Guest avitt Posted May 13, 2006 Report Share Posted May 13, 2006 Here it is, all mods by yours truly: Please let me know what you think. I'm happy to provide details, if anyone's interested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
By-Tor Posted May 13, 2006 Report Share Posted May 13, 2006 Well what to say.... It's amazing, that's all I can say. Let me guess: Guards, pearl, crown and markers have been done. Where did you get the riveted band, goes really well with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edge Posted May 13, 2006 Report Share Posted May 13, 2006 VERY NICE!!! Interested to know what you used on the Dial, PM me the details of your mods if you don't mind Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SubFrog Posted May 14, 2006 Report Share Posted May 14, 2006 Well yes...be proud. Great looking. Enjoy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olreon Posted May 14, 2006 Report Share Posted May 14, 2006 hello, very nice one. the only thing i don´t like on this one, are the yellowish markers. best wishes olreon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offshore Posted May 14, 2006 Report Share Posted May 14, 2006 hello, very nice one. the only thing i don´t like on this one, are the yellowish markers. best wishes olreon olreon, The guys who build these vintage pieces most times colour the markers yellowish, to give that vintage look. Offshore Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RWG Technical Posted May 14, 2006 Report Share Posted May 14, 2006 Amazing work and photography as ususal. Very nice, top notch as normal, but what else would we expect from you. RG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest avitt Posted May 15, 2006 Report Share Posted May 15, 2006 Thanks for the feedback, guys. I'm just back from spending Mothers' Day at Disneyland, and I've got some time to share a bit more on this project. I picked up this third-hand MBW from a board member back in December. It's a pretty early model, and had seen some rough handling...scratches, tool marks, etc. The crystal had been replaced with a generic, but other than that, it had no upgrades. I spent quite a while studying DRSD's, and determining how I wanted this to look. I collected pictures of both genuine and beautiful modded replicas from the web. (I've got directories on my PC, with about 50 gen pics, and 25 reps). After I figured out what I wanted done, I was very tempted to send the watch off to Tommy or Joe...but a little voice in my head kept saying "you can handle this". That, combined with numerous posts from members who were doing there own mods, convinced me to give it a go. Let me say that I read everything that was printed on the boards...So if you've ever posted any modification techniques, pictures, suggested, etc...then I owe you my gratitude. That list includes, but is not limited to Palpatine, Redbigjoe, The Zigmeister, Ubi, Nanuq, and Tribal...all of you have contributed in some way to this piece. Here a list of the mods I performed: Crown Guards: The inside and outside ot the CG were reshaped. I went with a thin look. I tried to keep the inner corners as square as possible. I also contoured the transition from the lugs to the back of the case(the MBW case seems to have machined "ridge" in this area...while the gens have a smooth transition). Of all the mods, I am most pleased with the CG's. Lug holes: I redrilled the holes to accomodate gen 2mm spring bars. I also eased the edges of these holes with a small grinding stone. Lugs: I found that the curve of the lugs was formed by the CNC machine as a series of radial cuts, or facets. It was not a smooth curve...So I ground the lugs curves smooth. I thinned the lugs a bit. I also rounded off the edges. (I would have prefered to file a bevel on the edge, but I didn't think that I could handle this precisely. The way that I rounded the edges looks like the case was incorrectly refinished at some point...nevertheless, it looks old). Once the lugs were reshaped, I polished everything, and reapplied the brushed finish. Case back: The case back was quite scratched and marred...I liked that, but it was a bit too much. So, I polished the case back, leaving some visible tool marks. I applied a brushed finish around the outer circumference of the back. Crown/Tube: I replaced the crown tube with a generic Triplock from Helfands. For some reason, the existing threading was not ideal for either the Helfands or the Cousins tubes. I was having a hard time getting the tubes to mount square. I ended up retapping the tube hole. The crown is a gen. I used a new ETA stem, cut to the correct length. Dial/Hands: I "relumed" the dial using a product suggested by Tribal: "Night Color" paint, by Revell. I added a few drops of Yellow Ochre acrylic paint. The Night Color has several attibutes that make it suitable for a vintage relume. It dries as a slightly raised, "grainy", dome...almost exactly the look I wanted. It also has a luminescent effect, which is not too strong, but just as you might expect on an older watch. The "lume" was applied in two coats, with a toothpick. I treated the hands by "topcoating" them, and then removing the residual paint from the metal surfaces. They almost match in color. There were a few marks on the dial, probably from careless hand removal. One scratch, near the date window, was actually throught to the base metal. Ubi suggested the use of clear varnish to repair these. That technique worked perfectly (I covered the metal first, with a Sharpie). I ended up applying 4-5 thin coats of varnish to the dial. Crystal: Nothing but a genuine Tropic 39 Superdome would do for this job. Insert: This one is a gen. I have to thank Ubi for providing enough information to keep me from attempting to age a genuine insert...I know I would have screwed that up (like I did with two helfands). Bracelet: I know that riveted is not correct for this model, but I like the look. This one came from one of Andrew's Asian DRSD (you know the one, with "Robot Watch" on the back...By the way, I've got one for sale...on a Nato strap, of course). I had to drill out the bracelet ends, and the end links. In the process of modding the end links, I twisted them up pretty badly. It actually took me quite a while to get them to fit properly, polish them out, and rebrush them. To me, the watch is pretty much done, except for one thing: I don't have a case back gasket. I used the original on the front, under the compression ring. I ordered generic 1665 gaskets from Ofei, but they are too big (I found that interesting...either the gaskets are the wrong size, or the case is not really 1:1.). Here are a few pictures of the genuine watches that influenced me: This is the dial look that I was after: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazz Posted May 15, 2006 Report Share Posted May 15, 2006 Awesome job I love the cgs and the more rounded edges on the case, really helps with the vintage look, nice one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the collector Posted May 15, 2006 Report Share Posted May 15, 2006 Very nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miquel Posted May 15, 2006 Report Share Posted May 15, 2006 You musy be very proud! That is a piece to chain to your wrist and not take off...good job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tribal Posted May 15, 2006 Report Share Posted May 15, 2006 (edited) Man,very nice Vintage Sd...... I like it a lot.... Great work do you have done......... Wear it well...... RG Tribal Edited May 16, 2006 by Tribal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubiquitous Posted May 16, 2006 Report Share Posted May 16, 2006 Excellent work!! The watch is stunning, and one you should be 100% proud of! Nothing quite like having done the job yourself! So.... Now that this one's done, what's next for you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XRT Posted May 16, 2006 Report Share Posted May 16, 2006 Very nice job Avitt!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alligoat Posted May 16, 2006 Report Share Posted May 16, 2006 Great job Avitt! Those cg's are awesome as is the rest of the watch. Bravissimo! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest avitt Posted May 16, 2006 Report Share Posted May 16, 2006 Thanks again. I really appreciate the feedback. So.... Now that this one's done, what's next for you? I think I should polish off those Daytona's I've been hinting at for a while now... But this 1665's going to get some wrist time (at the expense of my former favorite, the 118). I need to put some new scars and scratches on that case and bracelet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
palpatine Posted May 16, 2006 Report Share Posted May 16, 2006 all i can say is: WOW! absolutely great job!! very convincing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonthebhoy Posted May 16, 2006 Report Share Posted May 16, 2006 Well done avitt. Excellent work and well planned also. A very nice precis of the job as well. JTB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest chronomat123 Posted May 16, 2006 Report Share Posted May 16, 2006 So sweet. Makes me wish I was more patient. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jetsons Posted May 16, 2006 Report Share Posted May 16, 2006 That is one fantastic RR, avitt. Beautiful work that you can always be proud of. From what I can see on my vintages, the non SEL end links don't have much metal to give to accomodate the 2mm spring bars. You mentioned that you drilled them so there seems to be enought metal to work with. That has to be one very tricky operation. Were your end links close enough to begin with? Perhaps someone can suggest aftermarket sets that would work with the OEM type bars. This is RWG at its best! Thanks for sharing plus terrific photos! Jet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trunk21 Posted May 16, 2006 Report Share Posted May 16, 2006 Amazing work. Congrats. Top notch... Wow... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robertk Posted May 16, 2006 Report Share Posted May 16, 2006 Well done! that's the best I've seen. I'd never take it off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest avitt Posted May 16, 2006 Report Share Posted May 16, 2006 From what I can see on my vintages, the non SEL end links don't have much metal to give to accomodate the 2mm spring bars. You mentioned that you drilled them so there seems to be enought metal to work with. That has to be one very tricky operation. Were your end links close enough to begin with? Perhaps someone can suggest aftermarket sets that would work with the OEM type bars. You're right, Jet. Those hollow end links don't provide much material to work with. There a just a couple of thin metal loops, which hold the end links in place against the case. To fit the 2mm bars, I figured there were two approaches: 1) I could cut the metal loops, and expand them to fit the springbars, or 2) drill out the loops (and risk leaving them too thin). I thought that option 1 might allow the end links to move away from the case, as the metal bent over time, so I decided to drill them out. The problem that i had was securing the links, while they were being drilled. I tried to gently secure them in a vice. But they are a very odd shape, and difficult to grasp without crushing. My real problem came from not using a drop of oil when drilling. Because of this, the drill bit caught on the loop, and twisted up the entire end link. A single drop of 3-in-1 oil completely avoided this problem on the other side. After drilling, I found that the metal loops were quite strong...they did not look too thin at all. If you're going to try this at home, here are my tips: 1) Hold the end links with needle-nose pliers, not a vise. 2) Use a drop of lubricating oil. 3) To gently reshape the end link, try using a popsicle stick. This help to avoid tool marks and scratches. However, if something goes wrong, like it did for me, you can always just straighten everything out with pliers, polish out the tool marks, and reapply the brushed finish with a sanding sponge...no harm done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jetsons Posted May 16, 2006 Report Share Posted May 16, 2006 (edited) Thank you very much, avitt! Very helpful tips that will come in handy when I start on my MBW white letter 1665. Cheers, Jet Edited May 16, 2006 by Jetsons Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest avitt Posted May 16, 2006 Report Share Posted May 16, 2006 Here's an action shot of the 1665, along with Anne's Pearlmaster, taken on Sunday at the House of Mouse: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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