freddy333

Beautiful Doxas, guys. Especially, the Black Lung. Ending the work week wearing my beater

The threading (on most modern stems) is somewhat standardized, so crowns are interchangeable. The business end of stems - the part that fits into the movement - varies, which is why you need to match the stem to the movement, not the crown. You can use a pin vice (available from all watch parts houses) to hold the stem when changing crowns. With the stem held in the pin vice, simply unscrew the crown with your fingers & screw the new crown on (do not use tools to tighten the crown or you will strip the threads). You need to tighten just enough to keep the crown from unscrewing during use, but not so tight that you strip the threads. This is 1 of those things that takes experience & practice. I am pretty sure these things have been covered in 1 or more pinned articles in the Watchmaking forum. But, if not, this info has been posted a number of times over the years to a number of threads that you should be able to find via the search.

Due to the variability & lack of manufacturing QC on rep watches/cases, it is impossible to predict what you will need to do to fit a gen crown or tube to a given rep case. However, with a bit of work, they can usually be made to fit. Similarly, it is impossible to predict whether a gen crown will fit your aftermarket tube. It is always best to replace with gen parts whenever possible. To be safe, get a tap. To remove the old tube, insert a small, 3-sided hobby file (most hardware & hobby stores sell them) into the tube & wedge it inside so you can unscrew the tube by turning the file. Once the tube is removed, apply a bit of oil into the existing hole & slowly screw the tap in. Go in a bit, then unscrew the tap a bit to allow the bits of metal to be expelled. Repeat until the tap is all the way through. You now have a fresh set of threads the correct size to fit a genuine tube. There are tutorials in the Watchmaking forum, but, basically, you can either use the same file again to install the tube or use the proper Rolex tool (the inside of the new tube will have splines that interlock with the Rolex tool, which makes installation very easy). (click pic for link) Whichever way you go, apply a bit of semi-permanent Loctite to the threads of the tube & then screw it in gently. It is difficult to explain how tight to make the tube (this is 1 of those things that require some experience), but screw the tube in until it seats. Then just snug it up using finger pressure. You are not torquing the thing down! Just snug. Then you can insert the stem into the movement & screw the (gen) crown onto the tube (again, just snug, not tight).

That is the correct caliber for the watch, but be prepared to have it professionally overhauled upon receipt. As is the case with most aftermarket parts sellers, I have seen some really ratty stuff going on inside movements that were supposedly 'professionally' serviced by these guys or their 'watchmakers'. I cannot wait to see the finished project. In fact, I am so inspired that I am taking off my Newman & putting on my Bond Sub. Good luck.

Bergeon 5680 Luminous paste. You mix with a bit of water (& paint, if you want to simulate patina) &, when dry, it looks similar to tritium with a soft glow that quickly fades within a minute or so. Alternatively, a mixture of (non luminescent) paint & your choice of granular material, which is what I prefer, can, if done well, yield very accurate-looking 40+ year-old tritium. Art/artist supply shops sell everything you need.

I love the 6200's simplicity--with or without 'SUBMARINER' on the dial. Which movement are you using?

Some nice metal today, gents.

Still wearing my

Interesting that you cite this book. I saw Lott speak at a conference some years ago &, as part of his talk, he used 2 pictures that made the point about the effectiveness for & need of gun ownership very clear. 1 picture was a suburban house with a sign in front that read 'Gun Free Zone' with a peace sign below it & the other picture was a suburban house with a sign that read 'Signs don't stop violence. Armed citizens do! with the moniker 'NRA Member' below it'. He then put it to the audience, which, up until then had not been too open to Lott's opening comments, which they thought a criminal would be likely to target. It was clear from the audience's reaction that his point had been made with at least a small majority of the audience. Just sayin...............

A common problem & the remedy requires removal/repositioning of the inner plastic ('ceramic') insert & recementing. Because of the possibility of damage, I have not attempted this on any of mine, but you should be able to locate a few threads by other members who have attempted this.

There is no point in debating 'facts' from a group like that.

A couple of points - For 1 thing, banks contain money, which criminals want. This differs from schools & movie houses, which only contain targets. A successful bank robber leaves the bank with money that he can use to buy things. A successful mass murderer always loses his life or ends up spending the rest of his life in prison. Point being that the goals are different, so, in comparing arming schools/movie houses to banks, you are comparing apples & oranges. Still, the reason banks have guards & spend alot of time, effort & money to implement other anti-crime defense strategies is because banks learned long ago that if they continued to rely on the police to foil bank robberies, they would all end up with empty safes. The way I see it, you have 2 options - either you take away ALL guns, which would require a constitutional amendment & result in an insurrection or you grant the innocent the option to protect themselves. Enacting more laws & regulations that abridge lawful citizens' rights to keep & bear arms does little to stop criminals & the insane (who, by definition, ignore laws & regulations). Like I keep saying, there are no perfect solutions when dealing with imperfect human beings. Like choosing rep watches, you have to select the option that contains the fewest warts & work from there.

I just did. Now let me suggest that regurgitating commentary from the likes of the VPC, whose public & unconstitutional statements include the likes of 'Handguns should be banned from future sale except for military and law- enforcement personnel' & '(the ATF should) take immediate action to stop the sale and distribution of firearms', tends to delegitamize your point.

I am not positive, but I believe the dials/hands for ETA 28xx movements are interchangeable.

That is completely inaccurate. The NRA is funded by gun owners, some of whom may sell firearms or defend their homes/businesses or hunt or shoot for sport or just collect guns. According to the NRA's own stats, the majority of its members are simply private citizens who own guns.

The point is that having an armed guard at your daughter's school (as is already the case for schools where most politicians' & celebrities' send their children) will deter all but the truly insane. And, with an armed guard on premesis, your daughter would have a better chance of surviving an attack by the truly insane. Again, because criminals who commit crimes, by definition, do not follow laws, there are no perfect solutions. But I have been convinced that having the ability to protect oneself & ones' kin is a better alternative than relying on the government to take legal/political action after lives have been lost.

Ken - I see your point, which is the same 1 I used to make myself. The parents of those kids in Newtown thought they were safe too. Trouble is that we are all safe...........until we aren't.

Not a big fan of straps on Subs, but, otherwise, looks good.

You cannot post .zip files. You need to upload the .jpg images to photobucket.com or a similar site. Then, copy/paste photobucket's Direct Link URL into the editor here. Also, I would limit each image size to 1024x768 or thereabouts. If smaller, details are difficult to see. If larger, the entire image is hard to fit into most monitors.

As far as that online map of registered handgun owners goes, I think, since the information is publically available, the newspaper, under the auspices of the 1st Amendment, had every right to print it. However, in my opinion, this type of information (private info on law-abiding citizens), whether it be of registered gun owners, AIDs patients, traffic speeders or other publically available data, should only ever be accessible by way of a court order. And, then, only in those cases where a crime has been committed. But, again, this is another issue altogether.

The problem with registries was made clear in the recent posting of names & home addresses of registered (legal) handgun owners within an active online map. What next, an online map of the names/addresses of those infected with AIDs? Or those with STDs? Or those with prescriptions for medical marijuana? Today, it is a list of people whose lifestyle you disagree with, tomorrow it may be you & your lifestyle that ends up on an interactive list. That is why it is generally best to keep the government out of the lives of private citizens. Not. Although I am not a member, I have been following the NRA for quite some time, both as a private citizen & as a journalist. Not only have I never heard any NRA official suggest that criminals or the insane be granted free access to firearms, but, quite the contrary, the NRA has repeately petitioned the US congress to enact laws that prohibit sales to them. Unfortunately, as I said, it is nearly impossible to pass any laws (that have teeth) that some clever lawyer is not able to find a way around. Sad, but true. Frankly, as as been said for several years, the key to setting things in the right direction is (retroactive) term limits for both houses of congress. Eliminate the ruling class & you remove a whole host of political & social ills. But, that, of course, is a whole other kettle of fish.

Well, no one wants to address that fact because it is not politically fashionable.

I am a life-long democrat & not an NRA member, so I cannot say. Can you quote a source where conservatives are the 'first ones to propose cuts for on-duty police offiers'? With all due respect, in an age where the US is leveraging the government faster than the EU is deleveraging, you have to cut back somewhere.

No, not the only way &, possibly, not the best way. But it is the most realistically effective option I have heard to date. It is like putting the National Guard on the southern border to block aliens from sneaking into the US illegally (an act, by the way, which is punishable by jail in Mexico). Not the best option, perhaps, but it is the most realistically effective 1 that I have heard. Actually, according to law enforcement, it is usually very angry individuals who commit mass shootings. And they generally go after what are termed 'soft' targets - locations where the perpetrator expects little or no armed opposition. As I said, when faced with a choice between a soft & hard target, you would have to be insane to go after the hard target.