Lello Crown Installation

[archibald]

I have a couple lello crowns laying around and I was going to practice my watchsmithing by putting them in my old dinged up 111F and 113F--according to the thread on the old board Lello crowns will work on the 6497 as long as you glue the spring and shave down the crown so it's less than 6.3mm in length. But, frustratingly, the thread ends before anyone says how to shave the crown and what should be used to glue the springs...Anyone remember how they did this mod?

[HauteHippie]

I have a couple lello crowns laying around and I was going to practice my watchsmithing by putting them in my old dinged up 111F and 113F--according to the thread on the old board Lello crowns will work on the 6497 as long as you glue the spring and shave down the crown so it's less than 6.3mm in length. But, frustratingly, the thread ends before anyone says how to shave the crown and what should be used to glue the springs...Anyone remember how they did this mod?

I think the spring may work depending on the crown. I had a Lello with a very stiff spring and didn't have any problems getting the stem to push into the movement. But my problem was that the Lello's underside lip was too shallow for my 196 and I didn't want to alter the case for it. As far as shortening the tube, I'd probably just use a flat file and do it slowly by hand.

[Watchmeister]

Arch-

You must be doing these mods at 4 in the morning.

[DuDro]

Be sure to update us on your progress...

[archibald]

Arch-

You must be doing these mods at 4 in the morning.

Nope...at 4 in the morning I am usually doing coke off the buttockses of Russian hookers. I start the mods around 8:30 at the office, which is why my crown guards look like this:

Seriously, to me it looks like I'll need to file everything to the right of the line to make it fit in my 111. Will this make the stem too wobbly?

[m4rcus]

Nope...at 4 in the morning I am usually doing coke off the buttockses of Russian hookers. I start the mods around 8:30 at the office, which is why my crown guards look like this:

Seriously, to me it looks like I'll need to file everything to the right of the line to make it fit in my 111. Will this make the stem too wobbly?

Archibald,

Did you ever figure out how to modify the lello crown to fit?

Thanks,

-- M

[archibald]

Archibald,

Did you ever figure out how to modify the lello crown to fit?

Thanks,

-- M

I did grind the crown down to the line, and the stem seems to be holding fine....I'm debating whether or not I'm going to try to grind the lever myself. I won't know for sure until I reinstall the crown, but it seems to work fine (although I bet it has reduced water resistance now). I'll probably just have a watchsmith do the lever--but either way, I'll update this thread.

[m4rcus]

I did grind the crown down to the line, and the stem seems to be holding fine....I'm debating whether or not I'm going to try to grind the lever myself. I won't know for sure until I reinstall the crown, but it seems to work fine (although I bet it has reduced water resistance now). I'll probably just have a watchsmith do the lever--but either way, I'll update this thread.

I got up the nerve last night to mess around with my lello crown and a stem. I measured the stem screwed into the Lello crown and then measured the difference when it was screwed into the regular crown. It then snipped the stem and filed it down gently until it was the right length.

I fit into the case after some trial and error. The jimmy fu crown guard lever was a bit too snug so I filed it down a bit too. The crown doesn't function now as my other manual wind watches. You have to pull it out one step to wind (it won't move at all when pressed against the case) and then pull it out another step to set the time.

Overall, it looks great to me. A lot better than standard skinny crown that came with the case.

-- M

[archibald]

You have to pull it out one step to wind (it won't move at all when pressed against the case) and then pull it out another step to set the time.

Overall, it looks great to me. A lot better than standard skinny crown that came with the case.

-- M

Good work! Did you have to remove the lever to file it? I'm a little afraid to try--grind too much and you need to shell out 60 bucks on a new guard.

Also, I wonder if gluing the spring mechanism will cure the problem of having to pull out...

[m4rcus]

Good work! Did you have to remove the lever to file it? I'm a little afraid to try--grind too much and you need to shell out 60 bucks on a new guard.

Also, I wonder if gluing the spring mechanism will cure the problem of having to pull out...

Yeah, I just got thru filing the lever a bit. I think I might have a bit more to do, but I'm a little wary about doing too much due to the same reason as you. Here are some pics of the semi-finished product...

(BTW, it's was originally a case from River with a Jimmy Fu crown guard, Lello crown, new dial from joeasmith,

and hands from davidsen)

-- M

[archibald]

Looks gorgeous! I know lots of folks are not fans, but I think the lello crowns are worth the extra effort, especially for the money.

BTW, nice dial...am I missing something? Is joeasmith a new dealer or is joeasmith Joe, a smith?

[m4rcus]

Looks gorgeous! I know lots of folks are not fans, but I think the lello crowns are worth the extra effort, especially for the money.

BTW, nice dial...am I missing something? Is joeasmith a new dealer or is joeasmith Joe, a smith?

Thanks!

Opps...I meant ajoesmith. He's a forum member that was selling some parts. I happened to get two logo dials and some hands from him.

-- M