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A/6538 Military Submariner with Burford dial

manodeoro

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In fact it's an insert especially machining with CNC turning center...

rehaut.JPG


I'm sure Manodeoro will not mind me having said that...:blush2:

Of course I dont mind my friend, and my bad if Idid not already gave you here all the credit for the machining process

So, as I already wrote in the "custom cases" thread :

"Here I must give credit where credit is due ...
I played with the idea since some months and did all the engineering (conception, CAD design, 4/1 scale blue prints, etc ...) but, as I still dont have a lathe of my own, all this would have remained a nice project without the help of a very good friend and fellow countryman of mine.
He's a member here, very discreet but very skillfull.
@mascob, my friend, would you come here and take credit for your work ?"




 

manodeoro

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And is this simply pressed or is there some type of bonding agent applied to secure/seal?

Ah, ah, I let manodeoro answer, I'm just the machinist...

@mascob ... once again, you are far too modest

@ShovelnTC ...
I used a cold/hot method
I asked mascob to machine the rehaut about 1/2mm too large in diameter, then I :
- sanded the rehaut until it was about 1/10mm too large
- put the rehaut in the freezer for about 3 hours
- put the midcase in a kitchen oven, 90°C, for 1/2 hour
- prepared 2 flat pieces of hard wood + a hammer + a tube of Hypo Cement
- took the mid from the oven and put it on one of the pieces of harwood
- put a very thin "ring" of Hypo Cement in the recessed area of the midcase just to improve the waterproofness
- took the rehaut of the fridge and put it on the midcase ... it came easily in just pushing with my hand
- put the second flat hardwood piece on the rehaut and then some hammer blows to secure everything
ET VOILA
 

manodeoro

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It's a pleasure to work with manodeoro!
And yes, for mano, there's no problem without solution...If there's no solution, it's because there's no problem!:crazy:
Guys, please stop ... I'm blushing

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manodeoro

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Just a little update about the custom bezel process ...
A/6538 came with a special bezel, looking like a 5513 bezel but a bit thicker and made from 2 parts.
Base was mad of stainless steel and upper part was made from "german silver", aka "nickel silver", aka "maillechort" (never forget I'm French please).
"German Silver" is softer than Steel and can have about 40 to 70% copper and its color can sometimes turn to a soft yellow or red.
That is what I really liked in the pic below and what I want to reproduce.

... sorry ... I have an emergency so I'll continue that post tomorrow ...[emoji6]
 

mascob1

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Emergency? A bezel on the fire?:biggrin:
Seriously, I hope nothing serious...
 

manodeoro

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Emergency? A bezel on the fire?:biggrin:
Seriously, I hope nothing serious...

Nothing serious ... my elder son was calling me on Skype with my brand new grand-daughter
 

manodeoro

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So ... what about that

A/6538 CUSTOM BEZEL

First let me quote (partially) Shane Griffin from "Gear Patrol" :
"Around 1957, when the MOD was ready to commit to the Submariner, Rolex was several years and several upgraded references into the Submariner’s history.
The 6538 ... was made into a MOD-spec version, the A/6538.
The MOD required, among other specific features, a larger bezel, allowing gloved divers more gripping power; and a bezel material of German silver, which would typically dent upon impact, versus cracking or breaking."


The required bezel was virtually (and as far as I know) a "thick" 5513 bezel build in 2 parts :
- downer part (the one that clipped on the retaining ring) made from stainless steel
- upper part made from "german silver"

That specific construction could be controversial but when one look at the pic below it really seems the bezel is made from 2 parts, the upper part being corroded differently than the downer part.
The different color of the upper part could be due to the specific composition of the "german silver" ("nickel silver", "maillechort") that can contain a significant percentage of copper (40 to 70%).

View attachment 106067

I all cases, that is THAT pic (plus the Burford dial of course) that made me "fall in love" with the A/6538 and that pushed me to try to build the "same" watch.

So, after grafting a new rehaut to my Silix 6538 case, I am, at the moment, actually building a 2 parts custom bezel ... and I know ... I'm probably crazy :hehehe:

I will show pics of the finished bezel and explain the building process but today I want to speak about "bronzing" stainless steel.

The upper part of my custom bezel should look like the one on the pic above, so it should have what I would call a "light yellow color"
So last week I PMed my good friend and "king of steel" @mascob to get some infos about how to "lightly bronze" Stainless Steel.
As usually he was enthousiastic, did some tests with a torch and send me the pics altogether with process advices.

View attachment 106069

Result was really nice but not "light" enough and color was too "orange/yellow".
The other problem was that ... I dont have a gaz torch.

So if I wanted to get that "really discreet yellow color" I had to heat the bezel :
- at a lower temperature that the one obtained with a gaz torch
- in a very well distribued way to get a homogeneous coloration

On Saturday morning, about 6AM, I was cleaning my italian coffe maker (search Bialetti Moka Express on the web) and I had an epiphany !!!
The downside of my coffe maker, plain stainless steel, was partially showing a light yellow color :cheese::cheese::cheese:
So to reproduce the process I just had to analyse "how do I heat my coffee maker" ...
The answer was :
- very low heat
- long time

So, just after drinking me coffee, I took an old twisted bezel, put it on the smallest burner of my cooking plate, light the burner and waited to see if something would happen.
And my expectations were more than fullfilled ... after 2 heating periods of 30mn each my bezel showed a really light but really nice yellow/gold color

View attachment 106071

That was all for Saturday but on Sunday afternoon I have decided to try another 30mn heating period and I put my bezel on the burner again

View attachment 106072

At this very moment I had a little "problem" as my wife entered the kitchen and looked alternatively at me and the bezel on the burner ...

Her :
"Please tell me, my love, are you cooking a ... watch ?"
Me :
"Well, darling, I'm NOT actually cooking a complete watch ... just a watch bezel"
Her :
"Are we supposed to ... eat that thing ?"
Me :
"Definitely NOT my dear ... you know I cook organic food only and I can't attest that that bezel is an organic product"


There is moments in life when you're dealing with your wife/girl-friend and you know that you HAVE to find something to say and/or do if you want to avoid sleeping on the couch.
So I flashed my "Clooney's smile" (Clooney ... not clowny) and said :
"We've been living together since 35 years and see, I'm still able to surprise you ... what else ?"
Then she laughed and kissed me, poored two glasses of Saint-Mont (Tannat, Pinenc, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon) and waited with me for the final result.

So here are the pics, almost exactly the colored I 'm trying to reproduce
and BTW ... I did not slept on the couch :wink:


View attachment 106075

View attachment 106076

View attachment 106077

View attachment 106078
 

manodeoro

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The appliance of science. Loving what you are doing. Keep it up.


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Thanks
I've been a McGyver's fan all along the seven seasons :evil: that helps a lot :hehehe:
 

mascob1

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Ah,ah, I imagine you like dr Frankenstein, in his laboratory : it's alive, it's alive !!!!! ( About the bezel of course...) ;-)

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manodeoro

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Wake up early this morning, so I had some spare time for "bezel ring cooking" :evil:

Some comparison pics, 5513 eBay bezel ring untouched vs 5513 bezel ring polished and "cooked" (still same process : 30mn cooking / cooldown, repeat 3 times)

I definitely LOVE that subtle "yellow/gold" color ... next month I'll try coloring a complete watch using that method

I will also do some test soaking a stainless steel piece in linseed oil before "cooking" to see what I get ... linssed oil is supposed to enhance the process so I should get a more brownish color

View attachment 106585

View attachment 106586
 

cosmic2000

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... Amazing stuff going on here. You all have my absolute respect !!!
Yours c2000 from Germany

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manodeoro

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... Amazing stuff going on here. You all have my absolute respect !!!
Yours c2000 from Germany

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Thank you @cosmic2000 [emoji4]
don't think I'll update until next year but I hope to finish that build about mid February (so much work to do).

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