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Best case to use for a 5517 build? (cartel?)


Revere

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I got a great milsub dial from Whoopy and I'm excited to get this project going. I need a case to house this build and am looking for recommendations on the best case I could use right out of the box. Meaning, as little modding as possible. I'm in the throes of another build right now and this is my fun relaxed one in comparison.

 

Whoopy mentioned others have used Cartel cases in the past but I'm very far out of the loop on 5513/5517 projects and am looking for a little bit of guidance. I'd just search, but I think I saw that a new 5513 case came out recently and am looking for the most up-to-date info.

 

Hell, I would even settle for no fixed lugs, and just weld those myself later. Thanks for the help!

 

edit: figure it's worth mentioning the dial is 26.5mm so I'm looking for a case that takes this dial

Edited by Revere
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Phong

http://www.jewelryandwatch.com/contents/en-us/d100.html

 

And, the bars on a milsub were never welded.. they were press-fit into place

Interesting, I didn't know that about the lugs. Thanks!

The phong case is great but I should have mentioned that I'm trying to shy away from a more expensive item. As much as I wish I could, I'm between work right now as a student and can't support a phong case. :(

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Thanks for the resource! sounds like the majority of the advice in the thread still holds, with exception of the fact that the cartel CGs are no longer so stubby.

 

If I could source an MBW case that would be great but I doubt it'll pop up any time soon. I'll see if it is possible to source a rep 5517 with the updated cartel 5513 base case.

 

Thanks again jack

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If I wanted a 5517 on the cheap this is probably what I would go with today;   https://rwg.cc/topic/181702-the-updated-cartel-5513

I pressed some stainless rods through the lug holes (enlarged to about 1.3 or 1.4mm) on an old Abay 5514 case and it worked out just fine. I slightly tapered the leading ends of the steel rods to help them start and knurled the other end with a fine tooth knurling wheel setup in my lathe. I pressed the tapered end through far enough so the tapered tip could be ground off even with the lug. The pieces of stainless rod stock were cut about 12mm longer than needed and carefully cut off and ground even with the lugs and polished after pressing them in. The rods are available from most watch part suppliers. Since knurling tools are not a common item you will need to devise a way to make the bars fit tight in the lug holes. Sometimes the holes are out of alignment enough to hold the bars in place.

I cut a groove in a piece of wood (using a round wood rasp) to hold the case steady while pressing the rod through the lugs by using the feed on the drill press (not running!) to push the rod through the lugs...tighten the rod in the drill chuck to hold it. When starting to press the rod into the lug, run most of the rod up into the chuck so not much of the rod is extended and just expose as much of the rod as needed at a time, this will help prevent bending the rod. Be careful not to allow the chuck jaws to contact the case. You can also use a small steel or brass hammer to drive them in but it 'mushrooms' the end and can easily bend the rods or ding the case if you hit the rod off center. When the rod gets through one side you may have to slightly bend the rod to get it started in the other lug. Practice on a junk case and you will see that it is a lot easier than it sounds. The hardest part by far is trimming the ends of the rods and polishing the lugs without damage to the case.

edit...I later removed the rods because I got tired of one piece straps pretty quick. This is something to think about if you have not used them.

 

 

Edited by automatico
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If I wanted a 5517 on the cheap this is probably what I would go with today;   https://rwg.cc/topic/181702-the-updated-cartel-5513

I pressed some stainless rods through the lug holes (enlarged to about 1.3 or 1.4mm) on an old Abay 5514 case and it worked out just fine. I slightly tapered the leading ends of the steel rods to help them start and knurled the other end with a fine tooth knurling wheel setup in my lathe. I pressed the tapered end through far enough so the tapered tip could be ground off even with the lug. The pieces of stainless rod stock were cut about 12mm longer than needed and carefully cut off and ground even with the lugs and polished after pressing them in. The rods are available from most watch part suppliers. Since knurling tools are not a common item you will need to devise a way to make the bars fit tight in the lug holes. Sometimes the holes are out of alignment enough to hold the bars in place.

I cut a groove in a piece of wood (using a round wood rasp) to hold the case steady while pressing the rod through the lugs by using the feed on the drill press (not running!) to push the rod through the lugs...tighten the rod in the drill chuck to hold it. When starting to press the rod into the lug, run most of the rod up into the chuck so not much of the rod is extended and just expose as much of the rod as needed at a time, this will help prevent bending the rod. Be careful not to allow the chuck jaws to contact the case. You can also use a small steel or brass hammer to drive them in but it 'mushrooms' the end and can easily bend the rods or ding the case if you hit the rod off center. When the rod gets through one side you may have to slightly bend the rod to get it started in the other lug. Practice on a junk case and you will see that it is a lot easier than it sounds. The hardest part by far is trimming the ends of the rods and polishing the lugs without damage to the case.

edit...I later removed the rods because I got tired of one piece straps pretty quick. This is something to think about if you have not used them.

 

 

Thank you so much for the thorough advice on how to get this step done. One piece straps are what I usually prefer to wear, so I think I'll follow through with the fixed lugs. Seriously, thanks for the write up!

 

I'd use a cartel case.  The "new" ones I have seen actually have CGs unlike the little "nubs" on the older ones.

That's what I hear, yep. I'll have to compare it to helenarou's.

 

Helenrou

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks for the input. I'll check it out

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Just received one of the new cartels. Such an improvement. Would have been perfect if it had a hugher crown position. Can't beat it for the price though

That is encouraging. How bad is the crown height?

 

also, does anyone know where I could source an appropriately dimensioned 5517 bezel insert for a cartel case?

Edited by Revere
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