freddy333

On 6/29/2023 at 8:08 AM, Gmoney88 said:

- Is there a good place to get a 3135 case?

There are a number of 36mm DJ cases for sale on ebay. If it were me, that is where I would head. Same for a crystal & any other gen parts.
Good luck.

Be careful mixing & matching 7xx series crowns & tubes.

I have not dabbled with any of this for many years, so I cannot provide definitive guidance (there are many old threads on the subject like this or like this that you might want to read before proceeding). However, I do recall fitment issues of crowns not fully or properly screwing onto tubes due to varying thread pitches & locations. Therefore, I would recommend that you make sure a given crown properly screws fully-down onto whatever tube you want to use before installing. You will save yourself many headaches & requests for help if you test 1st. Remember also that early 7xx crowns were essentially Twinlocks & later 7xx crowns were Triplocks, which partially accounts for the variations between tubes.

Looking forward to the finished project.

What is your plan for each build?

Unless you are an expert in Rolex case stamping, it is unlikely you or almost anyone viewing your watch in the wild will be able to tell a steel gen case from the average rep. However, if your goal is to be able to fool an expert, I would go with a gen case.

Dials are a different story because even the most expensive aftermarket dials still contain errors compared to their gen counterpart. However, as others have indicated, you will pay dearly for a gen dial (& case). But if you have the funds, I would go all gen.

As always, the perfectionist.
Another great work, Tribal.
I suspect that if Bob were still with us, he would post something like 'It's rubbish, why don't you let me take it off your hands?'

Most likely, due to the economy. I think the layoffs within the tech sector, which the gov't & media have been hiding, are beginning to take a toll --

It's a buyers' market! Luxury dream cars like G-Wagens, Lamborghinis, and Ferraris, are being sold at 'huge discounts' because market is 'decimated'

Luxury Home Sales Plummet 38%, The Biggest Decline On Record Driven By Inflation, Recession Fears

Still wearing The Big Kahuna, but in honor of oldtools' Spaceview, I thought I would repost my non-Spaceview 214 (I have the original Bulova Spaceview conversion kit, but, because my watch matches the 1 in the ad, I chose not to install it -- yet) --

Back to the freddy333 Daytona --

On 5/22/2023 at 7:30 AM, Timelord said:

I always wondered why the  only oil applied when oiling this setup was just that concentric drop sandwiched  between the two mating jewels held by capillary action and nothing underneath where the tip of the balance staff rotates on the outside of bottom jewel   This was always a mystery to me!

Oil pooled on the surface of the backing jewel will migrate below & around the pinion, thus lubricating it.

16 hours ago, Timelord said:

Do any of you that service your own movements also clean both pivot holes of where the balance staff sits in with peg wood after rinse?
I have never seen any servicing videos of when this section is done!  All  I have seen  is how the two stones are separated  and a drop of oil is placed  to cover  a concentric section of the flat part  of the jewel and then the two are joined together held by capillary  forces! 
is the balance staff end tips oiled with an oiler or does one  oil the pivot holes immediately after having oiled the midsection of the mating end stones?  
any thoughts on this?

thanks!

I always peg-out ALL holes/jewels BEFORE cleaning. Also, I likewise generally polish pinions BEFORE cleaning. That way, the ultrasonic agents have an easier time removing debris since most of it is surface contaminants & not burnished into the metal by friction, as in the case of holes/jewels.

I generally do not directly oil the balance staff pinions, since they are lubricated (by the oil within the end stones) once fitted back onto the movement.

Keep in mind that if you ask 10 watchmakers their procedures, you are likely to get at least 6 variations back. Over time, most tend to learn what works best for their needs & level of perfectionism.

Looking forward to seeing what CTime & theonewatches has to offer. Based on my experience with CTime's Daytonas, the future should be very interesting.

Moonraker Daytonas

2 hours ago, JoeyB said:

One I had carefully wrapped and shipped to freddy333 broke during shipping via USPS. I then switched to using lexan, the  the material used on fighter jets being bullet resistant.  

My GMT with JoeyB's NON-lexan insert -- if you look carefully, you may be able to see 2 of the 3 broken segments (at 7 & 10 on the bezel's 24-hour scale).

Sometimes, lemons make their own lemonade --

Many mistakenly refer to the original Rolex GMT's bezel material as being Bakelite, which is incorrect. Here is a bit of that forgotten history.

On 5/8/2023 at 9:35 AM, CTime said:

Thank you! I will let them know!

And I'm really curious about your work on the balance bridge, may I see some pictures? I haven't see anyone finished this interchanging.

The Big Kahuna (116520) & The Golden Cuckoo (116508-0009).

CTime -- Thanks for the great photo layout.

I have a Clean 116508 with the v1 A4130 & replaced many of the parts with gen parts (including balance & balance bridge), so I know the movement is an accurate clone.

The V2 version looks better, but it would be nice if you could improve the pallets & bridges with stampings on them. I believe those are the weakest points, even in the V2.

Otherwise, I have previously sung the praises of Clean in my recent Something, this way comes 1165xx Daytona threads.

Stem should be in winding position.

On 4/30/2023 at 9:52 AM, skrr said:

Does the 904L make a noticeable difference..?

Under the right light, if you compare 904L to the steel most reps use, some people claim they can see the difference. I cannot.

Took a break from the Big Kahuna since I am just knocking around the house today

9 hours ago, swdivad said:

That's a fantastic build Freddy!

Do you think the QF 116520 is the best out of the box these days compared to the others like Clean and BT?

Of the 3 factory offerings on Andrew's site, I selected the 1 that contained the fewest & least objectionable sins to my eye. As always, others sensitivities may differ from mine, so you should carefully research each factory's offering & make your selection. Of course, if you are frankening your watch, everything but the case can be corrected with gen parts.

But, as I said, out of the box, these are all so accurate that it is difficult to call them fakes, at least in the way we have traditionally classified non-Rolex-built Rolexes.

1 month ago, I set my franken 116520's time to our server's clock &, as of today, it is still within 1 sec of the server's clock. I continue to be amazed at the technical brilliance of the 4130's design & the Chinese ability to clone it for a fraction of the original's cost.