Hey - long time lurker. I want to share my first project and get feedback from the community.
This build started off as a JKF 1680 that I picked up from Sead. He’s great to deal with and got me the watch with no hassle. I intended on turning this into an upgraded version of the 1680 that you get OOTB. I realized pretty quickly that I hadn’t done enough research. I wasn’t able to find a 1680 dial that would fit the dimensions of the cartel case that I was satisfied with.
Instead, I decided that I would put together a 5513.
Parts list is:
For anyone thinking about working on a similar project I wanted to call out of couple of unexpected issues that I ran into.
Equipment - a lot of people don’t talk about the equipment they used for a project. I wanted to go with a pretty cost effective setup, and YMMV, but here’s the stuff I used. This list isn’t comprehensive, but these were the bits that took me the longest to decide on.
This build started off as a JKF 1680 that I picked up from Sead. He’s great to deal with and got me the watch with no hassle. I intended on turning this into an upgraded version of the 1680 that you get OOTB. I realized pretty quickly that I hadn’t done enough research. I wasn’t able to find a 1680 dial that would fit the dimensions of the cartel case that I was satisfied with.
Instead, I decided that I would put together a 5513.
Parts list is:
- Cartel case
- Clarks t-19 crystal
- Athaya 702 crown/tube
- eBay Dial
- eBay hands
- WSO 2mm shoulderless springbars
- WSO 580 end links
- Cartel bracelet
- eBay 2813
For anyone thinking about working on a similar project I wanted to call out of couple of unexpected issues that I ran into.
- Retapping the case was more challenging than expected. The process of retapping the case was actually pretty easy once I got everything lined up, but occasionally the tube will screw out with the crown. I haven’t been able to figure out how to solve this except for gluing the tube in.
- Case finishing is another tough one. I think I was too aggressive with the dremel pressure which created some deep marks that are hard to get out without taking off more metal. I’ve still got some work to do on case finishing. Next step here is to polish the case.
- Movements. Working on a watch movement is hard if you’ve never done it before. I ended up ordered 3 2813 movements from ebay because I’m clumsy. Don’t underestimate this piece and get some practice.
Equipment - a lot of people don’t talk about the equipment they used for a project. I wanted to go with a pretty cost effective setup, and YMMV, but here’s the stuff I used. This list isn’t comprehensive, but these were the bits that took me the longest to decide on.
- Milescraft 1097 ToolStand - Drill Press Stand (compatible with Dremel)https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
- WEN 2305 Rotary Tool Kit with Flex Shaft https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
- SE 10-Piece Mini Diamond Needle File Set https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
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