Come Fly With Me

[freddy333]

Congrats Freddy. Awesome work!

I'm happy for you, and glad to see that the watch is much more than the sum of its part.

A bit suggestion is that maybe you want to polish off the crystal edge a bit, make it more rounded rather than sharp. And will you be sourcing the alternating black and red datewheel?

Good luck and awaiting your future update my friend.

Thanks. The crystal is a gen, so I really do not want to modify it in any way since this is exactly what Rolex would fit during a service. When I build these vintage watches, I prefer to make them look like they would after being serviced by Rolex. I know that some people prefer to make vintage watches look 'beat up' or naturally worn, but I prefer the idea of starting out with a 'freshly serviced' look & then letting the watch age with me.

I would love to find a black & red (roulette) datewheel, but the movement is an ETA, so the gen calibre 103x or 106x datewheels will not work. But I am looking & if you know of a source for a roulette wheel that will work on an ETA 2836-2, please let me know.

[triosLescano]

The crystal on my watch is a genuine Rolex T116, but I have seen 2 gen 6542s on TZ without a cyclops (Rolex used to give the buyer a choice of cyclops or non-cyclops crystals on some watch models). I have never tried to remove the cyclops on a Plexiglas crystal & I do not know the Tropic part number for the non-cyclops crystal. I think Offshore has a Rolex crystal guide, if you need the part number.

Thanks for your indications. Have you a site to conseil me for buy good Crystals for rolex vintage ? Or is necessary to search it in ebay ?

[freddy333]

Looking for opinions on this caseback for use on my 6542

Here is a gen 6542

This is my current caseback (from Silix rols176)

I know the Silix rols048 caseback is not an exact copy of the gen caseback, but I think it may look close enough for government work.

So, the 2 questions are --

1. What do you think about the rols048 caseback (the top picture)?
   
2. (for anyone that has Silix's Rolex Oysterdate rols048) What is the diameter of this caseback (will it fit my Silix rols176 case)?
   

[freddy333]

Have you a site to conseil me for buy good Crystals for rolex vintage ? Or is necessary to search it in ebay ?

ebay or check Time zone's for sale sections.

[stilty]

Here is the past auction for the date disc. 360077323027

This would have been ideal to use. It would definately require some modding. remove driving gear, cut out the center, and sand the back so it is thin enough to use as an overly. But would it ever add to the watch! Date progression is the same as ETA as well!

calibre: 1225

[freddy333]

Here is the past auction for the date disc. 360077323027

This would have been ideal to use. It would definately require some modding. remove driving gear, cut out the center, and sand the back so it is thin enough to use as an overly. But would it ever add to the watch! Date progression is the same as ETA as well!

calibre: 1225

Oh, now I remember that 1. Yes, it would have iced the cake nicely. If you run into another, let me know.

[triosLescano]

ebay or check Time zone's for sale sections.

Thanks

[vlaletom]

I still have not decided whether to try to retro-fit the GMT parts from the 2836-2 onto a 'slow beat' 2846 (I have never done that before), or if it would make more sense to try to source a gen 106x calibre.

This is what i did for my 1655.

i had no particular problem to tansplant the extra gear from the MBW1655 2836-2 to the 2846.

removing the hacking second is trivial, so is removing the quick date set (but then seting date is a pain ...)

This transplant yould definitively enance, at low cost, that impressive beauty

[freddy333]

This is what i did for my 1655.

i had no particular problem to tansplant the extra gear from the MBW1655 2836-2 to the 2846.

removing the hacking second is trivial, so is removing the quick date set (but then seting date is a pain ...)

This transplant yould definitively enance, at low cost, that impressive beauty

Which gear did you transplant? Or do you have any pics of the movement during the work showing the gear in question? I thought there was a bridge & a couple of gears that handled the GMT functions? No?

I am still debating whether to disable the hacking function (I am leaning towards leaving it as is), but, after removing the quick set in another watch & living to regret it (too much work to reset the date), I think that is 1 inaccuracy that I will probably learn to live with.

[vlaletom]

Unfortunatly i havent a lot of pics of the works but maybe those can still help:

basicaly it is the day chage wheel that is changed with the rep wheel.

The rep wheel is doubled, those extra teeth get piped to an extra wheel that is put in place of the disk change arm.

the intermediate wheel get piped to an extra pinion wheel so that it will turn at half the speed of the hour pinon wheel.

So you have to remove the calendar mechanism bridge.

Sswapp the little day change wheel.

And then reassemble the bridge with the rep bridge who as an extra covering arm that will hold the moded wheel in place.

The rep bridge will fit with no problem in place of the original bridge

Then you reassemble the bridge and put the extra gmt pinion wheel

On this picture the wheel to remplace with the rep doubled wheel is the N

[Nanuq]

Good news... maybe. Over on wtchnet.com a guy is selling all the gen parts you need for the 6542, including the roulette wheel.

$$$$$$$$$

[freddy333]

Good news... maybe. Over on wtchnet.com a guy is selling all the gen parts you need for the 6542, including the roulette wheel.

$$$$$$$$$

Knowing what the gen parts are going for these days, I doubt that will do me any serious good, but I did a quick search for '6542' in both for sale forums & came up with nothing. Can you post a link to the parts listing?

[freddy333]

basicaly it is the day chage wheel that is changed with the rep wheel.

The rep wheel is doubled, those extra teeth get piped to an extra wheel that is put in place of the disk change arm.

the intermediate wheel get piped to an extra pinion wheel so that it will turn at half the speed of the hour pinon wheel.

hope this help

I figured it out earlier, but your pics & description helped. Thank you.

I have to rebuild the 2846, but I will swap the parts over as part of the overhaul.

Unfortunately, MY's small GMT broke during the broaching today. Because the hand has that right-angled 'cuff' around the hole that adds about 1mm of extra metal around the hole that must be removed, the broach keeps digging in & jerking the hand in the hand holder, which sheared the arm off. So I will have to either get another handset from MY (fortunately, they are not too expensive) & try again using my staking set (once I figure out how to enlarge a hand like that with a 'cuff' around the hold), or try Stilty's approach of locating ETA pinions that are the same size as the gen 106x movement & add that to the 2846 rebuild list.

Of course, the path of least resistance (which is generally my preference) would be to just stick with Josh's handset (with the big GMT hand), which, although not as exotic as the small GMT hand, is certainly correct for a 6542 (this is 1 of Dowling's)

[freddy333]

UPDATE

1 step closer - a freshly serviced 'slow beat', non-hacking 2846 GMT waiting for MY's dial

(The damaged screw heads arrived that way)

[freddy333]

UPDATE

How do these hands look?

[rolex001]

Mucho bettero Great stuff!

Now, please remove the intermediate gear betweeen keyless work and GMT gear - so that the GMT hand is non adjustable - as it would be for such a movement.

[freddy333]

Mucho bettero Great stuff!

Now, please remove the intermediate gear betweeen keyless work and GMT gear - so that the GMT hand is non adjustable - as it would be for such a movement.

Thanks, that is a great idea. However, & this may be a stupid question, where do I set the GMT hand if I remove the gear? Do I set it to the 24-hour equivalent of my current time zone (if I recall correctly, that is how the GMT hand on the gen movement is set)? Or GMT time? Or what? (I may end up having to use dial dots (ongoing problems with soldering may leave me no choice) to attach the dial to the movement. And since the dial will be a pain to remove, I want to be sure about that gear's status before the dial goes on.)

Second (related) question - I am still doing some final testing, but I think the GMT hand may be 'drifting' a bit slower vs the correct time as reflected by the 12-hour hand. And if that is the case, then the GMT hand will appear 'off' when viewed. Therefore, I wonder if it might be better to leave that gear as is (so the GMT hand remains manually adjustable) vs removing the gear & allowing the GMT hand to drift to an incorrect position & not having any way to correct it?

In other words, is it better to have an inaccurate stem setting position (that only I will know about) & still be able to correct for any GMT hand 'drift', or is it better to have a correct stem setting position & not be able to correct the 'drift'?

[kent2]

the tip of the sweep second hand needs a taper point. the gmt hand is set to correspond to the watch's time- you are overthinking the issue.

[vlaletom]

On my 1655 i did remove the keyless work wheel so the hand is not adjustable.

forgot about that part in my pics ..

you just have to adjust it at 24H position when reassembling while the hour is at 12H

i got it runing for about 1,5 year with good amount of wrist time, like once in a week, and the GMT hand is still in good sinch with the hour hand.

i actualy missed the exact position when reassembling (maybe by a single teeth) so it is like very slightly missaligned but that never changed.

the only incuracy that i think should be purposely left is the date adjustement, because that is too painful to adjust on a watch you don't wear every day.

so the crown still has 3 position and not just 2.

But anyway i think it is pointless to goe that far in trying to mimic the real movement as the date disk will still turn in the wrong way .

Can't wait to see your project finished, your new hands just looks great.

[freddy333]

the tip of the sweep second hand needs a taper point.

Yes, I know, but I am not sure how to taper it without damaging the delicate hand. Any suggestions?

the gmt hand is set to correspond to the watch's time- you are overthinking the issue.

Perhaps, but I am trying to get it right so I do not have to pull everything apart because I missed some small detail during final assembly (which will occur as soon as I figure out a better way to attach the dial without using adhesive (cement, dots, etc)).

[rolex001]

You need to isntall the hand in 24hr mode meaning that if the time is 4PM you put tehhour hand on 4 and the GMT on 16. Remember - on those old watches the GMT functionality was only realized thorugh the brezel. 1655 had the 24hr hand only to be able to display AM/PM as the bezel was fixed.

You should properly fix the slipping gear or let some watchmaker do it - it is possible but I suggest to use a basic wheel - not a sandwich wheel consisting of essentially two wheels. Also removes height, allowing hands to sit better.

[freddy333]

On my 1655 i did remove the keyless work wheel so the hand is not adjustable.

forgot about that part in my pics ..

you just have to adjust it at 24H position when reassembling while the hour is at 12H

i got it runing for about 1,5 year with good amount of wrist time, like once in a week, and the GMT hand is still in good sinch with the hour hand.

i actualy missed the exact position when reassembling (maybe by a single teeth) so it is like very slightly missaligned but that never changed.

Done. I am glad this was pointed out now rather than after the final assembly (with the dial held on with adhesives).

the only incuracy that i think should be purposely left is the date adjustement, because that is too painful to adjust on a watch you don't wear every day. so the crown still has 3 position and not just 2.

But anyway i think it is pointless to goe that far in trying to mimic the real movement as the date disk will still turn in the wrong way .

Yes, I agree. I did consider disabling the quick-set when I overhauled the movement (& removed the hacking, which I can easily live without). But I already have some non-quick-set gens (that I rarely wear because I dread having to spend several minutes crown-twisting time to get the date right) & did not want this 1 to end up gathering dust in a case.

Can't wait to see your project finished, your new hands just looks great.

The only remaining issue is - How to attach the dial to the movement (since it does not have dial feet)?

I have to figure out a way to attach the dial that is both secure (so I do not have to worry about shifting adhesives migrating into any of the kinetic components that reside nearby) & which still allows me to easily remove it so I can work on the movement. My preferred option (soldering) crapped out (I have a handful of damaged test dials to prove it), so I may end up having to use dial dots if I cannot come up with something better. Any suggestions?

[freddy333]

You need to isntall the hand in 24hr mode meaning that if the time is 4PM you put tehhour hand on 4 and the GMT on 16. Remember - on those old watches the GMT functionality was only realized thorugh the brezel. 1655 had the 24hr hand only to be able to display AM/PM as the bezel was fixed.

Got it.

You should properly fix the slipping gear or let some watchmaker do it - it is possible but I suggest to use a basic wheel - not a sandwich wheel consisting of essentially two wheels. Also removes height, allowing hands to sit better.

I have the GMT & sweep seconds hands on the movement & I will keep an eye on it over the next 24 hours to get a better handle on whether there is a 'drifting' problem or not. My previous observation was based on a few quick checks during hand fittings, so I could have mistaken the 'drift' for a loose dial (which I am still trying to work out a solution for).

[dieselpower]

Know very little about these watches but am in awe of the work done, as usual. Fine example of what this forum is all about, ingenuity, persistence, skill, shared knowledge and support. Marvellous stuff. Well done to all, especially freddy333 wear it well my friend.

Diselpower

[freddy333]

Know very little about these watches but am in awe of the work done, as usual. Fine example of what this forum is all about, ingenuity, persistence, skill, shared knowledge and support. Marvellous stuff. Well done to all, especially freddy333 wear it well my friend.

Diselpower

Thanks, Diesel. Always good to get your level-headed take on things.