Frank Rolex 1500 Help

[randonbey]

Well here we are, after looking for less than 15 mins on a frank rolex build post I've decided to jump on the train myself... Just one issue being I have no knowledge whatsoever on frank builds. 
People constantly tell me that there are numerous posts out there on forums but guess I'm just unlucky and not able to find them. Im hoping this will help numerous people with the task of building their first frank watch:

Where I am currently at with my build...
•Gen 1500 watch case
•Gen 1500 Dial
•Gen Crown (having issues with the threading currently,,, it seems like only one thread catches and doesnt screw completely down... Not too sure what the issue is)
•ETA 2824-2 Movement
•Yuki spacer for the watch
•Raffles Tudor watch hands
•AfterMkt sapphire crystal


Heres where I really need help:

Ive heard that the dwo has to be modifies in some way and im quite frankly unsure of how that works. I have the eta movement dial spacer which im hoping gives enough clearance but maybe someone can clarify

I'm also not too sure of the best way of going about putting the dial onto the movement. I do realize that the legs for the 1570 movement are diff from the 2824 and will have to be snapped off. Where do I go from there? Installation using dial dots?

Last but not least, the overall fastening of the movement to the case. I feel like this is sort of self explanatory but I'd just like to inform of myself the tasks that have to be done to accomplish this.

Someone please send help 

Ive attached photos for people who'd like to see
 


 

  

[alligoat]

Here's a few things- the plastic crystal for the 1500 is the T-117. They're pretty easy to find. I don't know if the sapphire crystal will work or not- might not allow the hands to work. I don't know about the Yuki spacer ring but if it works, great. The hold down tabs and screws should anchor the movement in the case. You might also check out the raffles spacer ring, I believe it's the #2 ring.

You might need a new crown if the one you have doesn't screw down properly- the correct crown is the 24-530. Tube would be the 24-5300- these are 2.5mm case hole sized parts.

You'll need a date wheel overlay- DWO- and aligning it on the 2824-2 date wheel is a real trick- good luck. You'll need to glue the dial to the movement or use dial dots. A movement ring on top of the movement might give to enough room to not impede the DWO from turning when the date changes.

Good luck!

[horologist]

Long before I discovered this forum or the replica world of watches, I made my own replica or Franken as they are known here using this very same model.  

 

I recall purchasing a case kit with a nice navy blue dial from Andy Tolley ( aka timeman) back in August 2002 and also a bracelet for just under $AUS365.  He had lots of great deals in both watches and parts!!!  Miss him so much!!!!!!

 

I had both eta 2824-2 and the eta 2783, but opted for the 2783 as it was a 21000 beat as opposed to the 28000 beat in the 2824-2, which closely mimicked the 1575 genuine.

 

The construction was very simple using the 2783 as the stem was in perfect position with the aperture of the case opening whereas with the 2824-2 movement involved a lot of messing around with spacers and getting the positioning right and the hand positioning.  It was also a higher beating movement that would have given away that something was not right to the trained eye and to me.

 

The ebauche of the 2783 had a lot more meat on it for me to position the original dial feet of the dial to preserve the dial feet in the event I ever did come across a genuine Rolex module for me to assemble a genuine rolex watch!

 

I positioned the dial exactly on the movement and marked out where the dial feet were to be pressed in.  I had a jeweller to drill holes in those exact locations for the dial to be friction fitted without having to use dial dots, glue or any other temporary solution.  I recall getting a datewheel from an old FHF movement which I do not recall the caliber and sanded it down enough to lower the thickness for it to be glued onto the 2783 datewheel (for which I did the same to bring down the thickness of it also, so that it  would not stick up too high.)  I actually got the datewheel  ia hair thinner so it would not interefere with the dial upon flicking at midnight..  FYI the dial feet from the 2824-2 are slightly different in position from the 2783 which even my watchmaker was unaware of.  

 

There was no need for any case ring or any other adjustments because it was an almost perfect fit with just case clamps.  I was so proud of it that it was indistinguishable from the real McCoy unlike some of the best replicas that always have a flaw that give them away to those with a trained eye for these knit picks.  I wore it for 3 years without a problem and it gave me a lot of pleasure, until I foolishly sold it for a genuine Tudor that I also no longer have.  The guy I sold it to who is a real estate salesman, still wears it today , accompanied with a nice late model Porsche and is often seen wearing suits that are worth far more then my ex watch.

 

My opinion and my opinion only, is the 2783 is a better and more robust module that the next generation 2824-2 as it has never been cloned.  Also you can find lots of them for a song and plenty of spares from most unknown watches ranging from Tudor to Bentley and non name brands such as Felicia and vintage Tesco timepieces.  

[Ronin]

The 2824/2836 will have stem alignment issues.  I tried a similar build years ago when I bought the 1500 to steal its genuine movement for my 1016 project.  I even planned on a OP (non-date) to simplify matters with an AirKing or 1002 dial.  NO DICE.  I also had the Yuki adapter.  Stem alignment was simply too far off, and when I shimmed it I had rotor interference with the case back.  I gave up on it.  Still have all the parts sitting in a box.  Maybe I will revisit with a 2783...  Good luck...

[Timelord]

18 hours ago, Ronin said:

The 2824/2836 will have stem alignment issues.  I tried a similar build years ago when I bought the 1500 to steal its genuine movement for my 1016 project.  I even planned on a OP (non-date) to simplify matters with an AirKing or 1002 dial.  NO DICE.  I also had the Yuki adapter.  Stem alignment was simply too far off, and when I shimmed it I had rotor interference with the case back.  I gave up on it.  Still have all the parts sitting in a box.  Maybe I will revisit with a 2783...  Good luck...

 

Totally agree !!!!!! 

 

In my opinion the 2783 was the best module of the mechanical watch world outside the inhouse brand watches prior the the quartz invasion.  They were robust well designed ( incabloc setting) and easy to work with unlike the later generation higher beat 2824-2 where they are a  pain in the A$5 to work on during a service!!!  Most newer 2824 are a pain with their novodiac cap jewel spring flying off if you are not super careful , near impossible to replace the balance wheel without high risk damage the hair spring and their flimsy keyless works developing easy stretch. As mentioned in a reply above here, they are also many clones and you do not know what you are buying when sourcing wrecks for parts.  Genuine parts availability are very expensive hens teeth!!!!  You cannot go wrong with a 27XX series as they were also found in the Tudor snowflake submariner fetching high premiums if I am not mistaken.

 

Let me add that a 2782 and a 2784 will work equally well as their height and stem height positions are identical 

 

http://www.ranfft.de/cgi-bin/bidfun-db.cgi?10&ranfft&2&2uswk&ETA_2783

 

http://www.ranfft.de/cgi-bin/bidfun-db.cgi?10&ranfft&2&2uswk&ETA_2784

 

and 

 

http://www.ranfft.de/cgi-bin/bidfun-db.cgi?10&ranfft&2&2uswk&ETA_2782

 

which will be an easier substitute to the Rolex 15XX series with the stem height position not needing as much fiddling around

 

The 2824-2 may or may not work but in addition to the stem positioning,  you will need to use the right spacers, make sure that the date wheel overlay will not drop down the hour and seconds pivot height etc. This Russian doll will cost you a lot of grief!!!  🙂

[Ronin]

Out of curiosity, what is the verdict on the 2879?  I have a 6538 build with one under the hood...

[cosmic2000]

Hello to all
I am working on the same project and I agree : The 2824 is a real pain and I started to loose motivation to carry on. So now I will jump to the 27xx series after having read your experiences.Thank your very much for sharing.

[horologist]

9 hours ago, Ronin said:

Out of curiosity, what is the verdict on the 2879?  I have a 6538 build with one under the hood...

you mean the eta 2789?  
 

this is the same movement as the 2783 but with the addition of the day wheel which is what I originally tried because of the extra height of the hour wheel, minute and seconds post!  Upon initial planning and brainstorm assembly with a dummy dial, I noticed that the rotor was rubbing the case back!  I was thinking of sanding it down to resolve this problem but the play in the jewel would always rub against the inside of case back!  My research at the time from records was that it was 0.15mm thicker than the original Rolex movement that came with the watch!   How do I remember?  Because I still have my notes from when i attempted the build in case I were to build another but then discovered the world of replicas!  
 

I did not have a problem using the 2783.  I just had to play around with the date wheel which I sanded down to adhere the right date wheel ( from a far wreck) for the right window of the dial,  it was so long ago but somehow the for caliber datewheel saved the day as it just missed the date window of the dial! 
 

keep away from the 2824-2!  It will give you problems!  Also it would not look right for this vintage of watch and will be a dead give away that it is a replica It is not just the stem alignment isssue but also the spacer between the DWO and the seconds wheel will not give you enough latitude for the hands!  Maybe someone more cleverer than me can suggest what I may have done wrong but it did not work!  Good luck! 

 

 

[Ronin]

I did in fact mean 2879 I just found this:

http://www.ranfft.de/cgi-bin/bidfun-db.cgi?10&ranfft&&2uswk&ETA_2879

or it’s no date derivatives

family:
28800/21600 A/h respectively:
2850/2851: manual wind
2852/2853: manual, date
2858/2859: manual, day, date
2870/2871: automatic
2872/2873: automatic, date
2878/2879: automatic, day, date

 

 

 

[horologist]

5 hours ago, Ronin said:

I did in fact mean 2879 I just found this:

http://www.ranfft.de/cgi-bin/bidfun-db.cgi?10&ranfft&&2uswk&ETA_2879

Looking at the data of the movement , the stem height centre is 0.25 mm off the stem height of the 2738, so I would be reluctant to buy this movement unless you already have one to try out !  As for the thickness of the movement itself , it seems to be within the range of one that will not rub against the inside of case back!  If you have a dud dial with no feet, try to set it onto your movement and try out the hands first to see if there is any clearance between them so you know that the posts are long enough to accept them!  Take into consideration that your DWO will play a part to this verdict!  If this step is successful, I would insert the stem without the crown and try to position it in the case to see if the stem is centred in the case opening!  If so, then bingo you are on a roll!   I always kept away from the 28xx pain in the a$5 series for these builds but this one seems to be an earlier version so you might be lucky!  Good luck !