predfan2001

It's funny how somethings are missed at times, but tonight I was looking thru some parts and guess what I found? A 5517 minute hand. I didn't even notice that I had grabbed an old 1680 minute hand (thinner than the 5517) and installed on this watch. I've desided to take the movement out and paint the middle of the markers (I'm not sure why/or if the lume had been removed) but I'm not sure if I want to change the hand or not. This watch performs better than any watch I've ever had and knowing my luck something would go wrong. The date changes right at midnight and the hands are indexed perfectly. Not sure if I want to chance screwing that up. I think of this watch as a "head scratcher". I have several customers that are "watch guys" and they seem really confused when they see this watch. I don't say much about it, I just tell them it's a Tudor I traded for. A few just look at the Tudor name and assume it's a Sub and never notice the Hydronaut. It's pretty funny. I don't know that much about Tudors and I don't think many Rolex guys do either

Congrats! I like the Blue SS Subs. I've heard the gens were limited to Japan only years ago...others say they are fantasy??

I've got another one on the way too. I'm just buying it to part out but if the lugholes are better positioned, I may use the case on my first one.

Nope, one of those $10.00 Helfands pieces. I like them, some people don't. This is the first T39 I've had. I bought it out of curiosity. I was amazed at how thick it is. I tried a cyclops crystal on this one and it just didn't look right to me. Maybe I like the Sea-Dweller look or maybe I'm just used to my Omegas that have no cyclops???

My taste is not nessesarily directed towards classic or modern. I just like plain and simple, no gold and no chronographs. My favorites are classic brands, diving or military style.

Just got this one together so I'm seeing how it does this weekend

I found a Tudor Hydronaut dial on eBay awhile back and bought it. I didn't really know what I'd use it for, but it looked pretty cool and the price was right. I ending up moding a 5517 Submariner case, installing a "date" movement and the Tudor dial. A total fantasy watch but it's mostly just spare parts anyway. Here's some pics. This is the dial. A gen 27mm (before I almost cleaned the "2" off of the 200 ft.). I installed a T39 crystal and made the cgs "pointy" I bought a movement from a member here and mocked up the case to make sure everything fit The dial had no feet so I used dial dots (little gummy adhesive dots used for this purpose). I had to stack 4 of them in 4 places but they work great. The red spots show where I used them (this is not the movement I used-just for reference) Here's the end result. I ended up using an old insert I had in the parts bin. The sword hands are from the 5517 T19 vs T39 Pointy cgs. Olive NATO for now but a black one is on the way

Silix is the best place to get that one.

I hate to call them the "Silix" Sub (that's what many here refered to them as) since other collectors offered them, but maybe the "no crown guard" Subs. I haven't heard much on these since the hype wore down. I was one of the first to jump on the band wagon and got the 5508 style. It' a great cheap rep but of course mine had to problem with the lugholes being drilled too far in which made a band swap nearly impossible. I ended up just adding a skunk NATO to mine. I just noticed that the ETA versions appear to have better bezel teeth, more like the gens. Have there been any improvements made to these or are they still the same?

I guess everybody can calm down now-they're sold out!

All I can say is great! I'm glad that these MBWs are now sold by Joshua. Maybe the line will expand. I sure could use a 5512

Silly, those aren't scratches. It's called character!

This is the 5513 I tried to put together but the dial was gen sized and the case too large. The "vintaged" movement: The case:

Nodate vintage Sub that reads "Superlative Chronometer Officially Certified" below Submariner, or are your pulling my chain

3 "not so accurate" reps? Only if you're buying

After nearly a year of wanting a nice 5513 nodate Submariner rep, I'm saying screw it and ordering a cn vintage 5513 or 5512 rep. I'm sick of looking and I'm disheartened after my 5513 project didn't pan out (the rep dial I had was too small for a rep case). I would order a MBW 5512 rep but it appears TTK doesn't have it. Just trying to make up my mind which one to order. Trustys 5513, Perfect Clones 5512, Silix 3-6-9?? Any other ideas???? I want a nice one of these (5513): I might consider one of these (5512):

Some of you may remember my quest to find a motorcyle. I finally chose the VN900 Custom and all I can say is I love it. I'm 6'1" and this bike fits me perfectly. It sure saves on gas money (weather permitting) and it is my #1 stress reliever. I've found myself starting mods on the bike which leave less time for moding watches . I've got to modify those saddlebags so I can eliminate that flap between them. If anyone is looking for a cheap, entry level bike, be sure to check out one of these. It's alot of bike for the price.

Well since my primary GMT didn't actually die, I was thinking about getting out my other one and swapping the Speedy band for a rubber strap. The first GMT I saw at an AD back in the late 90s had a rubber strap and I loved the appearance. Has anyone ever done this? Where can I get a rep rubber 20mm strap? Will a PO strap fit? I saw that Silix only sells a 22mm for the UPO. My GMT with the Speedy band My other one with a gen SMP band

I'm with you there. Some people here say "remember, it's just a cheap replica". The way I see it is that a good rep has a rubber sealed stainless steel oyster case much like a gen. From what I've seen a good rep can be water resistant enough for me, I'm no diver. Not that many professional divers would actually use a SD anyway. To be honest I'd rather have an ETA movement because if it fails, I can just replace it for alot less that what a gen costs to service (but then again, I ain't rich). I've had 5 gen Rollies and 1 gen Omega SMP, as I said I'm not rich so I bought used. I had to get every one of them serviced or repaired which added up quite abit. I think eventually I'll get a Sub or SD that I am happy with and install a gen tube and crown. That will be all the watch I'd ever need.

Spanking! I guess you're right. I guess these asian movements must be tempermental. This one is working as good as ever now. So I guess I still love my GMT!

I'd say not, well not without replacing the crown and tube with gen items. As you know I'm from Tennessee so in my "redneck" way of watchmaking, I assemble my case before the movement goes in and submerge the case in water over night to check water resistance. If they leak, they fail. Granted if they don't leak, that doesn't make them totally waterproof, but washing dishes or a shower is usually as wet as my watches get anyway. After 2 5517 rep cases I have tested, I can see that I don't trust the tube to crown seal. Both of mine leaked when tested. The tube to case seal is ok because I seal the tube in installation after I modify the crown guards. I think that if they had a gen tube and crown it would probably be ok, but I haven't invested in the tools to do the install yet. I've found checking water resistance very interesting. None of my crystals have leaked (I use GS hypo adhesive on plexi crystals and lube all rubber seals). Actually the 5517 tubes are the only leaks I have ran into. When compairing to other reps the tube looks much shorter which makes me wonder if the seals are actually contacting as they should for a good seal? Food for thought. Redneck watertest. This vintage case passed the test: 5517 results (this is the "pointy cg" case I'm using for my Tudor Hydro project) see the water under the tube. This was only after about 30 seconds under water:

I guess the answer all depends on when you ask it. The last time I brought this up the only answers I got were to use double sided tape and dial dots to adhere the dial to the movement. I bought dial dots and they were a total waste. I don't see a spot on the movement you could stick double sided tape onto.??? I did experiment on an old watch and I used a tiny bit of clear epoxy to adhere the date wheel spacer ring to the movement. I mocked it up on an old movement. Then when it dried, it dabed about 4 tiny spots of clear epoxy on the edges of the movement and set the dial on. It worked as far as I know (it was an old dead movement I use for fitment). It was secure and it came back apart ok with a little pry without damaging anything. Epoxy bonds just enough to hold but will not permanently bond on metal. And it is easy to remove. I really don't see me having any luck with dial feet. They should be soldered on and you can't do that with a finished dial. I don't see anyway to properly install feet onto a finished (painted) dial. There is not enough contact surface for epoxy to hold.

That's where I get my inserts from...no complaints. I also like their plexi crystals.

Nope, different house. The first pic of the green car was in 1977, the last was in 2007. The garage was so funky because I had a wall leaking and I had stuff thrown around everywhere. The gold car was my high school car but that picture was taken around 1989. The guy that bought the gold 68 was in it a few months back where I work. He has painted it maroon with gold stripes. I liked the gold better.

Somebody stole Flav's watch