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... Build Bible & Modding Madness ... From Pam's to ...?

Natas78

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Sneak peek!! Been workin' on this one for ages... Finally finished it tonight! Happy Happy! Had to do a LOT of work on just about everything... Phew!
100% custom job lol
Now lets make a nice strap for it!

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Natas78

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In between building I did some dials and reluming too:

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Also bought this Rolex Cheapie M2M, and pimped it a little :) milsub dial, super lume, brass aged bezel...

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Also found me a nice little ostrich leather belt blank! Straps galore!

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tomtom2

Active Member
22/3/16
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hi mate,
just got your famous dial and finished my watch! It looks great, except my little fault - the dial is a tiny bit out of center...let's see if it bothers my that much...
Great work, mate!
Next Dial will come soon![emoji1303][emoji1]
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Natas78

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Good looking tool watch mate! :) Glad you like it!
 

tomtom2

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22/3/16
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and the lume is so f.... bright, it glows even in the daylight![emoji1303][emoji1303]
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Pratt

Put Some Respect On My Name
24/4/13
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I love to see more work from you! Great job and definitely adds on to the spirit of watch modding in RWI!

~ Pratt ?ö??š
 

Mendota

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Beautiful work! Very impressive.

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Natas78

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So here it is, the one I've been working on for the past few weeks, took me some time because I didn't have all the parts, was getting married and just didn't get around to building anything lately. Absolutely love the dial, it shines very bright in sunlight (Gilt) And the lume even emits visible light during the daytime :)
First time using a vintage 3608 movement, and had to make a longer seconds hand myself, but absolutely stoked with it! Runs like a dream and gets a lot of attention.
This movement came from a wristwatch so it's got shock proofing on the balance assembly.












 

Natas78

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Got me a good deal on a broken 382 Bronzo, was pretty excited as it was my first! These are really nice watches!! Wore it for my wedding day :))
Many people asked about it, and got a few inquiries for future builds! But I had to do something about the lume! It is terrible stock, and wanted to try my skills on this pretty difficult and all or nothing job! testing the nerves lol.

Disassembled the movement and dial from the case:


Removed dots & bars, delicate work people!


This is the relumed batch of dots&bars, first you remove the old lume & clean them individually


A test with a few secs of artificial light exposure... Tadaaaaa


Put back the markers but first gave the dial a matte clearcoat.




Some nice patina, it comes fast! especially now it's humid and warm



Completed the job, stoked with it and now it REALLY glows!



I had an idea for a strap, since it come without one... What do you think?
 

tomtom2

Active Member
22/3/16
264
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you are a true artist, bro! very nice indeed![emoji1303][emoji1]


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RepPossessed

The UK dealer
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10/11/15
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omg im in love with this.. how can you brass a watch?? can you shed some light on how the process is done?

I have wanted a uboat U-42 custom project for a while i think you might be the man to do this


I got a little bored with crownguard cases, so had to try something new.
This Radiomir case measures 47mm, has a 0,9 crown for auto movement and needed a LOT of work to have it accept a Molly.
But It paid off...



Also very proud of the matching strap I made for it, perfect match!



The crown has a stem adapter to have it accept a new molly stem







The owner since then sent it back to have some work done to it, brass movement decorated with blued screws and lumed the hands, as a request from the buyer:





I felt the need to try out a nice Radiomir case, but with the same black/brass color scheme as the last one:









 

Natas78

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omg im in love with this.. how can you brass a watch?? can you shed some light on how the process is done?

I have wanted a uboat U-42 custom project for a while i think you might be the man to do this

Hi, sure it's an old blacksmith technique where you first etch the metal, disassemble the case and remove all rubber gaskets n such, clamp it with a jewelers vise and torch it with a propane torch untill you get the right discoloration on the ssteel. Then you have to use a brass brush to completely brush the case with, repeat several times.
First few times will be trial and error :)
You need to get a feel for when is the right time to start coating it. When it's too hot it won't work :)


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RepPossessed

The UK dealer
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Oh wow, that really doesn't sound so crazy as I thought, I would have fun with the trial and error of that, I looked up you tube and saw a couple of guys dipping metal in liquids with batteries hooked up but it doesn't look very effective

I saw a cool video of a guying who was "gun bluing" some stuff in a similar way to you was heating them under torch then just tossing the pieces in motor oil, it gave a cool effect
 

Natas78

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Oh wow, that really doesn't sound so crazy as I thought, I would have fun with the trial and error of that, I looked up you tube and saw a couple of guys dipping metal in liquids with batteries hooked up but it doesn't look very effective

I saw a cool video of a guying who was "gun bluing" some stuff in a similar way to you was heating them under torch then just tossing the pieces in motor oil, it gave a cool effect

That's electroplating, have tried but results are not good.
The brassing technique is very effective, try it if you're up to it :)


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RepPossessed

The UK dealer
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yeah definitely! though with my luck i'm gonna burn the garage down or completely bastardise 5 watches in the process but i'm willing to take the chance!

Iv'e been hankering to do something for quite a while now after seeing the builds that yourself, pratt and others put together..
 

Natas78

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yeah definitely! though with my luck i'm gonna burn the garage down or completely bastardise 5 watches in the process but i'm willing to take the chance!

Iv'e been hankering to do something for quite a while now after seeing the builds that yourself, pratt and others put together..

You do have to COMPLETELY disassemble the watch, bezel also because there's rubber inside! Reassembly could be pretty bitchy tho... Lol


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tepekei

Known Member
2/3/16
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These builds are insane! I'm loving the watch school thread too. Magnificent!
 

Natas78

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These builds are insane! I'm loving the watch school thread too. Magnificent!

Thanks mate! I passed that class, by the way! And next year is very important, we will be seeing all wristwatch movements.
Stay tuned!


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