kingkitesurf Posted October 17, 2006 Report Share Posted October 17, 2006 Does anybody have experience with 'Holiday123 Hobby collection' as a seller on ebay. I bought the Rolex tube insertion tool there but he never came through. Does anybody have a better solution to insert the tube? When I screw the crown on to insert it will get so stuck that it wont work. really need a tool for it I guess. Suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RWG Technical Posted October 17, 2006 Report Share Posted October 17, 2006 You can always use a rat tail file to insert it...if you put some glue on the threads, and get it inserted all the way, it won't come loose... RG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest avitt Posted October 17, 2006 Report Share Posted October 17, 2006 (edited) Before buying the proper insertion tool, I would recommend the purchase of a tapping kit. Once you've cleaned up the threads of the tube hole, the tube will be easy to screw in. You'll be able to use a rat tail file, as The Zigmeister suggested, or my personal favorite, a torx bit. ...Forgot to add: I've successfully inserted about 25 generic Triplock tubes (from cousins and helfands) using Torx bits. Edited October 17, 2006 by avitt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alligoat Posted October 17, 2006 Report Share Posted October 17, 2006 I'm with Ziggy on using the rat tail file. I use the three sided one. I did buy the A&F tool from Holiday, and the tool is only so-so, IMO. I would think the guy would come thru for you, unless the package got lost in shipping, at which point, you might be outta luck. The funny thing is, these rep case tubes have no grooves on them on the inside (at least the ones I've dealt with) so it's always a challenge getting them out. It's kinda like a friction fit, and as Ziggy says, put some glue on the threads when reinserting- GS Hypo-cement, contact cement, or loc-tite. I use epoxy only as a last resort. If you're using gen tubes or generic, you might look at springing for the proper tool at Ofrei or Jules Borel, or Cousins over in the EU. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heywood Posted October 17, 2006 Report Share Posted October 17, 2006 It may be a blessing in disguise that you never received this tool. I have one and the splines do not fit the splines on the 7mm case tube. I would suggest one of these http://www.jewelerssupplies.com/Tube-Inser...Tool-Rolex.html or equivalent from Ofrei or Borel. This tool fits both the 7mm crown tubes and the 6mm crown tubes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cib0rgman Posted October 17, 2006 Report Share Posted October 17, 2006 Before buying the proper insertion tool, I would recommend the purchase of a tapping kit. Once you've cleaned up the threads of the tube hole, the tube will be easy to screw in. You'll be able to use a rat tail file, as The Zigmeister suggested, or my personal favorite, a torx bit. ...Forgot to add: I've successfully inserted about 25 generic Triplock tubes (from cousins and helfands) using Torx bits. Where do I get a tapping kit, I want to do that job myself. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alligoat Posted October 17, 2006 Report Share Posted October 17, 2006 You can get a tap at Jules Borel, Ofrei, or try Heywood's place Jewelers Supply. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest avitt Posted October 17, 2006 Report Share Posted October 17, 2006 Where do I get a tapping kit, I want to do that job myself. Thanks I bought a Rolex tapping kit from an eBay vendor (somewhere around $50, if I remember correctly). I've used same taps to clean up the tube and pusher holes on dozens of cases. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cib0rgman Posted October 17, 2006 Report Share Posted October 17, 2006 You can get a tap at Jules Borel, Ofrei, or try Heywood's place Jewelers Supply. Alligoat I am kind of confused. Even if i purchase the tap I still need to re-thread the hole right. I need a tool to do the thread, I do not think that is cheap. Anybody has any idea of the price Regards Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedHerring Posted October 17, 2006 Report Share Posted October 17, 2006 (edited) Alligoat I am kind of confused. Even if i purchase the tap I still need to re-thread the hole right. I need a tool to do the thread, I do not think that is cheap. Anybody has any idea of the price Regards A tap is the thing that cuts the threads into the sides of a smooth hole. These gentlemen are telling you to clean up the existing threads with a tap, which will cut away anything not supposed to be in the existing threads. The tap, and the thing that cuts the threads are one and the same thing. There is also a spline looking device that will drive and remove gen crown tubes. Rep tubes, on the other hand, are (generally) smooth inside. Edited October 17, 2006 by RedHerring Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alligoat Posted October 17, 2006 Report Share Posted October 17, 2006 That's it in a nutshell. The other thing is, if you have rep case tube and it comes out OK, I wouldn't even run the tap into the hole, if you're going to reuse the rep tube. I'd just put some glue on the tube threads and reinsert it, (not putting in a gen or generic tube). Last time, while shaping the cg's, I tapped the hole before putting the rep tube back in, but the rep tube didn't have enough threads to grab after tapping the hole, so I ended up epoxying it back in the hole- which is a real no-no in my mind. Luckily, it worked and the watch pressure tested to 4ATM after that. I didn't have any other case tubes to use at the time and I wanted the watch back together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddy333 Posted October 17, 2006 Report Share Posted October 17, 2006 There is also a spline looking device that will drive and remove gen crown tubes. Rep tubes, on the other hand, are (generally) smooth inside. Just wondering...do alot of people replace the rep crown/tube with gen? The crowns on most recent reps I've seen (or purchased) seem to be very close to the gen parts and I'm wondering what, if any, benefit there is to replacing with gen parts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alligoat Posted October 17, 2006 Report Share Posted October 17, 2006 Replacing the rep crown and tube w/ gen is a pretty popular upgrade. The advantage is that the gen should function more smoothly than a rep and hold up better over the long run. Sometimes rep crowns are too big, sometimes they're the same size, it varies. But if you're rep crown and tube are working properly, and you grease the o-rings w/ silicone, you can achieve a certain degree of WR in a rep, no problem. I have a few watches which I'm not gonna put in gen crowns and tubes, because I don't think it's cost effective, from my point of view, and the rep stuff is doing just fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingkitesurf Posted October 18, 2006 Author Report Share Posted October 18, 2006 Funny thing is that I used the Ebay device to retap my MBW 1665 case... I use the 24-7030 tube from Cousins with the long shaft. Gen crown fits perfectly and all seals are present. However screwing the tube in the case goes well for the first 5 handturns then gets stuck... I can probably push through with 'a tool' or with the crown on, but am afraid breaking it off. I expected it to go smooth till the end since I rethreaded. Obviously this vice is the same Avitt uses to rethread... What do I do wrong or do you have the same heavy last turns...? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest avitt Posted October 18, 2006 Report Share Posted October 18, 2006 I can't really understand this one, kks. It sounds like you've done everything right. Just to be sure, did you slightly countersink the case? (This need to be done to accomodate the conical base of the gen style tube). Other than that, I would just make sure that you've gone a the way through with the tap. I usually continue to turn until I'm at least halfway down the threads of the tap. If you are using an insertion tool that grips the tube at the bottom, then you can feel free to apply more pressure (be sure to stop when the base of the tube is seated). If your tool grips the top of the tube, be careful, as too much torque might break the tube in half. I don't know if you'll gain anything from my earlier post, but here it is anyway: Tube installation experience Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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