 grit sandpaper slightly swirled gives me the gilt look, and is surely more than 'gilty' enough in color for a 60+ year old dial.  

 I use a 'glow paint' for lume which is water based so as not to ruin the decal or the sealer. It dries in a texture that looks like an aged lume should, correct lume color and length of glow for a 60+ year old watch. Any mistake can be wiped using a wet Q-tip for a do-over. But it is a thin seal, so you might get 2 or 3 do overs before you lose the dial. I tint to color using a kid's water-based paint set from the dollar store. 

I made my first dial decal a little over 10 years ago, I think I was first to do it here, and have posted about the on-going improvement process since. The 'search' function should bring up all of it. Essentially it takes some practice to secure a positive technique.  I can't take a picture worth a damn, but this will give you an idea of what I'm talking about.

The date wheel for the ETA movement is more outside than the Rolex datewheel. That's why we use date wheel overlays on ETA and DG movements to line up the date in the window of a Rolex positioned date window. The replica manufacturers make their dials that fit ETA or that fit DG with the date window in the Rolex position and use an overlay. 

Search is your friend. 

RolexAddict has been building 1675s for a long time, and is in my opinion, the best at it. He is located in France. I built mine using his tutorial, and like my 6542m used the ETA2846 slow beat with the Chinese GMT conversion parts.  

Copy, size and print. Should be 205mm. I use a clear self-sticking address label and mount on a painted date wheel, and trim. 

https://rwg.cc/topic/150660-vintage-dwos/?hl= overlay&page=2

RTV silicone sealer. I use Permatex black because the back of the insert is painted black. Silicone sealer doesn't melt plastic, is easily cleaned off wet or dry, and is easy to remove if you need to change the insert or position. I just rub my thumb on it. 

If you look closely at many of the genuine 6542s with the Perspex insert, they have 'crimps' spaced around the bezel holding in the insert. I've been told by several gen owners that my Lexan insert 'snaps' in their bezels, but I always recommend using an adhesive to secure the insert. The aftermarket is expensive, and a good condition gen insert is absurd. I use RTV, it does not interfere with the paint on the insert, and have had no failures yet. 

For those interested in printing their own dial, Microcenter has the printer that prints up to 9600 dpi on sale for $39.99. I recently upgraded my old Canon printer, also 9600 dpi, to this one. You'd need to dial it back and find the best setting for your project because at the highest dpi setting it makes puddles of ink. 

Link:

Canon MX922 at Microcenter $39.99

The bezel insert is not original nor genuine. The fonts are wrong. 

I have both. Click on the link in my signature for details. 

Lume is the hard part for me too. I use a water based acrylic glow paint because I wasn't sure how a regular lume would react to the decal. I found that when I messed it up, the water based wiped off with a wet Q-tip for a do-over. The round markers are easy. I use a bamboo skewer, looks like a long toothpick, flattened tip. Dip in the glow-paint lume and touch the marker in the center. It makes a perfect circle lume. The hour markers and coronet are more difficult. I've used many things, an oiler, toothpicks, etc. None worked for me. Then I tried a calligraphy pen. The nib and pen gave me more control and came out better. But it does take practice. 

Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays to all! 

Do you still have that 6mm Brevet crown? By the way, JMB does a great job engraving the case if you need it.

I used 1500 grit sandpaper, dry. That left very slight sanding marks. I secured the hole using a toothpick, and gently sanded in one direction away from the pinion hole, one swipe at a time. I did it that way because I had tried just sanding back and forth and ruined the hand on the backstroke catching on the paper. If it can be done wrong, I did it! But I learned.  

You found the straight hour hand! Is it from Frei's as I once suggested? Is the hour hand a 13mm? Mine were silver. I lightly sanded my hands down to the bare brass thinking that an ocean going watch would be so equipped. You're gonna love it. I love mine!