Dizzy Posted August 1, 2007 Report Share Posted August 1, 2007 (edited) Hey guys, this is my FIRST attempt at ever taking macro photos.. They turned out ok i guess... i know the pics are NOT perfect so the "peanut gallery" should keep the comments to a minimum LOL LOL -distressed the hell out of the entire case, dremeled all the edges to round off edges -beat the case and bracelet with a can of nuts and bolts, polished it and repeated process -Modded crown guards inside and out. -Aftermarket bezel insert (sanded to fit perfect) and removed the pearl for the "hardcore look". -Bigger SEL endlinks for something different and solid midlinks on bracelet (keeping orig noob bracelet for another project) -ground down caseback for polished bubbleback look on the old 1680's (work in progress) -high polish sides of case and finish sides of bracelet -drilled lug holes all the way though and gen spring bars (now complete) future mods: -Maybe gen crown and tube just to see if i can do it myself. Not gunna get too crazy.. this is my first attempt at some major mods. After this one i am gunna build my MBW 16610 with lug holes and SEL bracelet.. if i can find the correct case to start with... Then comes a 1680 or Comex (really beaten up) So exciting!! cheers Lonnie Edited August 10, 2007 by L-dizzle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tostef Posted August 1, 2007 Report Share Posted August 1, 2007 Very nice pics! I like the last one most! Best regards tostef Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephane Posted August 1, 2007 Report Share Posted August 1, 2007 Another balled member ! Congrats Loonie. I think I am going to order another Noob to start to play myself too... Are you seriously going to drill lugholes ? Please keep us posted when you've done it ! Cheers Stephane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dizzy Posted August 1, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 1, 2007 Yeah im gunna drill out the lug holes.. i LOVE lug holes BUT i have to drill from the outside to keep them centered.. should be interesting.. Lonnie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manuel Posted August 2, 2007 Report Share Posted August 2, 2007 Yeah im gunna drill out the lug holes.. i LOVE lug holes BUT i have to drill from the outside to keep them centered.. should be interesting.. Lonnie I too love lugholes! But I highly doubt you are succesful about it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fitmic Posted August 2, 2007 Report Share Posted August 2, 2007 I don't know anything about Rolex, but I like the looks of your watch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pugwash Posted August 2, 2007 Report Share Posted August 2, 2007 The wear looks a little too machined and even in places. Have you considered scrunching it in a bag of rough sand? Still, I love the idea and will be following it eagerly. Be careful when you do a 1665/1680 as the acrylic is very easy to make unusable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dizzy Posted August 3, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2007 I have since smoothed out all of the edges with 400 and 600 grit sandpaper and the case sides are now sanded and high polished. its a little dented and wavey but also smooth and shiney. Ive gotten rig of most of that "machined" look as you mentioned Pug. And the case back has now been sanded with 400 then 600. Im gunna high speed polish the back next time i have my dremel out. You gotta make it look worse before it gets better Its a work in progress like i said but its getting there. Im gunna take the sandpaper to the sides of the case again as its not quite as clean as i want it... needs just a little more. im off to work now, so i'll have to play with it tonight when i get home Lonnie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dizzy Posted August 3, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 3, 2007 i have NONE of these things yet. HAHA Im not sure how im going to attack this one yet but i will eventually. I found a 2mm bit at home depot but then dont have anything smaller than 1.6mm so im gunna have to chase down a Snap-On truck to get those #55's. Its gunna be some 'trial and error' and im gunna need some old cases to experiment with... Drilling NEW lug holes is gunna be a little tougher than just boring out an existing hole... Lonnie I hope you have the correct equipment to drill new lugholes. You need a very sturdy drill press, a staking tool, excellent 1.3mm drill bits (not the HSS plus crap), a lot of cutting oil and a lot of time... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tribal Posted August 3, 2007 Report Share Posted August 3, 2007 i have NONE of these things yet. HAHA Im not sure how im going to attack this one yet but i will eventually. I found a 2mm bit at home depot but then dont have anything smaller than 1.6mm so im gunna have to chase down a Snap-On truck to get those #55's. Its gunna be some 'trial and error' and im gunna need some old cases to experiment with... Drilling NEW lug holes is gunna be a little tougher than just boring out an existing hole... Lonnie You need some HSS-E Cobalt drills,but you will see it's not the easy way to drill the Lugholes... Buy a bunch of drills because you will kill a lot of them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Carl Posted August 4, 2007 Report Share Posted August 4, 2007 You need some HSS-E Cobalt drills,but you will see it's not the easy way to drill the Lugholes... Buy a bunch of drills because you will kill a lot of them Good looking watch! For really authentic looking ageing, remember that the BACK of the watch and strap will never show the same level of wear/damage as the front and sides. Use tape or something similar to cover the back while carrying out your project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dizzy Posted August 5, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 5, 2007 yep the back of the bracelet is nice and smooth and polished, no damage.. the caseback has a LOT of tool marks and fully polished. I have now high polished the case sides and bracelet sides and brushed the bracelet. It now look slike a 20 year old watch that has had a hard life, and been through the AD a few times for case work and polishing Now i just need a proper cyclops as the date mag is only about 2x and i like it 2.5-3x I found a NICE little dremel wheel part #511 i believe it is. Its like an abrasive scrubby pad (like a dish or plate scrubber) and it makes FAST and easy work of rounding off case edges perfectly without machining marks. But be warned, it takes of a lot of material fast, but leaves a great even finish compared to any file or grinding wheel. I'll post pics as soon as i can. I left my camera at work LOnnie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dizzy Posted August 10, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 10, 2007 (edited) well here is the Noob with its new lugholes! haha no special tools.. just a cordless drill, a couple of drill bits, some REALLY sore fingers, and an hour of time. Gen spring bars added. I drilled out the noob SEL to 2mm but the spring bar wont go through. I will have to get a bit just over 2mm tomorrow and give them a once over. Heres a few fast pics. hasnt been polished out yet so its rough I have a hollow endlink bracelet on it for now.. Edited August 10, 2007 by L-dizzle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manuel Posted August 10, 2007 Report Share Posted August 10, 2007 I see I was wrong. You seem to have accomplished project with success. I tried it with a noobmariner too, but no luck. I wouldnt attached the drill firmly so I gave up. I ended up giving the case to vmena. He likes to exercise his modders skills. But maybe you should have waited until you had smaller drills. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tribal Posted August 10, 2007 Report Share Posted August 10, 2007 well here is the Noob with its new lugholes! haha no special tools.. just a cordless drill, a couple of drill bits, some REALLY sore fingers, and an hour of time. Gen spring bars added. I drilled out the noob SEL to 2mm but the spring bar wont go through. I will have to get a bit just over 2mm tomorrow and give them a once over. Heres a few fast pics. hasnt been polished out yet so its rough I have a hollow endlink bracelet on it for now.. Do this with a 1,2mm drill than it's great Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dizzy Posted August 11, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 11, 2007 (edited) Yeah its a little big hey? i was hoping nobody would notice I ended with a 1.5 mm bit and heres why. When i drilled the lugs from the inside i had to drill on an angle of course.. i drilled with the shaft of the drill almost touching the point of the lug. This was the right angle to make sure the hole came out in the right place (visual reason only), not to high and not to low. Anyways.. these angled holes didnt allow the gen rolex bars to poke all the way through so you could see them. in fact they hardly had any "bite" at all. I drilled them bigger only so the Gen springbars would extend fully. I personally love lug holes so i dont mind them a little big But you are right 1.2mm would be ideal. If i was drilling an MBW or something then it would be no problem at all as they are pre-drilled straight through like the gen case. This entire process scared the hell outta me so you all know.. i knew one slip and the case was toast LOL. This is my beater/experiment watch anyways so im not to worried about it. PLUS im still a noob.. not to replicas, but a noob to this whole "frankenwatch" thing so im still learning to skills Lonnie *update: I just drilled my noob SEL's for the Gen springbars and wow there isnt much material left ha ha ha! One of the SEL's actually broke during drilling (whoops) which shows that the noob endlinks are actually made of THREE seperate pieces of stainless steel and fused/glued together. Thats why the SEL looks so "sharp" and defined. Once on the watch you cant tell its snapped apart. Its strong and should be fine. You cant even see if you are looking for it. I had to file a LOT all around the SEL to get it to fit the case again but the look was well worth it. I now have my 16610 with lugholes! Do this with a 1,2mm drill than it's great Edited August 12, 2007 by L-dizzle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piratedzeus Posted August 12, 2007 Report Share Posted August 12, 2007 Stop destroying Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dizzy Posted August 12, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 12, 2007 i like the "destroyed" look sure doesnt look like a rep anymore with all the carnage LOL people will think "Man thats gotta be 20 yrs old by the shape its in..." Stop destroying Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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