drhydro

Very good! Hope this takes off and more contributions flesh it out- the info that's there already is very nicely put together. More data on the less common movements would be really nice... The 7750 article was interesting - and a bit tantalizing because of the mention of two factories... (Pug, is that yours?)

Hey Rod- just saw this thread for the first time... It's possible that a 1/16 inch ball from a ball bearing would work in this application. I did this several years ago on a Seiko dive watch that used a similar setup- don't remember the exact details, but I took apart a ball bearing from a junk aircraft gyro of some sort- I got lots of that kinda stuff- chose one which had balls that pretty well matched the hole for the spring, and it worked fine. Nice job on the lathe, by the way!

Stilty, have you looked through Caswell's support area? They have very good FAQs and troubleshooting downloads. And if you're getting crud that you have to steel-wool off, that sounds like contamination to me.

I've tried a small bit of plating, and my experience is that it is truly an art.... the "simple stuff" like those brush platers might work, but ONLY if the metal to be plated is CLEAN and CHEMICALLY ACTIVE, and only if you know exactly what you are plating onto. (To clean and activate a watch case so it will accept plating is not just rinsing it off- it can involve acid dips, electrochemical cleaning, distilled water, rubber gloves and face/eye protection.... YMMV!)

I have a Bergeon set, about a year old, and have also found that the blades are pretty easily damaged- seem a bit brittle. So far I have not replaced blades, still sharpening them often- but I thinkI may grab a Horotec set.

TTK- My sincere best wishes to you -- and take care of yourself. I know a bit about what you're faced with- diabetes is not a friend; I have my own struggles with it. I have an awfully hard time understanding people who, it seems, always ascribe the worst intentions and the most evil motives to others... seems like it's mostly a reflection of their own shortcomings. I tend to err in the other direction, I think... have I ever been scammed as a result? yes, but not enough to even think twice about it. Get through this. You are a valuable asset to this board and the rep community; a fast hand with an acerbic wit and a rapier-like response... we need you here.

By coicidence, I'm in the process of doing exactly the same thing..... and gonna send the crystal out to mr chieftang to coat. Just bought a Navi from JKPadget2 which had Chieftang's 1st generation AR on it- so it's gonna get recoated with the good stuff! But I have the same problem that The Zigmeister had, in that my dial is 32.00 MM diameter and the opening in the inner slide rule bezel is just a tad smaller. From your pics, The Zigmeister, it looks like you didn't have to do much if anything to the bezel.... my dial will *just barely* fit in the case (with just a bit of coaxing) but the bezel covers up most of the slide rule graduations on the dial. The dial in this Navi originally has a "step" on the outer diameter that matches a "step" on the underside of the bezel. So a gen bezel would be really nice... I have not yet decided what to do about this. Might take some more pics in a few days and ask some advice- I'm gonna be out of town for a couple days. See here:

Hmmm... I think this would go nicely with the yellow plaid leisure suit that I wore to a halloween party last fall.... B)

Agree!!! I didn't see this thread in January- I woulda joined in. This is a truly remarkable film. I was amazed by the use of original recordings, and the raw talent Mme Cotillard brought to the film. The film sent shivers up my spine- the whole way through. I still have the LP of the Carnegie Hall performance that I bought in 1962.

Oh yeah- stay away from http://candlepowerforums.com/ - it's just as dangerous as the rep forums to yer wallet! I've bought several times from dealxtreme- been very satisfied. They're a bit slow to ship, but reliable- and they'll answer questions, too. They are mentioned quite often in the candlepower forums.

Not me, at least not until Dr. The Zigmeister has had his hands on it.... if this one is done as well as the new "seconds at 3" 7750 in the breitling big date, it will be a winner.

I have the Mumford Microset, too. I think it's excellent; dead on accurate, easy to use, hooked up to a PC it'll give you lots of options, and Bryan Mumford's a great guy to deal with- good support, too. He's done some very interesting things with time measurement- a guy with good electronics skills and an understanding of mechanisms. Rare, I think.

Bar A. Move it to the LEFT to advance the rate, to the RIGHT to slow it down. And don't move it much! Under a loupe, a movement so small you can barely see it move will change the time by half a minute per day or so.

Victoria- My two favorite coffeemakers are the french press, and this: bodum santos from amazon give this one a try- I think you will really like it.

Well, time to drag out this old chestnut.... The Unitarian Jihad and just to say that I particularly appreciate TeeJay's thoughtfulness. To me, extremism is a cancer that eats at the bowels of every religion/philosophy/creed/belief system on this earth. And I do think Pugwash is correct when he points out that "Islam hasn't caught up to Christianity in murders, human suffering, degradation, torture, and execution of women by a long shot."

Been there, done that... Did ya grab em, fasttap? What did they go for?

@The Zigmeister- Yes, I've seen many posts concerning this problem, but have managed to miss any with mention of slipping hands- or fogotten about em! (advancing age, ya know...) and I agree that staking is tricky- risk of deforming the tube, for one thing- a drop of glue was going to be my backup. Next time I'll go for that first!

Waaaal, I have about half a dozen 7750 chronos of various sorts, and use the chrono function on all of em regularly. Never had any problem with the reset to 12, all have operated well... until now! My Pam 188 all of a sudden started going all flaky on me, damned sweep hand would NOT reset to zero- so I sez to meself, "Self," I sez, "this is serious. Get thee to thy stickyball and open 'er up. Leave no tern unstoned... " So I did.... took the movement out, put it under my Nikon stereo microscope, and did some fancy wiggle-wogglin'. What I found was interesting, and not necessarily what I expected. Turns out that the movement was OK, the sweep seconds gear was going back to its zero point nicely. THE HAND WAS LOOOOSE on its tube! I could move the hand all the way around the dial, and the gear stayed put. Tube was tight on the shaft, but the hand would turn! So I removed the second hand, and very carefully "tapped" it on top with a pointed punch from my staking set. This expanded the tube in the hand a little, and tightened it up. Reinstalled the hand, put the movement back in, and now it is perfect again. YAY ME!!! Have to admit, there were a few anxious moments, but I really feel quite pleased... I'm wondering if this might possibly be a more common cause of this problem than a bad movement? Anyone care to comment?

It would be interesting to know exactly what steel the SSD was made of- the gen does use 904, which has enhanced corrosion resistance. Our dealers, it seems, are always told the material is 316... but is it, really? There are many different alloys, and heat treatments, and the factories certainly don't supply raw material certifications - hmmm, think I might do some testing- we have a scanning electron microscope with an electron beam spectroscopy tool- and our chief metallurgy guy owes me a couple of favors.....

The two scales on the Bentley are equivalent to the CI (C inverted) and D scales on a slide rule. The normal Navitimer has C and D scales. They aren't telemeter or tachymeter scales at all- The earliest Breitlings with slide rules (the Chronomats) had the CI - D arrangement; it appears that the C-D arrangement appeared a bit later, in watches designed more for pilots- the C-D scales on the Navitimer series are set up just like the scales on the classic E-6B navigation computer. I haven't looked into this in great detail; think I'll go a-googling. I love my Navi and my Bentley Big Date. Platonically, of course.

(cue music) You say aluminum... I say aluminium You say tantalum... I say tantalium Aluminum- Aluminium- Tant.... Ouch! Hey! OK, I'll stop..... however, in the search for the lowest-cost material, one cannot overlook.... ALUMINIMUM!!

.....You called? DrHydro's Convent & Sanctuary for the Time-Challenged has just opened its massive oaken doors (look at those knockers, BTW- a matched pair of HBB Ceramics, freshly donated by TTK, who is also one of our first inmate- uh, novitiates-) and stands ready to accept you into its velvety folds. Here you will find forgiveness, safe haven (no access to nasty rep watch forums, etc) and acceptance of your transgressions (not to mention your watches.) :cloud9:

True, K2222- at least some stainless steels are not magnetic.... see: http://www.aalco.co.uk/technical/stainless.html I don't know of a simple nondestructive test that can certainly tell aluminum from stainless steel- but the weight sure is a lot different. Aluminum is usually a "whiter" metal than SS, too.

I'll go for the 3717- it was either that or the PO, but I'd have to admit the leopardskin "gaytona" does have a certain je ne sais quoi And congrats, Pug. Sounds like a good gig.

Well.... I thought the B&R watches looked like aircraft instruments, but these take the cake! For ultra-realism, however, I offer my own *genuine* aircraft clock-watch.... talk about a wrist-weight, here 'tis, along with the requisite lume shot: :p