creation88 Posted February 7, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2010 I had exactly the same problem on the same link. I've emailed Angus twice and no reply in almost a week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Watchmeister Posted February 7, 2010 Report Share Posted February 7, 2010 Just read this whole thread and I feel like they are apples and oranges. MBW when you are done will be substantially more expensive and better. I would go the Puretime route if I am keeping it as is. It is a very good rep for the price point but the more I look at the new case the more I like the MBW case. CG's are easily fixable but the lugs on the newer version look off to me and the he valve may look more like a working he valve but its placement and size looks suspect to my eye. Both of those fixes are far more difficult. Also you know from hundreds of projects exactly what you can do with gen parts on the MBW. I do think the new rep does offer a good lower end alternative though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highoeyazmuhudee Posted February 8, 2010 Report Share Posted February 8, 2010 PT with a better crown, better glass, and MBK dial and better hands whats missing, whats needed, and why go MBK just for the lug hole position? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alligoat Posted February 8, 2010 Report Share Posted February 8, 2010 Besides, higheoy, there's nothing wrong w/ the lughole position on the PT case. Here's a gen I saw last week Compares favorably w/ the PT, IMO! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShawnBeever Posted February 8, 2010 Report Share Posted February 8, 2010 I think if you pass your rep 1665 MBW or PT to someone who starts to consider the height of the lug holes then they know so much about gens that the gig is blown anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asciwhite Posted February 11, 2010 Report Share Posted February 11, 2010 Gen crown. Dinged a little bit "half aged" bezel insert, rivet bracelet and reseated crystal + shaved CG`s... Now I need a new dial and a better aged insert! Just my first try with a dremel and polishing paste The insert reflects black, green and blue? WTF.. Weird. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creation88 Posted February 11, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 11, 2010 Gen crown. Dinged a little bit "half aged" bezel insert, rivet bracelet and reseated crystal + shaved CG`s... Now I need a new dial and a better aged insert! Just my first try with a dremel and polishing paste The insert reflects black, green and blue? WTF.. Weird. The gen crown looks great -- real improvement on the PT one. Did you manage to get the bezel assembly back together easily after reseating the crystal? I damaged the nylon gasket beyond use and the retaining ring is too big without it. Anyone know where I can get another nylon ring? Don't say Puretime -- he's not exactly rushing to sort out my knackered, clasp links so I think I may be pushing my luck asking for anything else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asciwhite Posted February 11, 2010 Report Share Posted February 11, 2010 The gen crown looks great -- real improvement on the PT one. Did you manage to get the bezel assembly back together easily after reseating the crystal? I damaged the nylon gasket beyond use and the retaining ring is too big without it. Anyone know where I can get another nylon ring? Don't say Puretime -- he's not exactly rushing to sort out my knackered, clasp links so I think I may be pushing my luck asking for anything else. My nylon gasked was missing all together But it sits fine on the retention ring.... At least on this one. PS: About puretime... Its spring festival in China right now.. So he is probably with his family celebrating Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alligoat Posted February 11, 2010 Report Share Posted February 11, 2010 I'm not excited about the nylon gasket myself. Seems like I remember jmb machining a ring for justasgood for his 5513... A tighter ring would eliminate the need for the gasket and if he kept the same outside top diameter, the bezel and flat washer should still fit just fine. Looking at Ofrei's Rolex crystal page, there is some variation in the OD of the T-19's- from 3.30mm to 3.50 mm http://www.ofrei.com/page419.html And the T-39 generic crystal which I have is a PA-462-67A- close to the T-19 replacement- PA-462-67, only my OD was 30.28mm, according to my CN calipers! My PT crystal was 30.0mm. But I do know plastic crystals to vary considerably- I recall Ziggy complaining about how one was giving him fits one time. i've got a crystal ordered from WSO990- it should be here soon- those guys are only 10 miles or so from my office and home! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
straight_six Posted February 11, 2010 Report Share Posted February 11, 2010 I'd really like to see this wso flat t39 installed...it looks like a fantasy dome when installed...could be me though...I ordered a t39 dome from takashi, we'll see what it is when it gets here... Dean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alligoat Posted February 11, 2010 Report Share Posted February 11, 2010 The WSO990 flat T-39 arrived today, but it looks like it's all wrong according to the $5 CN calipers- 29.2mm OD- damn that Mr. Slimeball- it arrives in an unmarked plastic envelope! Just picked up a crystal out of the parts bin! But the $30 5513 insert looks OK- mics out at 36.5/30.0 and with an Ofrei pearl it might work just fine (it's not for my PT 1665, but another project). Come t think of it, I may have a T-19 at home, have to see how it fits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alligoat Posted February 12, 2010 Report Share Posted February 12, 2010 Well last night I went to work, but things didn't go too well. The T-19 I have from Ofrei- the Sternkruz one- looks very promising- fit on the case perfectly, OD of the crystal is 30.4mm, so I put the nylon gasket on around the crystal and tried to press on the retention ring, but I boogered up the gasket- too tight of a fit, I guess. Next I tried to get the case tube out to trim the cg's- well that didn't go well either- the rat tail file got stuck in the tube and in trying to get it out, I broke the file and boogered up the tube to boot. No biggy, I've got replacement tubes so I went to tapping and countersinking and got the new tube in and trimmed the cg's. But now I've got to figure out where to go with the retention ring. I'm in the same boat as creation88! The crystal in the pic is the PT crystal, BTW. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiman12 Posted February 12, 2010 Report Share Posted February 12, 2010 DOH!!!! That sucks alligoat! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aeromatic Posted February 12, 2010 Report Share Posted February 12, 2010 (edited) Well looks great so we have to play a bit here and there but thats the fun of our hobby wheres the fun if it was perfect!! these factory turned out vintage reps will have small bits here and there that will bug us,which ever watch we buy you may land on a good one or not, but it doesnt mean that every watch has these defects ok things like the crown being to big these can be sorted by feedback to the seller. we will always have a quality that is hit & miss at these prices, anything that is less than perfect for higher priced watches or parts can not be accepted so lets see who can turn out the best franken from these two sellers !!!! Edited February 12, 2010 by aeromatic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creation88 Posted February 12, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2010 Well last night I went to work, but things didn't go too well. The T-19 I have from Ofrei- the Sternkruz one- looks very promising- fit on the case perfectly, OD of the crystal is 30.4mm, so I put the nylon gasket on around the crystal and tried to press on the retention ring, but I boogered up the gasket- too tight of a fit, I guess. Next I tried to get the case tube out to trim the cg's- well that didn't go well either- the rat tail file got stuck in the tube and in trying to get it out, I broke the file and boogered up the tube to boot. No biggy, I've got replacement tubes so I went to tapping and countersinking and got the new tube in and trimmed the cg's. But now I've got to figure out where to go with the retention ring. I'm in the same boat as creation88! The crystal in the pic is the PT crystal, BTW. I suppose I could get a Yuki bezel and retention ring for the PT (for another 165 clams) add that cost to the original cost of the watch and we're talking MBW money. The PT 1665s are getting to be more trouble than they're worth. I'm thinking it may be time to cut my losses and just transplant the movement including the DW into my MBW GWSD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanuq Posted February 12, 2010 Report Share Posted February 12, 2010 How does the PT dial look in an MBW case?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brendo22 Posted February 12, 2010 Report Share Posted February 12, 2010 Just a really quick thought about the nylon gasket breaking and a possible solution.... I was thinking that maybe some white teflon tape (the kind that plumbers use to wrap threads of pipes with) might work as a quick fix? Just wrap it around the crystal until you get the right fit with sliding the retention ring on? After the ring is on, you could exacto the excess off the top edge? I think it's definately worth a try? My 2 cents... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creation88 Posted February 12, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2010 Just a really quick thought about the nylon gasket breaking and a possible solution.... I was thinking that maybe some white teflon tape (the kind that plumbers use to wrap threads of pipes with) might work as a quick fix? Just wrap it around the crystal until you get the right fit with sliding the retention ring on? After the ring is on, you could exacto the excess off the top edge? I think it's definately worth a try? My 2 cents... You know?... It might just work! I'll give it a go... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brendo22 Posted February 12, 2010 Report Share Posted February 12, 2010 Haha, yeah I thought it was worth trying out, let us know if you get it to work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brendo22 Posted February 14, 2010 Report Share Posted February 14, 2010 Hey guys where do you source the gen crown for these PT's? And also what is the model # of the Ofrei T-19 Alligoat? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creation88 Posted February 15, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2010 Two weeks on... The movement is great -- really accurate and great power reserve. I've replaced the PT superdome crystal with a Wholesale outlet T39, which completely improves the dial as the markers aren't so huge and distorted and the date window is no longer so stretched. While the crystal was off, I used a Bergeon Scratch removal pen to take a bit of shine off the hour markers as that was really bugging me. Still waiting for my replacement crown to arrive (although it doesn't look too bad in this pic). @brendo22: I ended up using electricians tape to replace the knackered nylon gasket -- worked a treat, although I don't think I'll wear this fella anywhere near water. All in all, I think this one's a keeper! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShawnBeever Posted February 15, 2010 Report Share Posted February 15, 2010 Looking good. Mine is still en route. What’s the date wheel alignment like do all the numbers line up in the window. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asciwhite Posted February 15, 2010 Report Share Posted February 15, 2010 Creation is this the crystal? 1665 Wholesale I finished my CG shaving.... Thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
straight_six Posted February 15, 2010 Report Share Posted February 15, 2010 @ creation88, Could you please post a side profile with that WSO crystal on? Thanks, Dean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creation88 Posted February 15, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2010 Creation is this the crystal? 1665 Wholesale I finished my CG shaving.... Thoughts? That's the one. It's a tight fit - there's not much space between the crystal and the bezel insert, so the bezel's now very stiff - but the overall improvement looks-wise more than makes up for a stiff bezel (for me anyway). CGs look good... I had a look at a few gen DRSDs last week - one of the joys of living in London - there are some fantastic vintage watch shops to go to for "reference" and no two were alike - some tiny (like a modern Sub or Seadweller) and some just like yours, so I'd say "nice work"! @ShawnBeever: The datewheel alignment's a tiny bit low on the first half of the month but seems pretty spot on from 14 onwards Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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