freshtripe Posted June 27, 2012 Report Share Posted June 27, 2012 Hi I'll introduce myself properly shortly and give a full breakdown of my watch box in due course! Suffice to say that I've been watching from the shadows on here for a while, muddling along with my own projects with the help of a very friendly and capable watchmaker. However, now we've hit a wall and could really use some help! We've been attempting to build a 5500 Explorer Franken from the following parts: - Gen 15000 Case / Back / Bezel - Gen Crown / Tube - Tropic 13 Crystal (slightly loose fit, but closet I could find - needed a bit of glue to keep it in place) - ETA 2824 Movement - Yuki 5500 Explorer dial (with feet removed) - Yuki ETA Hands - Raffles Time No. 2 Movement Ring Now all has gone together just fine so far, with the exception of the last item (the movement ring). The ring fits the case and ETA movement perfectly, but there doesn't seem to be anything for the case clamps to fit onto (i.e. there is no groove in the case). It looks like the original movement (3035) fits in the case with no movement ring, and that the screws on the movement holds into the case thread. Not sure what to do next - ideally looking for a DIY solution that doesn't involve lots of specialised machining! Has any one else succeed in one of these builds? Would one of Stilty's rings work better that the Raffles version? Apologies to arrive with lots of questions... Any suggestions gratefully received... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alligoat Posted June 27, 2012 Report Share Posted June 27, 2012 I don't know about the case clamps, but I would think that a 2836-2 would fit better in the 15000 case as far as stem/crown alignment goes. The rule of thumb is the 3035 cases accept a 2836-2 best and the 3135 cases accept a 2824-2 best. But there can always be exceptions to the rule. It seems like there has to be a groove or ridge in the case for the 3035 movement to be anchored to- if you thinned the Raffles time ring, would it help. Stilty rings are generally thinner in my experience but they do the same thing as the raffles time ring- center the movement in the case. A pic of the inside of the 15000 case would help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiman12 Posted June 27, 2012 Report Share Posted June 27, 2012 What the big M said...what needs to happen is to mark the position of the where movement tabs are located on the movement ring and use a square hobby file to make notches into the ring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbh Posted June 27, 2012 Report Share Posted June 27, 2012 What he's saying is, there are no grooves in the case. Filing down the movement ring wouldn't solve that problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiman12 Posted June 27, 2012 Report Share Posted June 27, 2012 What he's saying is, there are no grooves in the case. Filing down the movement ring wouldn't solve that problem. geez...maybe I should take some time to read the post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freshtripe Posted June 27, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 27, 2012 Thanks for the replies - I'll try to get a picture of the case from my Watchmaker so you can see 'the lie of the land...' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
automatico Posted June 27, 2012 Report Share Posted June 27, 2012 There is a groove cut in the 15000 case where heads of the two case screws on a 3035 movement go. The screw heads go into the groove and you back them out against the top rail of the groove to hold the movement in place. When you install a 3035 movement you have to turn the movement to where the case screws will drop down into the groove. The case will have a small notch in the groove where the case tube is and a larger one cut directly across from it. If you look closely just below the threads in the case you will see the top rail of the groove. If you use case clamps you will need a spacer that allows the clamps to fit over the spacer and into the groove. If the spacer is too thick you can cut notches in the spacer to allow the case clamps to pass over the spacer and into the groove in the case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freshtripe Posted June 27, 2012 Author Report Share Posted June 27, 2012 Awesome info thanks - I will pass this on and let you how it goes... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freshtripe Posted February 16, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2013 Well, I finally got this sorted - decided to give up on the 15000 case and use a (more correct) 5500 instead! The final ingredients were as follows: - Gen 5500 Case / Back / Bezel - Gen Crown / Tube - Gen Tropic 12 Crystal - Swiss ETA 2824 Movement (with unknown rotor) - Yuki 5500 Explorer dial (with feet removed) - Yuki ETA Hands - Raffles Time No. 2 Movement Ring + some RolexAddict Magic Big thanks to JJ for finally sorting this out for me - he did the tricky bits + patiently talked me through a couple of teething troubles. Top bloke. The look and feel of this is absolutely spot on. At last I have a vintage sport rollie that I can comfortably wear with a cuff shirt! The 2824 movement could probably use a service at some point in the future, but I'm just enjoying wearing this at last! Anyhow, enough blabber, on with the pics: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeypunch Posted February 17, 2013 Report Share Posted February 17, 2013 Looks good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panerai153 Posted February 17, 2013 Report Share Posted February 17, 2013 Very, very nice!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ile Posted February 18, 2013 Report Share Posted February 18, 2013 Absolutely awesome :-) Do you by a chance have a link to the exact version of dial hands you've got from yuki? Wear that beauty in good health! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freshtripe Posted February 19, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2013 Thansk for the kind words. ile - the dial hands were these: http://www.yukiwatch.com/catalog/item/6960394/7061069.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest zeleni kukuruz Posted February 19, 2013 Report Share Posted February 19, 2013 Looks real slick!!! Congrates!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbh Posted February 19, 2013 Report Share Posted February 19, 2013 Excellent! Glad it all came together for you. It looks like you've acquired a family heirloom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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