Sogeha

I think Tempus Machina is the only boutique watch I'd really like, all the others just seem like defaced Rolex's to me. The bezel is the hard part to reproduce, I'd love more details on how that was achieved. Other than the lack of a gilt dial, you have just saved yourself USD18520 :-)

I haven't been here long enough to offer an opinion on Spinmaster, but I like the way things are dealt with here. Fairness and transparency isn't always the case on Internet forums.

Ubi is back, that's good news in it's self. Vacheron now not a Patek, please tell us the build story.

I'm interested in light aviation, but not knowledgable about the engineering side. I imagined everything would be metal alloys and fancy stuff. Most of the planes I'm really interested use birch ply :-)

Just PM him. He has posted in this thread so is easy to find.

It is possible but might be more costly than it's worth unless you can get mate's rates.

Most stainless watch cases including the reps are 316 stainless which is very prone to work hardening. Chatter on the bit is a problem and was probably pretty bad with the Dremel. People have had great success with hand drills, but ideally a pillar drill and a substantial one is best. If you don't have access to the tools sending the case to JMB is a good option. I don't think he charges much, but you could PM him and ask. Don't beat yourself up over this. The man who never made a mistake, never made anything.

Not to rubbish your input, but does the aircraft industry use much stainless? I would have imagined more aluminium and light alloys which I wouldn't be using high speed on

JMB is the lug drilling expert, but coming from an engineering background myself I can vouch for using the high speed low feed approach to stainless steel. I would use a drilling and tapping fluid rather than oil as oil tends to heat up. Beginners including me when I was an apprentice tend to put pressure on the drill to force it through. This is pretty much guaranteed to screw up. Let the cutting edge do the work and stop at the first sign of heat build up. Stainless is tough, buy the best drill bits you can get. As to engineering firms, spark erosion and welding. Well it's only metal and can be repaired, but cost is a factor as a cartel watch is only just over a hundred Bucks. Maybe just take the loss as a learning experience. Worse and more costly mistakes have been made and you have some useful spare parts now.

It said on my driving licence application form "tear along dotted line" and that's what I do unless I'm not in a hurry, then I drive on the shady side of the road.

I was dying to know this but bottled out of posting :-)

Impressive case work.

Well,a big thank you for taking one for the team. I really appreciate your views on the tonnywatches cases as I'm sure do other members. It would seem that given work a Tonny case could be every bit as good as a Phong for much less outlay.

The usual Dbane impeccable casework. Economy and a Dbane build aren't two things that go together well, but for the rest of us after saving USD800 on the case, we can save about a grand on the movement. Then fit the usual rep hands and an aftermarket crystal. Definitely not Dbane style, but it should be a very nice watch for us mortals for less than the cost of the movement on this.

Excellent idea. My Dad was a professional photographer, so I'm sure there will be some of these in the attic.

Plus one. It looks the business now.

I can understand his position, but it's a real shame. Anyway thanks for letting us know.

Welcome to the forum.

Please reconsider or share the files and contractors with us.

Great result without a huge parts outlay. You might think about aging the pearl.

Well said. If my replica watch craps out or falls off my wrist, I still have the wrist. If replica eyewear or anything safety and protection related fails to deliver, it's a bit more serious. Salad cream is visually a near 1 to 1 copy of sun lotion, I wouldn't recommend it though.

Very interesting. Would you please post more of the back story and are you going to make these available to members?

I thought it was just my hang ups and quirks at first, but I also find Buache and Lomb Ray Bans better than the modern ones. I have about half a dozen pairs from the mid eighties and I'm not planning on letting them go. I also have an early pair of titanium Oakleys which are the best driving glasses I have found.

[censored] wrists is a catchier user name than sogeha which is my children's initials. From now on friends may call me [censored] wrists. Diesel is interesting. How much longer are we going to laugh? Diesel is Fossil and Fossil are going places. I don't like the watches, but I like the company a lot. Huge market presence, selling well in Asia, buying Swiss watch houses and now have their own Swiss in house automatic, partly for their own high end watches and partly speculating on demand now ETA is no longer selling. I keep looking and thinking it could be worth a punt.

I love looking at vintage Pam builds. The two posted above are pure porn. Sadly oversized watches and undersized wrists doesn't look good.