cjjoyce1 Posted September 9, 2011 Report Share Posted September 9, 2011 A couple months ago, I picked up a gen dial off a member on RWI. I had a two-tone rep I thought this could go in. Unfortunately the dial was too small for the rehaut and didn't fit. So after a conversation with LHOOQ, I sorta talked myself out of the project because of the cost. But he told me the key was patience. So I slowly lurked and gathered the parts piecemeal over time. Here's the results - Everything in the build except the movement (ETA 2836) date wheel and hands are all gen, The case and crystal were off VRF, dial off RWI, the rest ebay. Here's all the parts And the caseback I used the dial spacer glued to the dial to affix it to the movement Boy, did this bracelet need work when I got it! Cleaned up, brushed up, and shined in all the right places it's not that bad! Cased up movement And the wrist shots! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slickdick Posted September 9, 2011 Report Share Posted September 9, 2011 Looking good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woof* Posted September 9, 2011 Report Share Posted September 9, 2011 Congrats and excellent job! LHOOQ has alot of wisdom on projects..he's helped me too Beautiful watch! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AsiadeCuba Posted September 10, 2011 Report Share Posted September 10, 2011 very nice. nothing beats a classic. if you get bored of it let me know Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dublinlad Posted September 10, 2011 Report Share Posted September 10, 2011 Very nice looking DJ you have there, congrats. I just finished one of these myself a week or so ago, 16030 case,fluted bezel and silver linen dial Really happy how it turned out, couldn't have done it without the knowledge I have been picking up here over the last few weeks of research. Can't post pics as I haven't reached the minimum needed to attach pics. Was wondering though, maybe the experts will know.... I had to put a bit of bend in the minute and seconds hands to clear the markers, the plexi does a good job of distorting the only angles you can see it from so it is not noticeable at all. I know there is a way to raise the height of the hands by changing out the cannon pinion(?) for the minute hand, the seconds hand would probably be ok as it is. The question I have is, would it be easier to drop in a complete movement including overlay from an asian Eta Sub because from what I understand from some posts I have read the hands on the Subs with the Eta/Asian Eta sit taller/higher than a standard Eta, is this correct? The movement/date overlay from the Sub fits perfectly under the Datejust dial, I checked in a mock-up I did before installing the Eta and it was spot on, all of the dates were centered left/right and top/bottom. It would make things much easier to build these if that was the case, might cost just a little bit more, but would be worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irolexu Posted September 10, 2011 Report Share Posted September 10, 2011 I got a DJ build thats gonna rock some socks off as soon as it is done. everything will be gen on the head except ETA of course. and band I have the 16000 case and dial parts coming in very soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lhooq Posted September 10, 2011 Report Share Posted September 10, 2011 Wow... Nice! When I started reading your post, I didn't expect to scroll down and see a wrist-shot halfway down the page! Congratulations, and glad I could help even a little. If you rush a DJ franken, you could easily end up paying more than you would for a vintage gen. (Granted, there's the whole satisfaction of putting it together yourself, &c. &c. but I'm not a big fan of builds that approach, say, 40% of genuine costs.) Awesome job and a classy DJ in the end. dublinlad: My DJ is powered by the Sea-Gull 2824 equivalent, and it needed a kink in the minute hand, too. Not noticeable unless you view the dial very closely at extreme angles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjjoyce1 Posted September 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 10, 2011 Well I'll share a bit of the engineering on this one. Everything was going together waaaay too easy. Stupid easy. When I cased it up, the stem lined up, but ever-so-slightly off. Not enough to be a problem, but enough that it was noticeable to me. Then the hands. . .same issue here with the minute hand not clearing the markers. So, I was faced with several options to work out. Bending the hand was the easiest solution, but that's not my style. So a combination of several small changes all added up the clearance I needed. First, I filed off the small dimples on the dial spacer ring. But that put the date wheel too close to the dial. So second, off came the date wheel overlay and date wheel and I filed that down a tad - but I had to be careful not to do too much otherwise the overlay would rub on the movement. But this still didn't give me everything I needed and it was frustratingly close. Finally, I knew what I had to do. I was loathe to do it and knew disaster was right around the corner, but it was the only way. And this isn't for the faint of heart. . . I had to thin out the dial by grinding it down. Using my dremel with a sanding drum, slow speed and careful patience the dial is half the original thickness. This not only solved the hands problem, but the combo of the three also solved the stem issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lhooq Posted September 10, 2011 Report Share Posted September 10, 2011 I had to thin out the dial by grinding it down. NOW we know... the REST of the story! I'm Paul Harvey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjmj Posted September 10, 2011 Report Share Posted September 10, 2011 Great work mate!! Enjoy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dublinlad Posted September 10, 2011 Report Share Posted September 10, 2011 Wow... Nice! When I started reading your post, I didn't expect to scroll down and see a wrist-shot halfway down the page! Congratulations, and glad I could help even a little. If you rush a DJ franken, you could easily end up paying more than you would for a vintage gen. (Granted, there's the whole satisfaction of putting it together yourself, &c. &c. but I'm not a big fan of builds that approach, say, 40% of genuine costs.) Awesome job and a classy DJ in the end. dublinlad: My DJ is powered by the Sea-Gull 2824 equivalent, and it needed a kink in the minute hand, too. Not noticeable unless you view the dial very closely at extreme angles. I must have lucked, bought all the parts up in a week and everything only cost me $480 including a brand new sealed Eta, yours was the inspiration for the linen dial I put into mine.....so thanks again for that. I was going to see if I could squeeze in a cheapo DG2813 or similar to make it an even more cost effective build, I have those movements in a couple of my reps and they work perfectly, keep good time and the sweep looks ok to my eyes on anything vintage - I may be wrong, but ignorance is bliss!!!.... Although I did find that the ones that come fitted to the reps as standard are useless, I bought replacements from Ofrei for $15ish and swapped them out, they seem to work much much better although there does seem to be a break in period with the Rotor which at first feels a bit like a helicopter is trying to take off on your arm but seems to settle over a couple of months. Would be nice if they did work though, could put a nice looking almost gen vintage DJ together for around $300.......I'd build myself a collection of them if that worked. There must be slight variations in the cases/dials for these, I used the 2836 in mine too and with the ring and dial as standard the stem lined up perfectly first attempt, the only thing I ground down was the datewheel before fitting the overlay, if I ground down anything more my stem would have sat too high in the tube, it must be a case of fine tuning as you go along. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redwatch Posted September 10, 2011 Report Share Posted September 10, 2011 Wow you are a very brave man, grinding down that dial! Well the end result obviously speaks for itself! Nicely done!! It looks great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kerbus Posted September 10, 2011 Report Share Posted September 10, 2011 You're extremely brave doing the mods that you did. I had a tough enough time having my built and using a custom spacer ring. My hands had to be broached and they are made for the ETA movement. It must've been even more satisfying for you since you did it all yourself! Wear that piece with enormous pride! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indyberetta Posted September 10, 2011 Report Share Posted September 10, 2011 Does anyone currently sell the movement rings to fit an ETA into a 16000 date just case? I have a few cases waiting to be brought back to life! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kerbus Posted September 11, 2011 Report Share Posted September 11, 2011 Does anyone currently sell the movement rings to fit an ETA into a 16000 date just case? I have a few cases waiting to be brought back to life! I'd contact jmb and see what he might be able to do for you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aurelienconiglio Posted May 16, 2013 Report Share Posted May 16, 2013 hi! nice watch datejust! i'm building one myself. would you please put a picture of the movement in the inside case? need to see the job with the spacer ring. thanks a lot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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