Jimmythree

quote = Ok I got a situation. I have sold 2 genuine TAGs (one ladies and one gents) on ebay to two different buyers. However, one has told me that she recieved a gents watch instead of a ladies watch. So i'm presuming i've mixed up the addresses. So i contact the other buyer and told him about a possible mix up, he has yet to recieve the package so i'm waiting for an update from him. Yesterday, this female buyer files a dispute on Paypal saying "item recieved not as described". On top of that, she insist that its Fake. I can assure you I don't sell fake watches so i'm finding this a little suspicious - wrong watch and now not genuine TAG. Of course, Paypal deducts the amount from my paypal account and now i'm thinking about my own protection. As of currently, she wants to return the watch and ask for a refund, I'm happy to give the refund if she wants but i'm worried that she's going to mail me a tv remote control instead of a watch - and try to scam me (one guy did, ask for refund and then sends me back the strap of the watch only!) Question is, what can i do to protect myself from letting such above example from happening? I really don't want to be down a watch and the money. Any advice and suggestions appreciated. Thanks in advance. /quote Pay Pal. The biggest bank robber since Willie Sutton. Your story reminds me of my trouble with watchlover david in 2001 and 2002... I bought a couple watches and paid by pay pal...everything went OK, watches showed up in a week or two. Bought some more stuff for friends, gifts etc and paid part of it by pay pal from a pp account and part by pp from a credit card. WLD went silent and sent nothing. A dispute was filed with pay pal in 27 days. WLD's pay pal account was closed because of the complaint. WLD cried like a stuck pig but would not send the items I ordered and paid for. Pay pal returned $12 a few weeks later after their "investigation" ($12 out of a few $k!) claiming they had done their job and considered the case closed as they recovered all that was in the WLD account. WLD sent a few watches trying to get me to drop the complaint...then he seized up again. In the meantime, I filed a claim with the credit card company. They returned the full amount charged on the cc. (the cc person had quite a few words of warning about pay pal even back then) Pay pal went ballistic! They threatened with all kinds of actions. They did nothing. WLD was still crying long and loud about his closed pp account...but no more watches. Finally, I threatened to sic the Internet Fraud Division on WLD. (I obtained his name, address etc through a friend of a friend) WLD accused me of being an "International Internet Thief" etc, etc but he finally coughed up the correct number of watches...although some were worthless DOA junk. That was my last WLD deal...and last pay pal deal. It looks like WLD showed up on TRC a year or so back and skinned a few more "clients" then dropped under the radar. I posted my WLD story on TRC in 2002 but took it down because as far as I was concerned, WLD was gone and forgotten. My pay pal fiasco will not be forgotten...until they are gone for good too. Good luck!

quote = When you screw in the crown, the movement winds or atleast he feels some sort of a winding. PLUS, the crown and the tube needs to be aligned in order for the crown to get screwd in. Do you think there is a potentially serious problem going on here or its a minor issue - /quote Two things can cause the watch to wind while screwing the crown in: 1...The stem is too short and the crown does not move enough to disengage the crown clutch before screwing the crown down. 2...The crown is defective or badly designed. The main problem with a watch winding while screwing the crown down is that the stem will be turning inside the watch with the spring tension from the crown pushing on it, causing wear to the stem and main plate. (stems are cheap and easy to change, main plates are not) When you look at a stem, you will see the point on the end...this is the "pilot" and it guides the stem into position inside the watch and gives support for the stem, keeping it lined up inside the movement. Just back from the pilot is the larger square section that rests against the main plate when the stem bottoms out from crown spring pressure. This flat section is not meant to turn against the main plate when screwing the crown down...the plate and stem are not designed for this. The tension caused by the spring in the screw down crown will eventually wear the main plate where the square section contacts the plate. What to do? 1...Lubricate the stem with watch grease and forget about it. 2...Replace the stem and/or crown. 3...Do not manually wind or set the watch very much. 4...Do what I do...option 1. Why are manual wind watches with non screw down crowns not bothered by this? Because there is no crown spring pressure on the stem. If a manual wind watch with a defective screw down crown is wound daily for many years, it might be a problem. Automatics are not nearly as bad. (see option 1 above) Case tube and crown thread problems are another matter. 1...With the crown unscrewed and the threads exposed...clean the threads with an old toothbrush. 2...Lubricate the threads with silicon grease. 3...Be careful starting the threads. Screwing the crown backwards until the crown drops down on the lead thread will sometimes help. 4..Do not over tighten the crown. If the crown wobbles and does not want to start straight... 1...The crown post may be bent. 2...The crown post may be a sloppy fit in the telescoping clutch. 3...The stem may be bent. 4...The parts may just be crappy to start with. (the most common cause) You might be able to straighten the crown post/telescope assembly but probably not. A new crown is the best fix. Stems are easier to straighten but they may break in the threaded area or at the "waist" where the set lever rides. A new stem is the best fix. 5...Do what I do. Keep the threads clean and lubricated and live with it...hope for the best. Do not fix it until it breaks. If the watch is a replica rolex, you can usually fix it with genuine parts. If it is another brand...IWC, AP etc, you are usually out of luck.

quote = So if you get the mbw 1016 no need to perform all this mods...Dont you think?

quote = What you heard is correct. My 1st DW was a nightmare & the 2nd was a relative breeze (you should be able to search the numerous threads I posted that detail the construction details & problems with these watches). I do not think the factory that makes the cases has very good quality control. These kits are NOT for the faint of heart. /quote Imho, for 900 bucks the case shoud be absolutely perfect. (and should include a bracelet, dial, hands etc) There might be $25 or $50 difference in the production cost for one of these cases vs a regular ST19/Venus 175 clone case. Once tooling is set up, they can crank them out like Twinkies. I got one of the PN Daytonas with a Russian Poljot/Valjoux 7733 clone about 5 years back and it is a little bit smaller than the current replicas with a ST/Venus 175 clone etc...it is the same size as a genuine Daytona. Next time I look at it, I will check the pusher spacing. I have seen them go for $1000 or more. Unbelievable. I have a Seagull ST19/Venus 175 chronograph and it has held up just fine so I guess they are more or less OK. Anyone sees a Daytona on a bum like me is going to think it's fake anyway...

quote = Does the tropic crystal fit without mods? I think the case you are using is only suitable for shappire crystals.. Very nice watch yours! /quote Rolex 16200 etc DJ sapphire cases have the exact same case neck diameter as the 1016. The crystal used on this project was a GS PA 464 64C and it is the exact same size as a genuine rolex 25-22 for a 1016 explorer. The difference is the bezel...the 1016 crystal is thicker on top and has a thicker sidewall than a 1600/16000/1018 etc crystal. The 1016 used a round section caseback gasket like the 16200 and the 1600 DJ and 1018 had a flat section caseback gasket. Back when the 1016 was offered for sale, they were WR to 330 feet while the DJ, 1018 etc was 165 feet, thanks to the thicker crystal and O ring caseback gasket. All used standard 6.0mm crowns. A smooth bezel from a DJ is often used with a 25-21 crystal made for the rolex 1018 on these projects. Stilty went the extra mile and used a 1016 spec crystal and bezel. Because of the thicker sidewall on 1016 crystals, you have to use a 1016 bezel or another bezel machined to fit the GS 464 64C or 25-22 crystal. (the 1018 is basically a 1601 DJ without the date) A bezel for a 16200 DJ is 30.4mm ID and the 1016 is 31.0mm. J3 What is a 1018? Watch Cat has some very good pictures of a 1018: http://www.watchcat.com/NewListings/rlx4212ss.htm

quote = Was chatting to my local parts supplier today re a retrofit on a quartz movement, which was no longer available. The subject of non aligning dial feet was raised, and I suggested I would just use dial dots to overcome this. This old timer said, " Don't mess with dial dots, or any rigid adhesives, the 1st time you drop the watch, the movement will seperate! Try a couple of small dots of silicon ( silastic) They will absorb any shocks, and last infinetly longer" Was wondering if anyone else has tried/ used this? I well understand that resoldering dial feet is the "best" method, however a lot of these quartz watches will not stand ( price wise) the time put in to do the job as it should be done. So anyone tried silicon for attaching dials? Comments? /quote I have used dial dots with good to bad results. Good... Quick and dirty fix for sticking dials to movements in cheap quartz kid and fashion watches. Can be used for spacers under dials etc. Bad... I had some black dial dots turn to goo and stop quartz movements because it crawled over to the pivots. Clear dial dots seem to be OK...they have not done this...yet. If the watch has a screw down crown...the tension of the spring loaded crown may shove the movement under the dial to the 9 o'clock side and bind the hour wheel and stop the watch. The same thing can happen when you pull the crown out to setting position. This all depends on how tight the spacer holds the dial/movement to the front of the case and how much slack there is between the spacer and movment and spacer and case sidewall. ZZ is right about clamping it all together with case clamps. On watches with close fitting dial/movement/case tolerances...this works fine as long as the case clamps maintain enough tension. One downside to no dial feet...I have seen quite a few watches with broken case clamps. Since the original clamps are probably not too hot to begin with, I make thicker case clamps out of automotive feeler guage stock and fix the problem once and for all. This works fine as long as the clamp is not too thick causing the clamp or screw to rub the winding rotor on 2824 etc. "Wound too tight." Yep, I have heard this a lot. I know a wach trader who puts his "wound too tight" watches upside down on the dashboard of his car in the hot sun to heat them up and soften the gummed up oil... I bought a rolex DJ a couple weeks ago with the infamous 3035 that was described as "wound too tight". It had a broken balance staff. I am going to fix it and grudge wear it to see just how tough it is. I bet it will not last 6 months. "A rolex can take anything your arm can take." Yeah, as long as you live inside a giant marshmallow.

quote: Wow! jimmythree, I haven't seen you since the old RWG1! That's a great rundown on the 3035 movement. And to think I was thinking of maybe buying a gen 16800- maybe I'd be better off getting an early 16610. /quote Yep, rather have the 3135. I was also on the old EZ Board RWCC and TRC member #43 as "Rick" until I reregistered as J3 after a server meltdown. I'm older that I look.

quote Any of you "franken masters" know if this would even come close to working? I know the main issue is gunna be the stem position in the case... I found a good deal on a 3035 that runs well and i was considering tossing it into my MBW case with a gen dial. From what ive found.. the 3035 and 3135 are the same size? ideas? /quote] The 3035 is about .3mm or .4mm thicker than the 3135 from the stem centerline to the dial. For instance...a 3035 will not work in a case made for a 3135 because the stem will not center in the case tube...it binds in the tube. BTW...the 3035 is not considered to be too hot outside rolexfreak circles. They have autowind assembly problems...broken rotor jewels etc, especially the top one. The hairspring gets tangled on the balance co*ck when slammed. (probably one reason the 3135 went to a balance bridge) The date sometimes hangs half way in the window or flips a day and a half. The hairspring is laser welded to the collet and many have come loose...no fix except a new balance complete. Some claim to have superglued them back in place but I have my doubts. etc, etc... Maybe this is why they dropped the 3035 after about 10 years and still have the 3135 over 20 years later. For the $$ and lack of hassle, I would stick with an Eta 2824, 2892 etc. Because... A replica is always a replica. You can put a tuxedo on a pig. It might look better. ...but you still have a pig.

"Great tip, if I ever pick up a lathe, I'll try this, thanks." ZZ You can sometimes get by with a small precision pin vice as long as the jaws are nearly closed when tightened down on the hand tube. If the jaws are too far apart they might collapse the tube. J3

'The Zigmeisterzumba'... "Sub dial hands too big. For the subdial hands, I use a minute drop of epoxy in the hand tube, and install the hands and let the glue harden. I tested and re-tested to see if it would be an issue for follow on servicing etc, and it isn't. The glue fills the 0.03mm gap and allows the hand to fit nice and snug and you can remove and re-install it no problem. I am sure if you were sloppy and got glue everywhere, it could be a problem, but I am very careful and have been gluing the center seconds hands for a long time...I don't do anything that would cause problems for the owner down the road." ZZ If you have a "WW" 8mm etc watch lathe and a set of collets... 1...Pick a collet that the hand tube will fit into (fairly snug) and place the collet in the lathe. 2...Place the hand tube inside the collet jaws a little over half way or about as far as it goes on the pivot. (I hold the hand with Rodico instead of tweezers so I don't flip it) 3...Gently tighten the draw screw a little bit to close the hand tube hole a very small amount. 4...Try it on the movement to see if it is tight enough and if not, squeeze it again. This will close the hand tube so no cement is needed. If you get the tube too small you can broach it out a little. This works fine on sweep second and chronograph center second timer hands too. J3