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1016 Project 3: Space-Dweller


lhooq

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Brightight: I saw that 7836 at Yuki's, too, but at that price it had better be MUCH better than the one that comes with Josh's 1655. It does seem to be more accurate, though: Check out the blanked-off endlinks that are fully integrated with the bracelet, unlike the detachable ones on the cheaper model.

Redwatch: I really appreciate the compliments on the photos, as you've taken some very impressive shots. (Ditto to ubi and his granite countertop of horological delights!) But I warn you that the following is not going to be pretty:

955612725_NvTHX-M.jpg

The computer case is a Lian-Li PC-7 in black brushed aluminum. But what's all that crud stacked on top of it?

That is so awesome M...all the pics are taken conveniently in one place! You can take pics while suring the net all at the same time!

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  • 3 months later...

I appreciate the thread revival, especially since I'm wearing the Space-Dweller right now! It's my favorite rep, completely dependable, and the 2472 has been a solid timekeeper. The movement also feels nicer than the Seagull 2824 clone in my 1016 Project 4, though I'm not sure why that is. Incidentally, it's not a genuine Tudor, but likely a genuine ETA. (Can you shed any light, Chi?)

I have a proper tripod and considered getting a full-on lightbox, but it's hard to beat my current setup for cost and speed! :)

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  • 2 months later...

Explorer Overhaul Part 1: Drilling!

There's 1016 excitement in the air! In addition to one very high-profile project, my spies tell me that there are at least a couple more vintage Explorer builds in the works.

In fact, it's Ubi's Project 1016 thread that inspired me to revisit the Space-Dweller. After completing it back in August, I pretty much considered it a closed book. It's my favorite rep, and I didn't think it needed any more work done. The only upgrade I considered was replacing the Yuki hands with Clarks, and you can see those in the last picture below. (Big improvement.)

However, I did note some regret over the 1601's lugholes being left undrilled. Both Justin and I felt they were too close to the edge and put the entire case at risk. Several months ago, I was able to put my Space-Dweller next to a genuine '67 Explorer, and compare them for a few minutes. More than anything else, it was the small lugholes that called my Space-Dweller out. And then I saw Ubi's own 1601, and the four yawning holes perforating its lugs. "Beautiful!" I thought, "...and doable?" I mulled over it a bit, then decided to give it a go. What's the worst that could happen? (Answer: $100-200 to buy a new 1601 case.)

Ubi was a huge help (predictably) and provided me with a bunch of macro shots of his lugs. Armed with printouts of these, I took the Space-Dweller to my watchsmith and told him to get to work. Here is the result:

1171589281_4ub6v-X3.jpg

It may be hard to see in the pictures, but this was only a partial victory. Like Justin before him, my watch guy was very worried about "coloring over the lines" and destroying the case. He worked on the holes by hand and widened them to just under 1.2mm, falling short of the 1.3mm I'd asked for. Understandable, as you can see how little metal he had to work with on some corners:

1171589303_nQFwk-X3.jpg

So, faced with two drillers who could not, in good conscience, drill those holes, I relented. Whoever drilled Ubi's 1601 must have ice-cold blood flowing through his veins! Compromise or not, I'm happy with the improved looks, courtesy of the few tenths of a millimeter in diameter:

1171589302_UAtUF-X3.jpg

One final shot of the Space-Dweller, yesterday:

1171589609_hPmsL-X3.jpg

Thanks again to ChiMan12 and jmb! But that was just the smaller upgrade of the two I finished this weekend. Stay tuned...

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Still beautiful and even more accurate now L!

BTW...a late answer...but I just notice your Nov 23rd post. It is actually a faux Tudor movement that was in my 7922...I'm quite positive it's origins are from Vietnam (as is the case). It's not a franken movement either as the engravings on the rotor is incorrect and the bridges aren't signed Tudor. A good attempt to replicate a gen Tudor movement.

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Thanks, Chi! I also like the movement for the extra confusion it cause when the caseback is unscrewed. :)

Hmmmmm... Perhaps you could have the pivots of the springbars taken down just a slight bit to accommodate those new holes! Might be worth considering?

:idea: Later that day...

1171929812_fp2QS-X3.jpg

Unfortunately, one of the bars has a collapsed spring, so the effect is less pronounced than it ought to be. That's what I get for buying "Genuine" springbars. (To be fair, the listing does say '"Genuine"' in quotation marks!) Thanks for the tip, Ubi!

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Beautiful job! The lug holes came out nicely!

For future reference if there just is no room to drill, Gary Clark had some Rolex style 20mm springbars that were 1.7mm with 1mm pin. 

I've tried similar photo set-ups, using a fluorescent light, with my picture taking and they always seem to come out too yellow. I wish I could rake a decent shot.

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Thanks, J! Let a thousand bezels turn! :v:

JoeyB: In the OP, I'm actually using the Yuki springbars, which have 2mm bodies and teeny 0.9mm pivots. It's more an issue of looks than anything else, but I really want those rounded tips to inhabit the lugholes. Even the bars sold by Ofrei (2mm/1.2mm, but with flat tips) don't look nearly as nice.

I don't shoot in RAW format, but my G9 does have a custom white balance setting. Prior to shooting, I set it using a sheet of 8.5x11 paper. Any color correction I do afterward is minimal.

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