freddy333

A brand new workday, but the same old beater

Thank you, but all 3 have asymmetrical pushers (the button pushers of the 6239 & 6241 (the watches at far left & right) make it difficult to see because of the viewing perspective). The 6239 & 6241 are Valjoux 72-powered DWs, which use the same base movement that Rolex originally fitted into the vintage Daytonas (use the Search function to learn about DW Daytonas). The 6263 in the center is somewhat unique due to its being powered by an Asian 7750 with the correct asymmetrical pusher arrangement (most 7750s have symmetrical pushers, which are inaccurate for vintage Daytonas). Unfortunately, I cannot reveal the source of this watch just yet, but I should be able to provide more details soon. ____________ UPDATE -- After rethinking the situation, I decided that it would be foolhardy to do any grinding or bending of the lever, at least while it is contained within the movement. So, instead, I turned my dremel to the case and ground out a small semi-circular area just a mm away from the path of the pusher pin, which is where the lever is coming into contact with the case. Because the pusher is in very close proximity, I had to be somewhat conservative in the amount of metal I removed. But the lever is definitely coming into contact with much less of the case now, but not quite sure it is now able to fully-extend to its OFF position. So I just reinstalled the movement (held in place by the stem only....no movement clamps just yet) and will let it run for 30 minutes to see if that worked. If not, I will try removing a bit more metal & then retest. I will keep updating here in case someone else has this problem in future..... ____________ 30-MINUTE UPDATE -- All is well, so I reinstalled both case clamps and loosely fit the caseback. If all is still well 30 minutes from now, I will finally, and officially, pronounce the problem solved.

Ziggy -- Apparently, I was premature in pronouncing the job done. After reassembling the case, the hand began to move again. But the good news is that I just discovered the real source of the problem, which is related to item 1 above. The lever, itself, is bent causing it to come into contact with the inside of the case when the movement is reinstalled. I think you can see the way the lever sticks out beyond the outer boundary of the movement in these pictures Any recommendations on how to unbend (or bend) the lever without disassembling the movement? I was thinking that I could use a Dremel to grind down the edge of the lever that is coming into contact with the case, but I am worried that either the pusher pin might not have enough of a flat surface to operate correctly or, more likely, that the metal dust & shavings from the grinding would get into the movement.

Often, 1st generation reps of new models are pretty inaccurate. I would wait until they release the new reps late this year or early next. Those should be better. But remember that no rep is perfect, regardless of the marketing hype used by sellers.

The problem turned out to be that the lever itself was bent. Not only was the dial on this watch filthy (there were literally crumbs all over the dial & the hands had such a think layer of *greasy* fingerprints on them that I originally thought they were made out of white plastic with a worn coat of chrome paint on top.....until I started rubbing them with Rodico), but I blew a dust cloud out of the movement. I am amazed that this thing even runs. I wish I had taken some pictures of the inside of this thing before I cleaned it. Lack of QC is one thing, but to be assembling watches while you are eating your lunch.......Sheesh...... But after tweaking the regulator a bit, everything seems to be running fine now. I am even beginning to toy with the idea of capping this one off with one of those sparkling, beveled gen T21s. Funny how the addition of a set of asymmetrical pushers can give an otherwise average-looking rep the unmistakable air & presence of the real thing. (Picture taken before hour totalizer hand was fixed)

If the hole goes through both sides of the bridge AND it is threaded all the way through AND there are some available threads at one end of the hole AND the broken screw is not severely jammed in the hole AND you have another screw of the same size & thread pitch......you might be able to get the broken screw out by soaking the bridge in WD40 (penetrating oil) and then screwing the new screw in, gently, and it may guide the broken screw out the other side. This has worked for me on a couple of occasions. Another option (that I have used with success dozens of times in automotive restoration work) is to try to cut/carve/punch a slot in one end of the broken screw's shaft to fit the blade of a standard jeweler's screwdriver. Apply some WD40 (give it a few minutes to penetrate) and then just unscrew the screw.

Initially, I thought the pusher pin was the culprit, so I filed the pin down, but that did not fix it. So I think you are probably right about there being problem with the brake lever (if it was the reset arm, I would think the chrono second & minute counters would continue running also). Thanks, Zig.

Yes, that is true and I could keep doing that. But I am neurotic & my minimum requirement for wearing any watch is that it function properly and keep reasonable time. I would rather find out what the problem is and fix it than to keep having to reset it every 30 minutes. But I understand where you are coming from and it makes sense. I have a feeling it is a relatively simple thing to correct. Ziggy will probably chime in tomorrow. Thank you though.

I did a search before posting, but was unable to find anything relevant. Thank you anyway.

The hour totalizer hand (subdial at 6) is creeping around the subdial very slowly when the chrono function is OFF (it works normally when the chrono is ON). In fact, you can see it just to the right of the 12 in this photo, which was taken about 20 minutes after the chrono had been reset back to the null position (all 3 chrono hands pointing to the 12 on their respective scales) The longer the watch runs, the further around the subdial the hand will slowly move. It resets back to 12 without any problem every time. Trouble is that it also starts moving again within 15 or 20 minutes every time. Any idea what the problem is and, more importantly how to fix it?

No, veggie burger, salad & apple cobbler.

I have never been to Outback, but you cannot group those other 2 food troughs (Olive Garden, Applebee's) in with the wonderful gastronomic experience that is Houston's. Two completely different dining venues......worlds apart.

It looks that way, yes. And it is usually worth the wait. Thank you.

Went right over my head, Doc. I just re-read your original post and I get it now. I usually get those things, but I must have read & responded to your post as part of 3 or 4 responses I posted early this morning. Not enough sleep I guess.

Sorry Avitt, and thanks. Late last year or early this year, someone (I forget who) posted a response to a thread I started inquiring about info on Honpo's 7750-powered Daytonas. That person had one of these 7750 Daytona reps with asymmetrical pushers. I thought you (& most of the regulars) read that particular thread & were aware that these things exist (although they seem to be as rare as hen's teeth. You might want to PM me on this subject when you get a chance.

Chris -- Unless I am missing something, the answer seems quite obvious -- If your goal is to have the most accurate rep, then you need to buy the 2nd MBW and combine (or have someone combine) the two. If your goal is to get the best rep for the money, decide which watch has the least sins (to you) and keep (or buy) that one.

I believe the Valjoux 72x series all run at 18000bph. As for difficulties fitting the movement.........hard to say. One of mine went in like a hand in a glove while another caused me nightmares for weeks on end (there are a number of posts detailing both projects - search for 6239 or 6241 & my handle). But even if the movement fits the case, there are usually other issues you have to contend with (pushers not fitting, crown tube not matching existing case threads, difficulties installing bezels or crystals, finding a way to secure the movement into the case, having something in the case causing the caseback not to fit, misaligned lug holes, etc.). I would defer anyone considering the construction of one of these gems to consider the wisdom of Animal House: Start drinking heavily. Good luck.

A steel Rolex Explorer 1 because it goes with any dress style, the gen is reasonably priced & the design is simple enough so that there is little to give it away as a rep. It is also one of the classic doctor/lawyer watches, so it should fit right in in the law firm Here is the link (there is an Asian-powered version on the same site for 1/2 the price)

Wow, nice work, tmg! I am drooling without even liking that model. One of the Newmans en route to a business lunch (funny how Newman always gets stuck with the bill)

Fake

The (V72-powered) bookends keep COSC time (after spending a few days tweaking their regulators), and the centerpiece runs but, as I mentioned above, the hour totalizer seems to run (creeping around the subdial, seemingly counting hours) when the chrono is NOT in use. I am guessing there is a clutch that is mis-adjusted, but hopefully Ziggy will chime in with a more accurate answer.

Thanks, Tribal. I removed the rotor to disable the auto-wind & make the watch function more like the gen vintage Daytona 62xx, which, as you know, were manual-wind watches. Certainly, Valjoux-powered DWs are more accurate in their function (since they share the same base movement as the gen 62xx Daytonas), but I think this is a reasonable compromise considering the savings in both time (to search out a V72) and money (the cost to purchase another V72). Replacement of the crown & tube were the obvious next step since, having its auto-wind mechanism disabled, the watch would need frequent winding and the cheap, rep POS crown/tube would have stripped within the first few screw/unscrewings. Also, the rep Triplock crown is too wide and a dead-giveaway, and it was a relatively easy mod so it made sense to do it.

This particular watch came from the factory with the 7750 inside. As I have heard, there is a version of the Asian 7750 configured with asymmetrical pushers. I just modded the watch to fix some of the more obvious inaccuracies and improve the overall look & feel. I believe this watch is the same 7750-powered Daytona (with asymmetrical pushers) that Honpo has on his website. And as soon as I can provide more details, I will. But to answer your question of whether you could put a Swiss 7750 into this case, yes, as long as the Swiss 7750 has an asymmetrical pusher arrangement, I do not see why not.

Thank you. Close-ups of the 2 bookends have been posted numerous times in various recent threads and I think most of the members are probably sick of them by now (search for my name with 6239 or 6241), but I will try to post a few more shots of the center watch (including a close-up of the dial) in the next day or so along with more details.

Sorry, Diesel, I was just trying to make up for not posting any new wrist shots (other than my beater shots, which I keep posting because.....well, that is the watch I am usually wearing). The watches on either end are my DW 6239 & 6241 V72 project watches. As you know, these have been detailed in various posts. The center watch is new & a bit of a dark horse. I am waiting to get some additional info from the source, which I believer will be both interesting and welcome to many members. The watch in the center is a 7750-powered 6263 Franken (which as you can see has asymmetrical pushers) that I put together earlier this evening. You may have read my De-Automating the Asian 7750 inquiry that Ziggy responded to earlier on Monday. Well, the goal was to allow me to replace the original caseback (which was too tall) with a (correctly) shallower DW caseback, which fit perfectly once the rotor was out of the picture. Now the case has the proper profile for a vintage Daytona and the watch sits at the same height on my wrist as either of the 2 DWs. The bezel was an extra DW part that I accumulated during my repeated miscommunications with David (which turned out to be fortuitous). I also swapped out the original rep crown and tube for gen Triplock parts (the case hole required a thorough tapping before the tube could be installed smoothly) and I cleaned & lubed the keyless works while I was rummaging around inside the case. I also replaced the crummy end links & bent springbars with better quality rep links and gen springbars. I debated whether to install one of those sweet beveled gen T21s that look so sparkly on the other 2, but decided against it (at least for now) because the dial has some issues that I am not happy with (crown too low and subdials not quite accurate, though few people would ever notice it) & the hour totalizer hand (subdial at 6) slowly creeps around the subdial when the chrono is NOT in use (you can see this in the picture).