Dlf

66 with service dial. I was going to put in a meters first and fatter font insert, but actually quite like it asis .

On 2/7/2017 at 0:33 PM, RickFlorida said:

While we are on the subject...... How were 5517 lug bars originally fixed on the case?  I assume they were brazed, silver soldered, of pressure fit?

 

I bet that you can tell if the case is original by the way the bars are fixed on the case.    That way, a buyer will know that someone didn't create the watch with only an original dial.

 

I would chemical test where the outside holes could have been laser welded closed.   You could "etch" the spot to see if a different alloy was used to fill.

 

So who has knowledge of exactly what the fixed bars look like?

I haven't seen much deviation on the bars on a 5517 milsub, all seem to have been press fit. The 6538/a is a little 

More confusuing  .

I also believe that even if you welded a case of exactly the same steel 316l for example the only way to verify the new metal is x-ray, I'd love to try and see ..as it's only what I've read on the interweb, and you know how that goes.

oh and that 5517 .... glws.

Hell for the price difference it's a winner, gen ain't bad either

congrats all round .

I don't think they are new, I had screenshots of all 5517 hands available and that picture is familiar. 

Vintagewatchmaker.com

sells nice bezel sets.

@manodeoro yes well it's a cheap Chinese lathe but functions well, I plan on using a 2846 that Was overhauled, I need to get some decent hands.... maybe some phong or ?, and have a service t-19 that I will install. Adrian's brevet crown tube, had the case engraved and also the case-back

I did want to make this piece for diving but the dreaded glued in plexi/ dodgy case construction will probably not allow it so,  best epoxy to use ?

@alligoat I was just reading that thread! Thank you  There has been some recent controversy and much speculation/adult bickering on the authenticity and story on the a/6538 burford dial subs.

Spurred me in to open the project back up. 

1 hour ago, manodeoro said:

OMG ... I'm definitely following your thread. Hope you'll take pictures while welding the bars.
What is the tool (machine?) on your first pic ?

Envoyé de mon XT1068 en utilisant Tapatalk
 

Yeah hopefully you're design will come out as planned

thats my lathe in the first pic, waiting on a outside chuck so I can finish my the bezel and hopefully make it fully functional .

Had a rare day at home so I decided to work on my A/6538 build that's been dragging on for years .

its a budget build based on a silix case /welded. The bezel is made from a random spare one I had that fit the case,  German silver welded on/replated. I don't have the tools or time to make a two piece bezel, and as far as I know there's some solid 'prototypes' which are acceptable for the vrf echelons anyway

Made some fat bars from the vintage Pam compression system, drilled out the tubes and press fit regular 'fat' spring bars inside. I will probably weld them to the case when the time comes.

Having a dial done which will be incoming soon. (Burford style)

lots of issues still to figure out, but some progress...

project is still in early stages !

I would take 10pc - 20mm bars 

if possible.

On 3/20/2017 at 10:18 AM, Champagnesky said:

Did a test yesterday and it was a complete fail. Read on another forum that enamel paint should work. The binder is acrylic though, so I bought Vallejos acrylic based model paint. Will test tonight

Yeah keep the paint and binder complimentary, or it will essentially curdle, pick up some thinner too. 

I saw phong has a new insert '2017' 5517 looks better than most.

Someone was selling dial and insert here a while ago that was very nice . Can't find the thread though ...Errors n all that.

omega hands might be you're best bet, all aftermarket are too long .

There seems to be a decent  amount of dial space to work with In You're favor, I'm confident you will be able to get it to fit and have all the details intact

I've sanded off the 116 cyclops and rounded the edges before and worked fine. Nice project

66

The Clarks hands are good value, just the Lume plot is so far away from the tube is the only major thing that bothers me.

5 hours ago, DVNE said:

My pants got tighter when I saw this on Instagram. Your hands are truly blessed for you to be able to churn something out like this. Hopefully I can commission you for a build or buy this from you one day. I need this in my collection.

 

Lol.

That's very kind pal, much appreciated!,  they are tough build if you want a top ocd result .

send me a case and we can work something out np  

6 hours ago, Revere said:

What a nice effect from taking the midcase down. How did you do this? On a lathe, maybe a milling machine?

Thanks, I explained that mate look up

Probably getting worse at taking pics  

@Sogeha The upper case was taken down on a lathe a few mm as I wanted the crown height to meet the bezel correctly, but more importantly to achieve the correct square guard curvature where the crown lies. The cases which i based my build off were images found from stefano mazzirol.

When I took the case down I realized that the rehaut seating was too large and luckily it's far too deep and thick compared to gen ( like when ppl complain that the crystal makes the rehaut look weird) which allowed me to also take this down dramatically also to be better proportionally to gen. 

The case is a cartel so there is only so far you can go, it's on the slim side for a scg, but I've also have found thinner cases and super fat cases in my Refrence pics.

I do all my own work, and have a  friend with a laser welder, who thinks I'm mad but let's me use his machine for cheap. 

@hologrametThe insert I put on a brass plate and heat up beneath it SLOWLY with a blow torch once it start to turn even slightly brown after 6-7 minutes I quench it in bleach, then repeat this cycle a few times, then just bleach, rinse, repeat many times untill it's pigment has created you're desired look. 

Keep in mind the insert is considerably more fragile and will bend easily after this abuse so take it easy with the heat, and installation. 

Thisnis just my method I'm sure there are many versions on a theme  

Have been pushed for spare time recently, but found the needed space and peace to build up another Square guard, but this time the less popular Tudor. I read somewhere that after Rolex's realization that the 100 or so units were not popular enough and the functionality was poor, they fobbed of the remaining cases to Tudor for some 7928's, I would assume that they are equally as rare as the bigger brother if not slightly more so in numbers today.

Iv'e had this on my bench for over 6 months, it takes a lot of time to make a case I'm happy with, we all understand the ocd associated with the hobby ....the more we reaserch the worse it becomes.

A few Specs.

Cartel case was taken down on the lathe and also the rehaut which I measured appropriately to my gen 5513, I assumed it was very similar as my case is a 1966 but its a good guide.

Case was laser welded, shaped, etc...

Drilled lugs 1.2mm

Fat Chamfers

tube was retapped, Adrian's crown tube installed.

Serviced 2846 eta/ homebrew mov ring made from brass ring.

dial is from Tonnywatches, I assume same as all the other Vietnamese sellers and vendors.

Hands are from TC, replated, and then I used old tritium salvaged from hands I have collected to mix and relume adding some pigment to match the dial.

Crystal is from Micheal Young

Bezel is Phong, nice and slim, and matches crown height well.

Insert for now is a Yuki,  cooked and faded, ghost tropic if you will.

bracelet is a Cartel folded link drilled, fat bars added with wso endlinks.

couple of crap iPhone pics

cheers.

As it appears I fooled oneself, great post, thanks for sharing

9 hours ago, rolojack said:

I'll rework the pushers to get closer to this. I need to create a bevel. Funny how you need to do things first to notice more details....

The Mk1 pushers are my favorite, extra long and fat