scott60

Yes, sorry I meant black dial lacquer.

OK, easy to see the raised depth numbers. Difficult for me to see in the pic that the gilt is from below. I think it's probably a lot easier under the loupe. Then (under loupe) do you see the white dial lacquer ending where the gilt begins?

cc33, That was a great lesson for me! Are white depth letters also painted on top of the lacquer? I'd been looking at Minh's site for a week and now I finally understand why two similar (to me) looking dials were so far apart in price. Fascinating stuff.. thanks again

Hi, I'm reading this with fascination as I'm new to vintage subs. I just acquired a nice 1530 movement and plan on buying a 6538 case and dial from Minh. Your dial experience has me a bit worried. I'm also having a tough time telling from the pics you posted what is different about the red depth and lume on the one you received vs. the one in his picture. Thanks in advance for any education you can give me related to the details on these two dials.. best Todd p.s. by the way this is a phenomenal looking watch..wear it in good health

OK, do you have a #7? The one with orange handle where the center pin has a wheel with 4 different sizes of pins? This one has to have the center pin perfectly aligned in the middle to hit the cannon pinion of the watch, this is where force is exerted when the hands are pulled. My center pin does NOT stay centralized which causes problems when trying to remove hands. I used a #6 tonight and it was a breeze. Much simpler. Please tell me which is your favorite for a basic vintage 50's-60's civilian swiss automatic? thanks

Hi, Actually the center post in a #7 comes down onto the cannon pinion which is where it exerts force when the hands are pulled. It's a different beast than a #1 or #6. Your answer above is fine for a presto #6 as I tried one tonight and it's a breeze. The center post in my #7 does NOT align in the center the way it was designed and so misses the cannon pinion. Which one do you use? thanks, Todd

no offshore, it was a different type, also with poorly drilled holes. the distributor told me they will exchange for a different one..

OK, maybe. But I note that some of the presto removers have no central plunger. This is simple for me to understand. Just use a dial protector, get the remover claws beneath the 2 hands, squeeze and gently remove the hands. In my presto #7 tool, what should the central plunger be doing? I don't have the thing in front of me now, maybe I'll go home later and take a few pics.

OK guys, I know I've been a bit of a dolt here...usually I'm very good with tools and fine work. So my stupidity here is frustrating me even more than you.. I'll do a youtube search thanks

Hi Andy, Thanks so much for the reply. Can you tell me the purpose of the central plunger in the #7? I'm definitely missing something fundamental here... thanks Todd

yeah, the body is alloy with round holes. this is allowing the pins to angle out. incredible that a pos like this is sold from a reputable dealer!

Hi, and thanks for your reply. I think I've been unclear. When I pinch the tool the central post is stopped by one of the claws. Shouldn't the central post stay in the middle and go through the holes in the hands? I've tried adjusting the post by fooling with spring tension on either side.

I bought a very typical looking case holder with the 4 round plastic pins. I've tried the thing out now and it will not get a firm grip on ANY of my watches despite much manipulaton, tightening, repositioning, etc. Is this a common problem? Case holder is off brand purchased at Esslinger. Any thoughts? thanks

I just bought a Presto #7 hand remover and am fooling around with some cheap watches before I go near my Rolexes. The problem with the tool is the center plunger, which is not centered, and keeps hitting the feet and not making it through the central hole between the feet. I have tried to adjust this by adjusting the spring on either side. I can also sometimes get the plunger tip to go through the hole if I hold the tool in a very particular way, placing so much pressure on the right spring and so much pressure on the left spring in a different position to adjust for the plunger tilt and try to center it. This seems like an awful lot of work to have to go through to make this supposedly good tool behave properly. Is there a better hand remover with a more stable plunger mechanism? And what about when the hands are so close to the dial that when a dial protector is used there is barely room for the hand remover. Is this the time for the manual fork type of tool? thanks