PeteM

I was hearing a fanfare as I read......

I usually save the drum roll for when I open my wallet..!!

Just a few pics to share.... hopefully one of the better makers will get on and try and make a few of these but until then its the usual maker and the usual issues ... I was never bothered about a lot of the flaws on these I just enjoyed the reps for what they are as a watch on the wrist... but as prices have gone up I cant say the level of quality or accuracy has gone up in line with that...I am sure that some makers are missing an opportunity here given how well they can usually do the higher end stuff and charge the money for it..

But hey there just a bit of fun and not something we should ever take seriously... after all how many of them do you actually ever see...???

I do wish sometimes that I had bought a franken one I saw a few years back... but it was beaucoup argent !!

and heres the Miyota 010... again just a bit of fun...

I am so fickle...!! 

One of easiest ways to do it with a curmudgeon watchsmith... Is buy new movements from dealers or buy reps with same movement that are cheap or on sale etc... a lot of rep movements are easily bought for little money or reps that are beat up with solid movements in them.. or just pick up non workers for parts..

Other way is to decide what are keepers and upgrade movements or get fully serviced by guys who will do the odd one on here or modders..

Depending where you are I bet a guy that is happy to deal with reps is only a days post away..

Mate not only cant you argue with stupid but you cant live with stupid either..!!   you should try being married to her...!!

He could sell sawdust to a timber mill... and ham at a bar mitzvah...

N... While you was in that super secret liar doing your best Indiana Jones impression did you by chance come across the lost TRL...???!!!???

Or was you too busy dodging the spears and large boulders.... and hopefully you outran those darn garn nazis !!! ...

Of course you can always ask Thomas to use the Force .... I sense The Force in him strong it is...

Oh! and Mike is there anywhere yet where I can leave feedback about leaving feedback  !!??!!

There are many methods and processes used and from that many tools we all use... it really depends on the extent of the 'shaving' the other terms you use are all different methods that achieve different outcomes... milling for example is better done on a lathe or fixed tool (dremel) etc

But if say your playing with a CG or just 'shaving' you can get away with a good selection of grit paper and/or compounds to achieve what you want.. you can then use that paper say around a pencil or a screwdriver stem or blade etc etc...

There used to be a lot of How To's on here that might be worth searching for more specific info.. plus Youtube has some great info too..

For me I used to watch vids etc and think how can I achieve that with what I have available or can easily or cheaply source (unless you plan on doing much of it then its worth investing..)

But even reshaping a case can be done with a few types of buffing wheels and mops and about 4 types of compound...

You best off getting an old case and playing with it yourself to see what can be achieved... personally I would recommend you start by practicising removing a scratch on a brushed finish then making a brushed finish a mirror finish etc etc then a deeper scratch and so forth... becaue its no good reshaping anything if you cant achieve the original finish plus it get you used to working with the tools etc

A lot of guys over polish or over brush and with the poorer quality steel that reps use regardless of whether they say '316L like gen' etc they are not anything close to gen quality and so need to be treated differently and with more care.. thats why so many guys bugger up say CG pins.. the steel is too soft or rather far softer than gens are so its much easier to round off a pin head or quickly misshape a pin or CG etc

To be honest mate... your liberal misuse of adverbial phrases, split infinitives and errant use of prepositions is a crime against any grammar sensitive person sensibilities...

for that alone I would of banned you....

Dont worry though as you mention it could just be one of your nightmares and you will find yourself waking up with Bobby Ewing still in the shower...

Hi AJ and NW ..all is good  thanks .... yep been a while... glad to see you guys still here.. Hope all is good with you

Dont believe anything that AJ says..

He was born Lord Tarquin Ponsenby -Smythe third earl of lower Hollacheeks... he was educated at Eton where he earned a tie and a reputation for fagging... he then was the only survivor of the great aristocrat massacre, where a large gathering of aristicrats on a coach trip to visit poor people and larf loudly, was driven off a cliff by an escaped traffic warden with split personalities... (though the rumours he was involved with his uncle lord lucan are as yet unproven) and from that he found himself the beneficiary of a colossal inheritance and the new owner of 23 aristocratic titles. and 4th in line to the throne of Sweden and owner of several islands.. and now has the largest collection of gay porn in the world...

So dont believe anything he says

Sometimes it might help to check out other dealers sites as they all sell the same models and there pics and descriptions can provide a better understanding of what is on offer...

Or try someone like Angus at Puretime as he posts videos too..

The only real difference between any TD is price and service... the watches are all very much from the same makers

Very nice choice of leather on those mate.... and nice detailing ... they look well put together... the pics give me the feel as well as the look and its oozes soft and supple..

Sweetly made mate..

cant beat the guilt card...

What have you done so far mate?

Generally if I need parts for something slightly off the norm.. I go to the smaller dealers and ask them to source either the part, the bracelet or the cheapest version if all else fails.. you see they can or will go to the markets rather than the makers or will find them from wholesalers as well as asking the makers if they have any spares laying about..

But sometimes you can find that you can fix it with what you have or utilise other parts from other watches/sources that will do the job

Is it links you need? or pins/screws? do you have all the parts of the links if so or parts of the pins etc post some pics mate.. but if you want the easiest route try a dealer like Ken, Pyschospike or Sead Supermirrors or Mary Kingwatch or matey at Watchesinternational or Sillix etc...

In memory of my dads brother who was a U Boat captain during the war....

ones brown and ones blue both are crocs

Its a can be a bit of a misnomer or perhaps misleading to consider these dials as just lacquer filled I say that as it can suggest that its only the indices that recieve any varnish whereas on PreV dials they were always varnished across the dial which of course by definition means the indices would be filled as part of that process...

The reference to fat and thin indices is not a variation of the dial printing but related to the lume applicatiion of the individual dials by the individual lumers and the consistency of the lume as its applied and the way it spreads and/or sits over or under the edfe & height of the indices impression... if you picture the lume sitting below the top of the indices this would give a thin look finish whereas if the lume was to sit over the edges of the indices it would give a fat look to the indices... hopefully that makes sense..

There is plenty of accurate information available on the Risti archives and Thai PAM sites but for example here is a guide on the varnish application on PAMs since PreV and through..

And although these are more modern pics this gives you an idea of the process of ,making the dials

I know a few of you have done the egg or sulphur patina on the 382...

But as I mentioned before I do not like this method not just because of the look but also the effect of sulphuric coating left and its corrosive qualities

I took a pic of a cleaned and polished 382 before it went into the fumigation process and pics after 30 minutes of the process...

I will clean it off again with toothpaste as I am going to seal paste this one to maintain the original look however for those that ain't seen this method or its effect I thought I would post before and after pics

I do prefer the darkened look to the sulphur look myself ...

After 30 mins

Can you point to any instance where the price of a replica decreased.

Yep I can....

When Astonjenks posts a C&R on the sales section....

Hahaaa!!! Get out of that !!! :)

@civic.... Sorry mate I don't follow..

It's very spooky .... The title of this thread is what I say to myself every morning when I wake up.....

Coincidence ?!?!?! I think not !!!!

Hah!! Nope that was my weekend McClassical selection. Next up is a little more obscure, the Requiem by Maurice Duruflé.

Oh and welcome back big guy!

You can't beat drive through classics ..... I have only heard that Maurice Durufle on the album 'Anthrax do choral'..... A nice album that followed up the album.... ' megadeth sing Gregorian'

Thanks mate

Le Quattro Stagioni - Pina Carmirelli and I Musici

I assume you are on the phone to a business on 'call hold' !!!!

There are many details that separate these 111s from the makers mentioned.... The mods suggested really ain't worth the money but to each there own..... But when you get to basics the noob is built very similarly to the gen as in the case and bezel etc the H is made with a different technique which can prevent some parts being OEM replaced without machining.... Then there has been several reports of over polishing, pitting and general urn robustness of the h makers case.... But neither use the same quality steel as OEM ... Variations occur in CG especially lever shape, and foot plus other small variations like font, sheen of berlac, finish if hands, crystal, lug shape, pillows and edges, plus depth of base plate to top plate etc etc

But otb and overall I prefer the noob currently.... But if I wanted the best one it would probably involve me building one from parts of different versions and makers ....