a.mad Posted January 2, 2015 Report Share Posted January 2, 2015 good evening, you've probably seen thousands of posts like this, but i guess that nobody is born knowing everything and everyone should have started from somewhere. i've been looking for some noob-friendly tutorials but i didn't find anything, maybe it's just due to my inexperience i'm planning to build my first franken, maybe a DJ that seems to be one of the cheapest projects. First of all could you tell me which tools do i need? i mean for assembling the various parts. another thing, which are the parts that you recommend to buy original in order to obtain a good result? the case for example? reading some topics i imagined that the main difference between a gen case and a rep case should be the serial number, anything else to take into account? what about the movement? i clearly don't want to buy an original 3135 movement, i saw the yuki's 3135 but 345usd is not so cheap, do you think it worths that price? any other good option? The dial? are there big differences between gen dials and rep dials? these are just the first few questions, i'm gonna annoy you for a while! thanks in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbane883 Posted January 3, 2015 Report Share Posted January 3, 2015 I'll start. You will need tweezers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue. Posted January 3, 2015 Report Share Posted January 3, 2015 I would recommend to first disassemble and assemble a low budget watch. Maybe a Seiko or similar. Take all parts off, movement, dial, hands, then assemble together two or three times maybe more. This way you will become familiar with the kind of attention to detail and patience that is needed for your first franken. Then I would warmly suggest to build a no date franken, a watch that has minimum complications, no date function. This will keep you away from datewheel aligning issues, dial spacings etc., roughly said. Then you have to be comfortable with situations when different aftermarket parts may not fit that well together even with genuine parts. That is when you and have to modify, improvise to make them fit together without braking anything. The tools in no particular order: - case back opener or appropriate sticky ball for opening cases - watchmaker screwdrivers, not the cheap alternatives, but a real one with sharp edge - bergeon movement holder - bergeon hands lifter - dust blower - hands set tools - watchmaker tweezers - thin nylon sheets to protect the dial while removing, setting hands (watch some youtube videos, where you can see Pro watchmaker remove hands) - crystal press set that is also used for pressing the bezel Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
droptopman Posted January 3, 2015 Report Share Posted January 3, 2015 Hi and welcome to the forum. Ambitious project for just starting. Just acquiring decent tools could cost more than the build. You may want to read and read and read for a bit to get familiar with parts and products and how these builds go together. Also you may want to work with one of the experienced builders/watch smiths on a build or two so you can see how all this works and maybe in future try to put your own together. If you are after a franken DJ, I would contact member mymanmatt and inquire about a build. He does awesome work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaydenM Posted January 3, 2015 Report Share Posted January 3, 2015 I think that you may be biting off a little bit more than you can chew if your first foray into watchmaking is what would be a rather expensive franken. In my first attempt to fix what could have been a simple tudor black bay I destroyed the keyless works a few times (and subsequently learnt how to fix it) before breaking the dial feet and completely writing off the hands (it's still sitting in a pile). In my second attempt (my 1016 built) I broke the keyless more times and destroyed even more hands (I think there is a recurring theme here). Overall I would advise you to get accustomed with how it all works before trying it out with expensive 3135 movements and the like. As far as advice on the build I am not sure but I believe that it could probably be done by cutting the dial feet and attaching the dial to an ETA or ETA clone movement (I'm unsure as to whether a 2824 or 2836 movement would be used for this but I'm sure others far more knowledgable than me could chip in for that). Anyway, good luck on your first build Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jigelow Posted January 3, 2015 Report Share Posted January 3, 2015 I echo everything said here. I was in your shoes three months ago. I'm just now wrapping up my first build. I wish I had started with a junker as I woulsve gained the experience for troubleshooting and the dexterity to work on small pieces. Good tools aren't cheap, but they make all the difference. Cheap screwdrivers and tweezers will be the bane of your existence and will inevitably end up in the trash. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsimba Posted January 5, 2015 Report Share Posted January 5, 2015 Which screwdrivers do you guys recommend? All I see on eBay is cheap rubbish and often cheap rubbish with high BIN prices attached! All I really need at the moment is a 1.4mm & 1.6mm for bracelet sizing & checking screw tighness every now & then, just don't want a tool thats going to slip or chew up the delicate screws & know the proper watchmakers drivers do not have tapered heads for a solid fit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jigelow Posted January 5, 2015 Report Share Posted January 5, 2015 I bought these. Nothing special, but their decent for the price. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JPXW0N8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaydenM Posted January 5, 2015 Report Share Posted January 5, 2015 http://watchbitz.com.au/shop/index.php?_a=viewProd&productId=259 What I got for my tools. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpz5142 Posted January 5, 2015 Report Share Posted January 5, 2015 http://watchbitz.com.au/shop/index.php?_a=viewProd&productId=259 What I got for my tools. +1 this is a good start, decent quality and selection. If watchmaking becomes more that a passing interest you can upgrade your tools a bit at a time but in the meantime you'll have some good tools to start with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsimba Posted January 5, 2015 Report Share Posted January 5, 2015 Thankyou! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tagfan1 Posted January 6, 2015 Report Share Posted January 6, 2015 When I started I bought a couple cheep reps and pulled them apart then put them back together a few times. Both ended up as parts. So I would suggest just as above practice on something cheep first before you tackle a build like this. Also keep in mind the Yuki movements need service out of the box and the date disk it terrible you can't just drop them in. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaydenM Posted January 11, 2015 Report Share Posted January 11, 2015 +1 this is a good start, decent quality and selection. If watchmaking becomes more that a passing interest you can upgrade your tools a bit at a time but in the meantime you'll have some good tools to start with. I like the set as it has everything that I would need and it makes it simple to do any job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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