Heywood

Hey Bertie,

My reference book lists the following:

crown: 600

tube: 6010

crystal: 29.5/20/16

The crystal reference seems a bit odd, as most of the tropics are listed as 25-12, 25-19 etc. but there it is for what it's worth.

My 5513 dial fits too.

Nice work Ubi! The Frankensplorer is a great watch and even better with the genuine dial. I haven't come across a genuine dial at a reasonable price yet but the rep dial in mine looks decent and will work til I come across a genuine at a fair price. I wear mine nearly every day. For the ease of assembly, cost of parts and great looks you can't beat one of these. Here's mine below.

Another great looking Franken, Stilty. Thanks for the photos too. Frankens are the best bang for your buck without a doubt and this is a fine example.

Really interesting ... but this die ''Special die for RLX 29.5mm.

Price: EUR 19.99/Pcs. incl. VAT plus Shipping''

which rlx case does it fit ? ? ? SSD?

The 29.5 will fit men's sized casebacks. Probably the only one you'll ever need unless you work on mid-sized or womens watches.

Hope everybody doesn't mind another opinion on this subject. I fell for the false economy of buying cheap tools the first time. As others have already said, do yourself a favor and buy good stuff the first time-cheap watch tools really, really suck. Buy stuff a little at a time if you have to, but don't get suckered in to buying crappy tools. I have now replaced all of the junk I bought the first time and could have bought more nice tools had I not wasted the money on the cheap crap.

Actually the 5508 takes the 6mm crown and tube- originally 24-600-0 and a 24-6010-0 tube maybe.

Alligoat, right you are, my bad, looking at the wrong line in my reference book.

Nice score Jay! The 5508 case takes a standard 7mm sub crown and tube. It would have originally been fitted with a 7mm twinlock crown and tube, but the current version will fit just fine. The 5508 case takes a tropic 16 crystal. Look forward to seeing some pics when your finished putting this together. Good luck.

The Explorer 1 case is approx 36mm without crown and the Airking is approx 34mm without crown. A bit small if you are used to wearing a 40mm+ dive watch. I used to wear a vintage Seamaster 300, but after time I've gotten used to a Franken-Explorer 1 and wear it every day now.

Impressive work Stilty! I started fiddling around with this same idea about a year ago but lost interest after time. I'm glad to see you had the fortitude to carry the project through to completion. The franken with genuine case, dial and 2892 is a great watch for a fraction of the cost of a genuine movement.

If you can get by with aftermarket parts the springbars on the catalog page below are of excellent quality and built just like the Rolex ones-these are cheaper, exactly like the Rolex bars and just a phone call away. The bars for the 1680 are JB23-9291. Hope this helps.

Hey Bertie, that's a great looking sub. Congratulations on a job well done! I love the no crown guard subs, and after seeing yours I may have gotten an inspiration.

The Daytona King has arrived! Nice collection Freddy.

Hey Stilty-Kudos to you! First the near perfect Frankensplorer and now a NOS 7836. I'm starting to get jealous. Where do you keep finding all of these bracelets?

Congratulations and wear it in good health!

Bertie,

I believe that both calibers share the same hand sizes of 80/130/20. Hope this helps.

Stilty, congratulations on a job well done! That really turned out beautifully. The modifications to the movement are especially impressive.

Excellent work!

Congratulations KKS! That's a nice looking piece. After comparing to some dials on the VRF dial archive it looks good to me. My 1675 is also a 71 if I remember correctly, but it has a re-dial so it wont help to compare to mine. Case looks good. The 1570 should have timing screws on the balance wheel which I cant make out on your photo, but it may just be the pic-hard to see the screws on photos if the balance is moving. Check out the dial archive on VRF and if you have any doubts post a few pics over on the VRF. Some of the most knowledgable collectors and dealers in the vintage Rolex world frequent that forum and they will be able to render some true professional opinions.

Hey Diesel,

Congratulations. That really turned out looking great. Wear it in good health!

While I have all the experts' attention here... where can I find FOLDED LINKS Rolex oyster bracelets for less than I paid for my car? Rep is fine.

Anyone?

Hey Nanuq, how about this one http://forums.timezone.com/index.php?t=tre...90621&rid=0, I know this ad is old, but it may be worth shooting this guy an e-mail. He sold a couple of these on TZ and was never called out that I know of. These bracelets are incredibly good copies, but certainly copies as No one in their right mind would sell these for $330 bucks if they were real.

It's a shame we can't find a dealer who stocks some kick-ass bracelets and those high grade vietnamese vintage Rolex cases for a fair price-he'd make a fortune here.

Congratulations JoJo!

That's a great watch to start your collection with.

Nice work, Stilty!

I really like the way the 12892 fits the case without a spacer ring. It's a shame that there aren't more 12.5 ligne movements out there to build with.

Photos look great too.

Kudos!

I have been using the bulletproof 2824-2 in my frankenjust's and have seen a few 2892's in other people projects. I have had success with on 2836-2 ETA ina DJ case but fitting the dial wasa feat in itself with little surface to bond to. All these of course in a genuine 162XX case

Any commentary on switching to the 2892 vs the other 2 movements?

For what it's worth, there is a seller on ebay, "bab409", who always seems to have 2892's on auction. From reading his auctions I take it that he is a watchmaker who is selling overhauled movements. The Omegas usually sell for a lot, but he often has a gucci or longines for sale. I've been following his auctions for a while and the lesser known brands usually go for a decent price. You might pick up a 2892 for a good price from him.

That`s too bad that Andrew`s 1655 has faux lug holes on the outside - very strange. If I ever come across a better looking version I`ll be sure and post it.

Have any of you ever purchased the MBW vintage Explorer 1 or MBW James bond watch?

I bought the MBW 1016 and it sucks. I had second thoughts about buying it before I took the plunge. The dial isn't horrible, but the case is a modern style, marked as 14270, but it is fitted with an acrylic crystal? I was hoping to put a genuine movement in it, but it won't fit without some rigging. It is just not worth the $$$. I thought about selling it as soon as I got it, but I couldn't bring myself to ask enough for it to recoup anywhere near what it cost me.

On a positive note Paso was easy to work with on the purchase and I wouldn't hesitate to buy from him again. The watch just wasn't what I wanted and I can't fault him for that.

I went down to the city and watchbuff taught me how to replace the stems...The stem is working great now, no problems setting the time/date - It's absolutely perfect !

Congratulations to both of you on a fine job. That's a great looking watch!

Looking for some info on some Rolex Springbars for vintage project.

Does anyone know the size of this springbar? rolex 23-9293 This would be for the 1016, Orange hand explorer. I believe it is 2mm. What would the lug holes size be?

Is it the same as a Sub springbar? 23-9291? That is 2mm with large lug hole

I've also got a datejust springbar. 23-9290 and that is 1.8mm and small lug hole

Is the 23-9293 a cross between the small datejust and submariner springbar?

thanks.

Hey Stilty,

They are the same size as a sub springbar with the exception of the lug hole pins-they are only about half as long as the sub spring bar pin. Check the illustration on the thumbnail below. These springbars are just as good as genuine ones and cheap too.