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ubiquitous

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Posts posted by ubiquitous

  12. NEEEEEEEEEEEEEED!!!

    in The Omega Area

    Posted

    I've already found some good sources for bezels, dials, and hands... My pal Richard sent me some interesting links as well. I may just start collecting bits and pieces in the next few months once my watch fund account has had a chance to re-coup from being emptied out.

  13. TWG 16610 Asian 21J conversion

    in The Rolex Area

    Posted

    Nice job Randy, hope your friend likes it...

    I had the exact same idea as I had couple of spare eta's lying around just begging for a new home inside Andrew's asian21j Yachtie (movt was buggered on arrival anyway). A quick visit to Joe and hopefully.... :D

    Thanks, Doc!

    The ETA will make for a nice improvement over the CN 'Rolex' Copy movement! Big difference in winding feel (both with the rotor or hand winding), as well as beat rate. Unfortunately, the CN hands won't fit the ETA, so that's something else to consider. But, if you already have these parts on hand, it's a fun project to undertake.

    hi, I have 2 questions :)

    How did you put the CN date wheel on the ETA? did you simply swap em over? and how did you fit the dial on since you cut off the feet?

    Where would be a good place to find hands to fit the ETA? Ofrei?

    Ok, so that's 3 questions :p

    Here's the steps to swap the datewheel.

    The datewheel overlay is a small, thin metal overlay that sits on top of the movement's original datewheel. It's glued down, and requires a bit of care to remove. I use a razor blade to carefully, and slowly wedge between the overlay and the datewheel- If I'm planning on re-using the movement that the overlay is being removed from, I'll take extra care or remove the entire datewheel prior to removal if possible. There are some cases where the overlay just cannot be removed due to the manner that it was glued down (i.e. there is adhesive at the edges where I'm not able to get the razor wedged in at all). Overall, it's generally not a difficult task to perform; just have patience and a steady hand. Once it's removed, just glue it onto the new movement's datewheel- Be careful to make sure all is aligned and you're set!

    With regards to fitting the dial without dial feet- I simply glue the dial to a small movement spacer that sits on the rim/edge of the movement. This provides a bit of clearance between the dial and the movement to allow the datewheel to rotate properly, and it also provides some stability to the dial once the movement/dial/hands assembly is clamped down in the case.

    As for finding hands to fit the ETA- I purchased a small lot of 4 sets of 2824-2 Tudor hands recently from my usual supplier. I've also purchased a couple of sets from eBay as well. Ofrei might have some in the proper size... Same with Borel. You'll want the 'mercedes' hands with 90/150/25 sizing.

    Hope this helps!

    Best,

    R

  15. My son's first comic book

    in The looney bin

    Posted

    Cool comic. :thumbsupsmileyanim: The nest part is that it's already out of the plastic so you can read it too. :) I think your son should already have a hobby to share with you, reps. ;)

    Well, I guess my son kinda does enjoy reps with me. He'll sit at the table with me when I'm working on putting something together :) And he loves to pick up my (technically his) watches to look at and study in close examination. I'm hoping that the watches I pass on to him will have significant sentimental value since his dad had a hand in putting them together and wore them everyday (especially since frankens won't be worth much in terms of monetary value ;) ).

    hmmm... first thing if you are serious about collecting comix ... do not open them up flat... esp dont fold the page over...

    that said... wanna buy a rep of amazing spider man #1? :D

    Hmmmm... I suppose I'm somewhere in between- kinda serious about it, but kinda not. It's an interesting hobby, and one that brings back fond memories of my childhood, but I don't see myself getting into the same league as the hardcore folks who purchase the CGC 9.0's and above. Rather... I don't mind casually looking and searching for a key Silver or Golden Age book now and then, and I'd be happy with a VG copy of something. That way, I can keep it somewhat affordable, and my son will get a decent collection of key books when he's older :)

    Hmmmm... Spider-Man #1 rep... Rep, or reprint?

    :lol:

    Great hobby. I suffer from the same disorder. Sitting in boxes in storage are every figure and variant of MacFarlane Spawn figurines for series 1-8 (read as hundreds of boxed figures). Can't figure out whether they are priceless or worthless. :) Seriously, Comic books will be a great thing to share with your son. But out of respect to the forum you will have to pick-up an original unopened copy of the Watchmen. :lol:

    W- Who watches the Watchmen? One of my favorite reads as a kid- Alan Moore is an incredible writer! I also really liked Sandman, and, well I suppose anything Neil Gaiman. Of course, McFarlane was one of my all time favorites. I think he really revolutionized the manner in which comic art was done. My favorites of his were his early Marvel works- Hulk 340, Spider-Man 298-300, etc. But, above all, there is just something about those old 1960's Silver Age books that really does it for me. Simpler times, I suppose... Much like watches from the same era.

  17. My son's first comic book

    in The looney bin

    Posted

    I don't know what it is, but collecting things that are, well, collectable is somewhat of a compulsive disorder (I think- at least for me). I currently collect watches with an obsession and passion (more franken-built watches than genuines these days), and in my youth, I collected comic books and the sort with the same level of enthusiasm. My son, who is showing similar traits to his dad (who are ages 2 and 28 respectively) will, I believe, be a collector of things as well. He'll be getting my watches when he's older, but I also thought it would be fun to start him a small little comic book collection of golden and silver age goodies as well.

    I recently found this very nice VG+/FN- copy of Spider-Man #14 (1st app of the Green Goblin). I had this one when I was younger (though not in as nice of condition as this one), and memories of nostalgia quickly took over. After checking the price, which was very agreeable, I made the purchase and now I have it in my hot little hands. It's nice and complete- No missing pieces or coupons/sections cut, nice and flat with creamy off-white patina'd pages; staples in decent condition... For the money, I couldn't pass it up.

    23244-1503.jpg

    23244-1504.jpg

    23244-1505.jpg

    I'm now contemplating what to get him for his 2nd book. I figure 3 - 4 key issues a year will be a decent pace for growth, while not interrupting funds for watches.

    I'm hoping that this (along with watches and cars), will become a little hobby that my son Reece will enjoy with his Dad when he's a little older :)

  21. TWG 16610 Asian 21J conversion

    in The Rolex Area

    Posted

    I'm not a mod-for-hire guy, but rather do jobs like this for friends for fun (read: free).

    I purchased this watch with the intent of getting a better idea of quality, etc. and at $125.00, it was a reasonable route to try. I have some spare ETAs in my parts box, so no extra cost there. Only major investment was my time, which is a no cost 'charge' for friends. Since I have no inclination to wear a modern Sub, I'll probably just give this one to my pal; if it puts a smile on his face, then it was worth the time, and small cost of the watch :)

  22. TWG 16610 Asian 21J conversion

    in The Rolex Area

    Posted

    it appears your bezel insert is not seated correctly, u need to get it to sit inside the lip of the bezel edge so it is underneath it but flush , yours is sitting basically on top of it, so u need to mill the inside(underneath) of it down a bit to fit it properly, just some help for u and it appears this is the chinese regualar case, see the good ones that u hear about from watchmaster that i do , if u look around your edge of your crystal u see the white crystal gasket all the way around quite easily , on the genuine and the better replicas u dont have this flaw, so basically that is just a couple of things that is different than the more expensive one, not to mention the thickness of the case back and the heaviness and the stainless steel is even a different grade , so basically if u did the one u have done and didnt have a eta laying around and hands etc.and had to buy and install it really isnt much different in price as getting the better watch with the eta already in it, but in your case it was cheaper cause u had extra parts laying around from other things u took apart and experimented on lol

    I haven't the foggiest, Joe. I just did this one for grins. The insert probably does need to be milled down more... I can't say I have the time to do it though. More than anything, I wanted to see the quality of these low buck Subs for my friend, who is after a cheap Sub. I don't have much interest in moderns, so this one will spend most of it's time sitting in a watch box. If I was into moderns, I'd definitely get the WM or MBW.

  23. TWG 16610 Asian 21J conversion

    in The Rolex Area

    Posted

    Woody-

    Date mag looks pretty good. I'm not used to modern, so my usual basis for such things is the huge 3x mag that the T-127 on the 1680 produces.

    Personally, I think the dial on this version is quite nice, as is the case (though the rehaut could be a tad deeper). CG's, lugs, bezel, bracelet and SELs (actual 3 pc SELs fused together with hollow links) are all very nice on this new version Sub. You could re-use the old ETA from your ABAY Sub, but you may have to use the datewheel overlay from the new Sub, as the old CN had the datewheel and date window too far to the edge (this one sits more inboard like a TW Best and Genuine- note where the cyclops sits on the crystal).

    Hope this helps...

    R

  24. TWG 16610 Asian 21J conversion

    in The Rolex Area

    Posted

    I received my new TWG 21J Asian 16610 Submariner this afternoon- This was my first transaction with Andrew, and the experience was perfect! Paid and purchased last Monday and 7 days to the day, the watch was at my door. Now, I don't typically get into modern Subs, but the price was right, I had some extra parts lying around, and I also wanted to see first hand the quality of these new generation of Subs; a friend of mine is interested in the LV and wants me to get one for him to convert to an ETA.

    With this in mind, I went about disecting my new toy to see how easily a 2836-2 could be retrofitted. In addition, I added a genuine (slightly imperfect) insert to add to the fun. The insert is a 'factory second' (i.e. a discard), so the pearl is slightly off alignment to center.

    22685-1650.jpg

    Overall, the insert is still (in my opinion) an improvement over the replica insert, as the color on the genuine is different, the font is much nicer on the gen, and of course, the pearl itself is quite different.

    Removal of the CN movement is straight forward; remove the case back, pull the stem, remove the case clamps, and uncase. Here's an in progress pic:

    22685-1651.jpg

    In this pic, I've just removed the datewheel overlay and reinstalled on my spare ETA. In addition, the dial feet had to be removed as they don't line up with the ETA post holes.

    Next step is to apply the dial, and install the hands. These are Tudor hands meant for a 2824-2 (90/150/25). A perfect fit:

    22685-1652.jpg

    Casing is the opposite of uncasing. Insert the movement/dial/hands assembly into the case, add the movement ring, clamp, and insert the stem. Wrapping everything up, here's what I came away with:

    22685-1653.jpg

    22685-1654.jpg

    22685-1655.jpg

    22685-1656.jpg

    22685-1657.jpg

    22685-1658.jpg

    22685-1659.jpg

    22685-1660.jpg

    22685-1661.jpg

    22685-1662.jpg

    Don't think I'll wear it much, but it was a fun little project. This one is about as straight forward as they get. If you have an extra ETA, a TWG 21J Asian Sub, some tools and some time, this one's worth doing; the ETA is a huge improvement over the CN movement, beats 28.800 a/h, and feels and sounds so much better (especially in winding). Start to finish, the swap took about an hour. Perhaps next will be a genuine crown and tube ;)

    If there are any questions regarding this swap, please post away!!

    :)

    Regards,

    R

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