Nanuq

I remember reading something awhile ago where there's a mod you can make to an ETA movement to remove the 2nd "click" when you pull the stem, so a modded "date" movement will behave like a "no date" movement at the crown. Can anyone point me in the right direction?

My eyes! My eyes! *claw claw*

Unfortunately I had to ban him.

I'm amazed your magnetic declination is so small. Above the Arctic Circle here in Alaska there are places where it is off by more than 150 degrees!

Wow, that's heady praise indeed. Coming from the lips of El Maestro I'd say your collection is looking prett-tt-ty strong.

Pretty amazing, the level of skill demonstrated on this site. If you went to VRF and asked them how to rebuild a 6mm Brevet crown, do you think anyone would have an idea? Not likely. And you'd become a pariah for having the temerity to even consider doing it.

........which would then free up a shiny new 6mm Brevet crown. Hmmmmmmmmmmm. Too bad it won't fit my 5.3mm 1675.

Ahhhh, now I remember that post. Nicely done, Freddy! I know the guts of my "underline" twinlock crown are good... I could just transplant the "Brevet" cap onto those guts and call it a day.

About a year ago I got lucky and found this little beauty. Before I knew it, it was in my pocket and on my watch. Since then the lovely little beastie has adorned my Sub with grace, until I had it in to the AD for another small issue. The watchmaker discovered the little spring loaded hex piece in the middle that slides against its spring was worn, and when I try to wind the watch it "jumps". It feels like the winding gears are jumping inside the movement, but he assured me it's faulty crown guts. The hex "points" are worn down and they jump inside the little hex tube they live in. So I searched and found another 6mm Brevet crown. Lo and behold, it has good guts. The heavens rejoiced. My question: how hard is it to replace this crown myself? I don't mind working on ETA movements and swapping crowns and stuff but I'm more than a little nervous to swap the crown on my old timer. Is this a job for my AD watchmaker? He's a fine chap and keeps asking me to bring him watches he can actually work on, instead of museum pieces. Your advice?

GAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! *clutching chest* You have to stop doing that to me! My heart can't take it! Please, for the love of God, issue a disclaimer before you post photos of that beauty.

Man there is no fooling you guys. You're GOOD!

Okay eagle eyes, which one is real, and which one is MBW? Or are they both real, or both MBW?

Nope, you can get a 6536 insert from any 1665, 1680 or 5512/3 and there's an ongoing argument over whether the 6536 insert had "minute" tick marks from 00 - 15 minutes. I've seen them both ways. The bezel is what's hard to find! Who would have thought these are the same size?

Heck, I thought you were going to say you "lollipopped" the hours hand and cut out a lume segment so it looks like an Apple.

A canning jar is made to store vacuum, not pressure. And I bet it's only good for an atm before the lid caves in. From what I've found a Nalgene is easiest to use cause you can drill the lid and get an inner tube's Schraeder valve poked through with some silicon glue to seal it. Mine will take 95psi before it deforms the lid and begins to leak air.

You mean THIS lovely insert? Hooooooooooooooooooooly smokes!

There's "pressure tests" and then there's PRESSURE TESTS.

"bleed your system every two years as you should anyways" Huh?? You're supposed to bleed your brakes?? I just keep the floorboards open on the driver side of my Land Rover, and do a Flintstone when I need to stop. Tough on the sneakers though.

There I was, working on my watch, and I solved the Grand Unification Theory conundrum! No seriously, a very generous member here sent me an incredibly nice aged insert and pearl for my 6536 "Bond" Submariner. I popped it on and it looks GREAT. So what to do with the gen insert I had on there for 14 years? I looked at the scabby POS insert on my MBW 1665 and thought I'd try a swap. Believe it or not, the 6536 insert is a perfect fit on a 1665 Sea Dweller. Who woulda thunk it??

I made a tester out of a clear Nalgene and it works great. I pressurize it to 90psi and wait till air leaks in the case (if any) then submerge the watch and pop open the schrader valve. I get scary bubbles from under the bezel and inside the crown, but no "streams" of bubbles that would indicate a leak.

Well done Red, let's keep the politics over in this thread. Remember boys, no low blows, we want a fair fight. Facts at 20 paces. Let 'er rip!

If you try the Photosynth app you'll get a sense of the scale of those mountains. I need to learn to use it better but if you load up the panorama and then pan it slowly, wow! Pretty close to the real thing. Except for the bear breath from mama sneaking up behind you.

"Wierd experience"? That's swimming in Alaska!

What? These waters were positively tropical! I'm telling ya it's like a warm bath. Honest.

Boy I dunno, she can always do the "Freezin for a Reason" polar bear plunge with us, we break the ice off the lake and jump in to benefit Special Olympics. Think she'd go for that??