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A/6538


Dlf

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Had a rare day at home so I decided to work on my A/6538 build that's been dragging on for years .

 

its a budget build based on a silix case /welded. The bezel is made from a random spare one I had that fit the case,  German silver welded on/replated. I don't have the tools or time to make a two piece bezel, and as far as I know there's some solid 'prototypes' which are acceptable for the vrf echelons anyway ;)

 

Made some fat bars from the vintage Pam compression system, drilled out the tubes and press fit regular 'fat' spring bars inside. I will probably weld them to the case when the time comes.

 

Having a dial done which will be incoming soon. (Burford style)

 

lots of issues still to figure out, but some progress...

project is still in early stages !

 

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Edited by Dlf
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1 hour ago, manodeoro said:

OMG ... I'm definitely following your thread. Hope you'll take pictures while welding the bars.
What is the tool (machine?) on your first pic ?

Envoyé de mon XT1068 en utilisant Tapatalk
 

 

 

 

Yeah hopefully you're design will come out as planned ;)

thats my lathe in the first pic, waiting on a outside chuck so I can finish my the bezel and hopefully make it fully functional .

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Yeah hopefully you're design will come out as planned
thats my lathe in the first pic, waiting on a outside chuck so I can finish my the bezel and hopefully make it fully functional .

A lathe !!! So you're heavily equipped
I too really hope your dial come out as well as possible
With the work you're doing that A/6538 will be a very stunning and unique piece so I judt cant wait to see it finished.
Which movement are you planning to use ?

Envoyé de mon XT1068 en utilisant Tapatalk

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There's an article over at VRF by Jed on the Early Military Submariners and it discusses the A/6538- wish I could cut and paste it for over here but damned if I can figure out how to do it. Worth reading. Look forward to seeing how the watch turns out Dlf!

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@manodeoro yes well it's a cheap Chinese lathe but functions well, I plan on using a 2846 that Was overhauled, I need to get some decent hands.... maybe some phong or ?, and have a service t-19 that I will install. Adrian's brevet crown tube, had the case engraved and also the case-back

 

I did want to make this piece for diving but the dreaded glued in plexi/ dodgy case construction will probably not allow it so,  best epoxy to use ?

 

 

@alligoat I was just reading that thread! Thank you :) There has been some recent controversy and much speculation/adult bickering on the authenticity and story on the a/6538 burford dial subs.

Spurred me in to open the project back up. 

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15 hours ago, Dlf said:

Dial turned out nice, bit of aging in the right places and a relume.

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Thanks for the pics and the feedback.

I feared the design could be too crispy for a vintage dial so I'm really glad the dial turned out that nice.

Look forward to see how it will look when a little aged. 

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Dial is from helenerou and designed by manodeoro, that is the final aging I don't want to make it look too trashed.

As you can see from these pics was the before factory fresh, and then the gen dial reference.

 

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How easily did helenarou's original lume come off? I've got one of her Tiffany explorer dials that the lume is just too green in plain daylight and will need a treatment like yours

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk

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18 minutes ago, Dawagner said:

How easily did helenarou's original lume come off? I've got one of her Tiffany explorer dials that the lume is just too green in plain daylight and will need a treatment like yours

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Well you have a few options. Coloring the present Lume is the most viable option, removing can be hazardous . I would reccomend coloring the existing Lume, or reluming over the top of current as a secondary option.

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18 minutes ago, Dawagner said:

What do you recommend to color it?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk
 

Depends what color you want.

 

I aimed for the original color of my reference dial. 

 

-Orange waterbased paint

-espresso

- tamiya weathering kit

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I used the espresso as the water in the mixture, paint, and a small anount of dark power so it doesn't  appear so fresh, all very delicately applied as it tends to be overdone easily. 

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  • 2 months later...

Hi@Dlf how is your A/6538 going ?

BTW ... I'l working on a twin project for myself so I have some questions about the crystal
As you put a "standard" bezel assembly I suppose you reworked the rehaut, which is far too large on the Silix, but how will you deal with the crystal ?
Inside diameter of the Silix rehaut is too large the rework enough to put a T19 so which crystal will you use ?
Or did you grind all the upper part of the case and welded a custom rehaut ?

Envoyé de mon XT1068 en utilisant Tapatalk

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3 hours ago, manodeoro said:

Hi@Dlf emoji3.png how is your A/6538 going ?

BTW ... I'l working on a twin project for myself so I have some questions about the crystal emoji39.png
As you put a "standard" bezel assembly I suppose you reworked the rehaut, which is far too large on the Silix, but how will you deal with the crystal ?
Inside diameter of the Silix rehaut is too large the rework enough to put a T19 so which crystal will you use ?
Or did you grind all the upper part of the case and welded a custom rehaut ?

Envoyé de mon XT1068 en utilisant Tapatalk
 

 

 

 

I havent decided what what to do yet 

I had a few issues with my bezel, it's on the back burner for a while until I have some time .

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  • 5 months later...

Hi @Dlf

That thread must be kept alive, so here are some pics of my own A/6538.

I must thank you a tousand times because you made me discover that model.

 

I started with a 6538 Silix case and I grafted a "gen-specs" rehaut so that it colud take a T19 and a 5513 bezel assembly

 

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Plus I have built a tropical Burford dial for it

 

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I dont want to use the 5513 bezel because it's too thin ... about 1.5mm

So I'm building a "2 parts" bezel that will be about 3mm thick and will look like this one

 

RPR_A6538-Cla-2-ok-21.jpg

 

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Wow.  Just............ wow.  Gorgeous!
Thanks@Nanuq ...
I'm not certain wich build you wowed but ... I will consider it's mine
And a "wow" from you ... I receive that as an honour, considering the really high quality of your builds and watch catches.

When I joined the forum and begun playing with reps exactly a year ago, I never thought I would be there today showing a highly modded case.
But all this happens thanks to the forums and nice members sharing their knowledge and experience.

sent from my Moto G5 Plus using Tapatalk

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