Dlf Posted January 31, 2015 Report Share Posted January 31, 2015 Always appreciated the early subs especially the odd variation in Cg shape and design, not many were produced in the early days and even less remain untouched or abused. Finding an aftermarket case is not so difficult, the usual suspects sell them and are available to buy off the shelf, but more often than not the shape isn't that convincing or to my prefrence. I've seen a lot of talk recently on refurbished cases and laser welding, so I thought I'd give it a go. I bought some 316l stainless steel coil, hammered it out flat in small strips so it would be 'easier' to work with. The machine I used is in a local shop where my friend works. I had never used a laser welder, but I watched a few YouTube videos and learned what settings in the machine I needed for stainless steel welding. Also being very cautious to avoid melting my fingers off :thumbup: Big thanks to Rolojack who gave my some very important tips A vital point was to put alminium inside the crown tube as the SS sometimes spatters and would not stick to the aluminum on impact of welding , I used rodico as I could find a perfectly fitting aluminum tube, worked fine and didn't set on fire. The images are in a chronology of progress so far Case is a Trevor 5513 Clark bezel The look im after Work in progress, not finished yet just wanted to share the progress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue. Posted January 31, 2015 Report Share Posted January 31, 2015 Amazing job, dlf! Building up the cg bit by bit, always a pleasure to see the process of a case mod. Good luck with the remaining steps. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Champagnesky Posted February 1, 2015 Report Share Posted February 1, 2015 Looks promising! Good luck! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highoeyazmuhudee Posted February 1, 2015 Report Share Posted February 1, 2015 WOW impressive! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackflash Posted February 1, 2015 Report Share Posted February 1, 2015 Excellent! Looking forward to seeing the end result. Thanks for sharing 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Champagnesky Posted February 2, 2015 Report Share Posted February 2, 2015 Btw, are you going for a 5512 or 5513? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmb Posted February 3, 2015 Report Share Posted February 3, 2015 Geeze! Way too much work for me but looking forward to your finished product... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kime Posted February 3, 2015 Report Share Posted February 3, 2015 Excellent work ! Some dedication required for that kind of work ! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dlf Posted February 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2015 Thanks guys, hopefully it will work out I'm unsure on the dial choice, I'd quite like a 369 style dial maybe a Yuki or HR will do the trick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dlf Posted February 9, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2015 Had a little time to work on the case a few updates . 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackflash Posted February 9, 2015 Report Share Posted February 9, 2015 Amazing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AKTime Posted February 9, 2015 Report Share Posted February 9, 2015 Looks damn good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whoopy12 Posted February 9, 2015 Report Share Posted February 9, 2015 When you get everything else polished, shoot a few pics of the cg's: I'm interested on what type of reflections you'll get Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrewchrysovitsinos Posted March 14, 2015 Report Share Posted March 14, 2015 Great stuff! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dlf Posted April 1, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 1, 2015 Small update, Dial so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ephry73 Posted April 1, 2015 Report Share Posted April 1, 2015 Bravo!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbane883 Posted April 1, 2015 Report Share Posted April 1, 2015 Excellent... If i might suggest, you could try to angle the base of the top of the CG's a bit more. right now the shape of the top is an isosocles triangle.. whereas a PCG should be a little more scalene. Here's a gen PCG 5512 case I almost bought recently... note how the top of the case as it approaches the CG is a trapezoidal shape, and the top of the CG is a scalene triangle: 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
508-Fanatic Posted April 1, 2015 Report Share Posted April 1, 2015 @DLF.... WOW Seriously, amazing. That's really cool man. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dlf Posted April 1, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 1, 2015 Dbane, noted Thankyou Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dlf Posted July 14, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 14, 2015 Finally got the parts together and made the final decision on certain details. The case was rewelded as I wasn't completely convinced in my first pass. Considering there are no original parts on this build its turned out better than I had imagined, saying that there are some top shelf parts in addition. I decided on TC hands, the hour hand is beautifully proportioned and as close to gen as I could find without broaching similar handsets in the same price bracket, plus TC is a real nice bloke to deal with . I replated them in nickel to add a nice aged aspect to match the dial . The plexi is absolutely stunning, it's a cwp t19 the clarity and done shape is far superior to any aftermarket crystal I've had, and I've pretty much tried them all. Sure it's 3 times the price of a Clark, but there is a huge huge difference . The bezel is Phong, again very nicely made compared to other aftermarket counterparts, great teeth. Ayatha 700 crown tube Swiss 2846 serviced Insert is a yuki bleached Drilled out the case , and bracelet to accommodate thick bars. Dial was aged and slow baked and given a tropical guilt hue. It seems pretty simple reading that, but it's taken me 8/9 months to complete! It's rare I complete a build and are %100 convinced, but this time I sure am Its my bday soon so hopefully I'll get myself a camera! so for now have some crap iPhone pics :-/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skywatch Posted July 14, 2015 Report Share Posted July 14, 2015 Dlf Very nice work and build, the aging looks great I've seen to many that are way overdone. Great choice on the 3,6,9 dial. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackflash Posted July 14, 2015 Report Share Posted July 14, 2015 Beautiful. Congrats on a great job! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rolexman Posted July 14, 2015 Report Share Posted July 14, 2015 Beautiful. Amazing job!!!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highoeyazmuhudee Posted July 14, 2015 Report Share Posted July 14, 2015 incredible work i assume a laser welder is out of reach for most people 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dlf Posted July 15, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 15, 2015 Thanks chaps, @highoey yeah shame they are so expensive probably why not many jewelers/ watchmakers have them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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