droptopman

Actually Native American. Funny how in WA you can drive 100 miles and it looks like a different state with totally different geography and climate. Sent from my droptop using telepathy.

Hi there, nice to see someone else who has spent time in the beautiful PNW. I am from Seattle but now live in central WA which is more like high desert with minimal rain. I love Seattle but after 30 years of rain and traffic moved to Yakima a few years back. Still only 2 hour drive from downtown but much better weather and no traffic. Cheers. Sent from my droptop using telepathy.

7 letter max in WA State and +$50 a year. You do have a bunch of options for plate design. Yes there are fees to transfer to another vehicle. WA is a very tax happy state though so might not be the case in other states. Sent from my droptop using telepathy.

Thanks for the update. That is strange Sent from my droptop using telepathy.

Sometimes forget how good a vintage Sub looks on leather. Sent from my droptop using telepathy.

Mechanic Sent from my droptop using telepathy.

Spades Sent from my droptop using telepathy.

Joker Sent from my droptop using telepathy.

The new Tapa Talk is [censored]!!!!

Super cool piece here. Congrats. Do not see many of these around. Sent from my droptop using telepathy.

Yes he is. I got a couple from him after the fact, but needed that one shipped right away. It was not even in good shape. The ones from RSH were better......That was one of those self imposed impatience fees.....

Good thread and good points here. I know the seller over there and he is well respected and one of the "good" guys IMHO. Probably why no one will say much. I will say I needed a gen 703 crown recently for a project and needed it quick. I paid $150 for it with no tube so we never really know what someone might have paid for the parts. Not that I am saying that loss should be passed on to the next person but it does happen.

Catman Sent from my droptop using telepathy.

Finally sourced a genuine 1966 7206 with some help from a friend. Just came in yesterday.

For the most part agree with what has been posted. One thing that is hard to measure is the emotional reward--whether you build the watch yourself or have someone do it, the reward can be the knowledge gained from doing the research for a build. Sourcing the correct parts to make it correct for the model and period of the piece. I find this an enjoyable and enlightening experience, as well as the communication with other members on these builds. The development of connections and friendships. The car example is a very good analogy. I have build muscle cars my whole life and lost money on just about every one. And I owned a specialty car lot for many years, so had access to auctions, wholesale prices, my own shop and did most of the work myself. When I say lost money, I am talking about the builds I did for my own vehicles not for the business.... This hobby for me is very similar to that, so the ROI is usually not measured in $. Agree with dbane on the 6538 or similar rare pieces that I would not pay gen money for, but really want to have, so spending 7K on an 80K watch and getting a pretty darn good resemblance works in my logic and lifestyle. But also agree that I would not spend 1/2-2/3 to build a 16610 as they are accessible and affordable. I made this mistake building a 16750. Spent more than 50% gen cost for a nice looking watch but it will always have an incorrect case. First franken build, so learned a lesson. So at this point I am looking for a gen as they are accessible and affordable...... I will say the watch that the OP identified was built by a really good guy who is a real asset to the forums.

Speechless... Sent from my droptop using telepathy.

Good topic, and I am similar to other posters. I go back and forth. Only been here for a short time but went through a lot of watches. Found out I do not care for OTB reps much which kind of defeats the purpose--as in cost savings. So now really only interested in franken builds, I really enjoy that process and the results. I know one thing; the knowledge, connections and friendships I have made here are invaluable. Even if I go back to gens I have connections now to get them serviced by a WS guru at a reasonable and fair price and do not have to get gouged by Rolex. My last gen had some issues and Rolex wanted 3500 to fix a 6500 watch. I also found a passion for vintage watches here that I did not have before. So some of the models I really like I cannot afford to get the gen, so doing a high end fraken build allows me to still acquire such pieces. For example a 6538. It seems a progression as each build seems to get closer to genuine, so that would lead me to think at some point soon I will buy another gen. I also found that doing some franken builds does not make sense to me. Since a nice gen is within my budget and easily accessible it makes more sense to buy the gen than spend 1/2 -2/3 of the price of a gen on a build. Of course I learned that lesson too late as I already built one. So at this point, I would guess I will continue to do builds that I cannot afford or acquire the gen equivalent and on other pieces where the gen makes more sense I will go that direction.

Last pic sucked. Better pic. Sent from my droptop using telepathy.

Sent from my droptop using telepathy.

Saw your build post. Very impressive project and excellent detailed post on the process. Congrats on the execution on this build. Sent from my droptop using telepathy.

Cool project. Thanks for sharing this. Sent from my droptop using telepathy.

Hunt Sent from my droptop using telepathy.

@dbane, great shot. Sent from my droptop using telepathy.

Correct Sent from my droptop using telepathy.

Hi and welcome to the forum. Generally a lot of really good and very helpful people here. It is hard to offer advice without knowing what model you are looking for and what your budget is. For an OTB (out of the box) rep, I like to use Toro Bravos. But if I was after a modern sub 116610 I would probably pay the extra for a BK. If I wanted a 16610 sub circa 2004 I would pay extra for a TC. All three are trusted dealers but all have different models and price points. Sent from my droptop using telepathy.