TJGladeRaider

Dear Lord, the irony of that statement. The worst part is that all one needs to do these days is put together a "history," a collection of factoids from unidentified sources, and post it on the Internet to persuade people all over the world to quote them as if they were the Gospel. It's like a home made, propaganda do-it-yourself kit. This particular crock of crapola is a wonderful, pitiful, example. Bill

$80 . . . I wouldn't do it for twice that. In fact, I probably won't do it myself on the watches I am sending you for lume. I am looking forward to having some SL'd MBWs - that will suit me perfectly. Now, if I could just find a sapphire replacement crystal for these plexi things that would still look right. I wonder if anyone makes them? Bill

What price can you get them for? It would look to me like they should not be that hard to make, especially since bezels an spring washers seem plentiful. Bill

LOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL - I gotta keep an eye on you Randy! Good guess Nanuck, but this watch started as a vintage from Andrew or Josh, I have bought several from both, and they are identical so I don't remember which. I did the CGs, drilled the lugs, replaced the crystal and bezel insert. Randy, do you know where I could get gen replacement bezel assemblies (ring, washer, bezel) at a reasonable price? What do you think of TTKs new vintage offering? Bill

Much of what I do for a living relates to asset protection, often it relates to asset protection and tax minimization strategies that have been poorly orchestrated. If someone tries to sell you on a system where PRETAX dollars go into a complex constellation of trusts -- run! You can generally do whatever you want with POST TAX dollars without risking serious problems, but there are a world of schemes (Athens, Aegis, Heritage . . .) that result in nothing but grief. Jay Adkisson wrote a very good book on the subject of asset protection. I would recommend that as a starting point for you. Bill

Lord, if I could buy MBWs at 150 Euros . . . I'll take another dozen!! As for George's pricing, I have sent George a lot of money, and I have sent the other guy a lot of money. George sent me what I paid for, but my money sent to the other guy was an unlucky experience. Besides which, I like George. He's a decent guy, he genuinely loves this hobby and he's always a hoot to chat with. I have bought several dozen vintage Rollies from various sources and the MBW's are a completely different watch. Sometimes, trying to save a few buck is a false economy. Even if I knew that the next guy only paid 150 E for his MBW, I'd value mine no less, and I'd not begrudge George a dime of the money he's made. I never begrudge anyone I do business with their right to make a profit. Bill

Hey Dude, sorry to hear about your glitch. You here in the US? If so, and you want to send me the case, I'll extract the tube and run a tap thru the threads to make sure it's all straight for you if you like. Just drop me an e-mail and I'll be happy to help if I can. Bill

Yes indeed Randy . . . anyone want to hazard a guess as to what this watch is?? Bill

Hi all. Just taking a few pics and curious as to how you would like this watch. Centered among some vintages CGs Front CGs Back CGS Pearl Another of the pearl I love these Subs/SDs on real stingray bands with deployment clasps So whaddya think?? Bill

We may be boring members to death, but I find this fascinating. Looking at the charts, they say the same thing, but the Delta chart goes farther into fine wire drills. Notice that trend as you go smaller and consider how much smaller we are going. I suspect that the best solution might be at significantly higher RPM, but 3100 is all I can do. For my next example, I am going to try doing a couple of cases at max speed, with progressive passes using a smaller drill first before the 1.3mm drill and I am going to chamfer the holes first, rather than afterward. I'll report back with pics. Bill

Well, I was not quite right - there was something to lose. My COMEX just ate two cobalt drills - I thought perhaps the first one broke because it was dull so I tried a new one. At 620 RPM, that cobalt drill will not cut an MBW case, and pressing harder only served to twist the watch in the vice binding and breaking the bits. Heat generation was MUCH higher and drilling thru side to side (two holes at once isn't even possible because there was no way to cut the first hole straight enough. Here's what the end result was with the COMEX - again, no clean up or polishing yet. They look much better once the polishing is all done. I dug thru and found my wall chart. As you can see, the smaller the drill, the higher the speed, and the harder the stock, the higher the speed. Oh well, it was an experiment. Bill

Okidoke . . . nothing to lose so I'll try it. I learn something every day, so maybe that's it for today. I'll report back in a bit. Bill

Oh yeah, I buy from all the time. ; ) Bill PS: Did you forget something?

Truly, for what I would charge to be responsible for your watch, you could buy your drill press. This really is not all that difficult. Bill

And you would be quite right - but keep in mind we are using very small wire drills. During my Senior Year in Mechanical Engineering I managed a machine shop and 3000 RPM was a pretty good speed for wire twist drills in steel - especially using a cobalt wire. If you use larger drills (like 1/4 inch) you would normally drop to about 1000 RPM, and run a large drill (say 5/8) at about 600. As I said previously, I have done as many as five MBW/TWBest cases with one cobalt drill, so it seems to be working pretty well. Bill

Nope. Josh and Andrew are two completely different people. They are friends and work on projects together, but definitely not the same guy. I'd trust either one of them, and often do. Bill

Hi Ziggy, Hi praise indeed coming from you. I neglected to mention that the vise I use is made by Dremel -- it has hard rubber jaws. That is a real benefit for a couple of reasons. First, the rubber doesn't damage the crystal or case back, yet grips the watch tightly, and Second, the rubber allows some slight amount of flex and I suspect (no way to see it) that the flex allows the watch to adjust ever so slightly as the drill tries to pass thru the existing hole. You know what a pain this can be, but I have used one drill bit to drill as many as five cases, and my drill bits are nothing special - just cheap cobalt drills I bought on Amazon. If you spin them at 3000 rpm and use a few drops of oil, you won't smoke them. Careful set up and you'll never break one either. Also, I use this particular vise and a slightly modified 1 1/8 socket (used a dremel to slightly round out the socket by grinding down and polishing the teeth) as a press to seat crystal retaining rings on vintage watches. Works like a charm. Bill

Very Good - and I cannot believe I neglected to mention that, especially with five kids of my own. I beat that into them unmercifully and Lord help the one I find risking their running lights! I personally like jewelers glasses. They aren't quite as good a protection as goggles, but they do pretty well and they make it easier to see clearly what you are doing. Bill

I'd like to see the difference between the chamfer bit previously mentioned and the diamond you mention. Also, is there a tool for removing the crystal retaining ring like on a Milgauss MBW. I have tried everything that always works with MBWs, but the Milgauss retaining ring is made differently and I cannot get under it, even by tapping a razor blade (that always starts a crack on everything else). These Milgauss watches grow on you. I have two MBW Milgauss 6541s (one stingray strap, other rivet bracelet) and I find myself liking them better and better. I just need to be able to change the crystals. Bill

Hi Robi, I hope all is well with you and yours -- you gearing up for Thanksgiving? I need to stop eating now! I always eat til I am sick on Thanksgiving and this year I will have all five kids home with me since the oldest is home from the Navy. It will be the baby's first Turkey Day! I saw your post earlier wanting to see the difference in springbars so I decided to put together a long reply with all kinds of pics. I was going to send you the link but I see you beat me to it. Cheers Bill

Since I couldn't persuade Ziggy to do it for me, I have been slowly working thru my Rollie collection, changing all the spring bars to the correct size. It's something of a chore as I have a bunch of them. The watches that I have to change are two catagories - the classic watches with MBW/TW Best cases, lug holes and sapphire crystals The vintage watches that are becoming my new obsession. I have several new MBWs since this picture was taken. I started with some Chinese vintage cases that Josh and Andrew sent me to practice on. Now that I have it down to a science, I am zipping thru the "Perfect" watches I got from them and my MBWs. Here are the watches I did this evening, an MBW Milgauss, an MBW DRSD, and a . . . [drum roll] . . . very rare MBW cased GMT II with 2893 movement. Here is the objective. We want to take these nasty little pins out of our watches and replace them with the correct pins that are larger and much stouter. First, you NEED a drill press. If you don't have a drill press, you should task the job to someone who does. Although mine is a free standing model with twin laser guides, you don't need any of that - any table top drill press will work just fine. This is NOT a drill press and it will not work worth spit for this. A dremel is a fabulous tool, the press stand makes it even more useful, and mine gets a world of use, but it absolutely is not the right way to drill lugs. When it comes to polishing a watch, it's great. Drilling lugs is all about set up, tool speed, set up, cobalt wire drills, set up, plenty of lights, set up, cutting oil, set up, a vice with rubber jaws, and did I mention set up? As with most tool and die work, it's all about how you set it up. I set mine up using a fine wire drill that I can run thru the upper and lower lug, allowing me to adjust it such that the centerline of the hole is concentric with the centerline of the drill. The drill in this picture is for illustration - it's actually the drill I use to chamfer the holes. As you can see above, a case that might appear to be properly positioned is actually a little crooked. Positioning the wire drill thru the lugs makes the invisible become readily apparent. Once you have evrything lined up correctly, a good quality cobalt bit will do a half a dozen cases. The key is a slow, steady advance of the drill thru the work piece and plenty of oil - regular, household 3-in-1 oil is fine. If you see smoke, you are going to fast. I haven't timed it, but I would thing ot takes about 15 seconds to go thru each lug at 3000 rpm. Do not "choke up" on the drill by putting most of it up in the chuck. While it is true that a short, stubby drill is less likely to break than a long one, you are also much more likely to touch your watch case with a spinng chuck which can ruin a very nice case in a skinny instant. Once you drill all your holes with a size 55 cobalt drill, you chamfer the holes with a larger drill (I use a 3/32). Note that the set up is dramatically different. To drill thru the lug, you want the centerline of the existing hole to be concentril with the centerline of the drill, you want the point of the drill to go straight down the existing hole. Chamfering is different. This isn't like "frenching" a car antenna (for those into custom body work), you want the edge of the larger drill to uniformly widen the RIM of the existing hole VERY slightly. That requires even contact all the way around and to do that the surface of the lug must be perpendicular to the axis of the drill. Remember, this is a very, VERY slight touch - if you see shavings, you have gone WAY to far. The DRSD (Case scratches are from daily wear) A pic of the GMT II Another of the GMT II A pic of the Milgauss Another of the Milgauss I took the pics before cleaning the watches up so you could see that there is no reason to scratch a case during this process. Next, I will take a little jewelers rouge and polish the watch cases with the dremel and them hand buff them with a little Flitz. I hope you found this to be helpful. Bill

You're absolutely right . . . it was her business because freezing money on a grand scale is a VERY profitable thing. Think about how much money we are talking about internationally. All that money sits somewhere -- they pay no interest on it when they freeze it, but you can bet it generates interest. I have had an account now for years and years. I never buy watches one at a time - most purchases are over $1000 but they never bother with my transactions. That's because ALL my purchases are paid thru an Amex Platinum card. I have been with Amex for 20 years. Amex has very strong customer support and their Platinum cards have a lot of benefits. PayPal knows very well that Amex won't take any crap from them at all. Bill

I'm in SW Florida, but I can get to anwhere I need to. Just PLEASE pick a really nice hotel! Life is too short for cheap hotels. Bill

NO . . . no, no, no. Surely you do not think you are going to get by with that Davey. Remember who you are dealing with. A watch like that, and results like that REQUIRE specificity. EXACTLY what did you start with, and how did you make that lovely thing. Lord that's pretty. When I grow up, I wanna be like Davey! LOL Bill

Generally speaking, I agree with you. As I have developed in this hobby, I find myself having, and fixing, more and more problems. As my abilities increase, things I never would have noticed before need fixing - so I fix whatever I can and it would be simply asinine for me to send an MBW back because the cyclops wasn't PERFECTLY aligned, or there was a speck on a dial, or a defective clutch mechanism in a crown . . . On the other hand, I do not think a seller has a right to expect me to know how to do any of that - and it wasn't so long ago that I didn't. I think this buyer should do as he has expressed the intention to do - give the seller reasonable time in light of his apparent travels and then insist that he make it right. If you buy a working watch, it is the responsibility of the seller to receive a working watch. That's not just my interpretation - mail insurance is only available to the sender, and pays to the sender. As a practical matter, I think we should collectively adopt that as the rule, because it is simple and resonable. The seller has no control over packing, and a properly packed watch almost always ships just fine. Just my .02 Bill