bruce79 Posted December 14, 2006 Report Share Posted December 14, 2006 Here is a dyi tutorial for replacing a stock pam crown with an aftermarket crown from palpatine. As I am not really mechanically inclined when it comes to watches, hopefully this will be helpful for members such as myself. Lets get started... Here is the stock crown that came on my 112h from Josh... After removing the crown guard by unscrewing the 2 screws securing it to the case, I placed palps crown on top of the stock crown for a comparison shot. The stock crown is not that bad but there is definitely a difference... Now it's time to remove the case back...now this may make some true watchsmiths like Rob cringe lol but the only tools related to watches that I own are a set of screw drivers, a dremel, and a 10x...so for the case back, a piece of heavy duty packing tape did the job for me... So after removing the case back, we need to release the stem/crown from the movement. This is done by slowly and carefully unscrewing the little screw to the right of the 'swiss' marking on the movement (at the portion of the movement closest to you). Now all the experts here tell us to do this slow and that's what I did. I turned it 1/2 turns while slowly pulling on the crown until it came free. Here is the crown/stem...out of the movement. Removing the stem from the crown should be easy as it just needs to be unscrewed but with my luck it wasn't that easy. It was recommended that I heat the bottom of the crown so as to loosen the glue holding the stem into the crown so that's what I did...put it in a frying pan for about a minute or two. Then slowy unscrewed it. The stem is a very delicate piece and my hands are rather big so I went extra slow so as to not bend anything. Here is the stem removed from the crown... Here are the two crowns side by side. Note the little rubber gasket that I moved from the old crown to the new one... Now the stem should just screw into the new crown and then just repeat in reverse order the steps listed above. But once again, with my luck this was not the case. See all that glue stuck to the stem threadings? This needs to be cleaned off before trying to screw the stem into the new crown. But in my case the stem still wouldn't go in. I didn't want to force it and risk cross threading the crown and stem. So I asked some fellow members for suggestions. It turns out the tip of the stem needed to be sanded down as there were some jagged edges that prevented the stem from getting a good start in the crown. It also turned out that, as might be the case with crowns from palp, the stem needs to be shortened so the crown sits closer to the case. So I sanded the stem down...without really realizing it, I went to the shortest possible point any further and the stem would be too short and the crown wouldn't fully close. Of course this can be remedied by not screwing the stem in all the way. At any rate, with the help of a little WD40 (needs to be comletely washed off the stem before putting it back into the movement) the stem went into the new crown. So after washing the WD40 off and comletely drying the stem, I put a little crazy glue on it and screwed it into the new crown... After the glue on the stem has set into the new crown, it's inserted back into the movement. Don't force the stem if it doesn't go in at first. I think Rob recommends gently twisting it CCW while gently pushing in. Once in, carefully screw the stem release screw back in to secure the crown. Then screw the case back on. The crown guard lever will need to be sanded down as the crown sits out further than the stock crown did. Be careful when doing this for if you remove too much of the lever, you'll end up with a loose lever...and there's nothing worse. I used a cutting/sanding wheel and a dremel...Do a little bit at a time and check it often...this is the finished product....hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jetsons Posted December 14, 2006 Report Share Posted December 14, 2006 Excellent write up and pics! Many thanks for posting this. Very helpful and the step by step process makes it look simple enough so that some of us chickens may give it a try. BTW, the Palp crown is a very nice improvement! Cheers, Jet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Usil Posted December 14, 2006 Report Share Posted December 14, 2006 (edited) Thank you for a geat tutorial. Now I am ready to get the new crowns. Usil Edited December 14, 2006 by Usil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RWG Technical Posted December 14, 2006 Report Share Posted December 14, 2006 Very well done, congrats on DIY... RG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikellem Posted December 14, 2006 Report Share Posted December 14, 2006 Great job my friend! I think your tutorial will help us "dummies" give this a try! Nice pics also!... -MM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tvt Posted December 14, 2006 Report Share Posted December 14, 2006 Thanks... good job and the new crown makes a BIG difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruce79 Posted December 14, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 14, 2006 thanks for all of the great feedback. I didn't really use any technical terms because I don't know any of them. glad you guys like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
palpatine Posted December 15, 2006 Report Share Posted December 15, 2006 great tutorial!! well done! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pannylovernr1 Posted December 15, 2006 Report Share Posted December 15, 2006 Thanks for the tutorial, we need more of this stuff! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vaccum Posted December 15, 2006 Report Share Posted December 15, 2006 Are we creative or what? Excellent! Cheers, vaccum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cucumber_Jones Posted January 1, 2007 Report Share Posted January 1, 2007 I vote this as post of the month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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