- 9/7/12
- 23,764
- 20,924
- 113
For those with an interest in 1675 GMT builds, many are familiar with the cases offered by milk051506 . They are vastly superior to the Cartel/BP 1675 cases and considerably cheaper than the mid-range Vietnam cases offered by Ruby etc.
milk051506 has just finished working on a 1680 case and a 5513 case, and sent me 1 of each to give him some feedback. Pics are below - the first 6 are of the 1680 case, followed by the 5513 case, then the 2 cases together.
The finish on these is better than that on the 1675, which needed a little work to reshape the CG's and clean up their inner edges. The 2 cases I received had well proportioned and symmetrical CGs, no sharp edges or burr on machined surfaces. The polishing and brushing is well executed, bezel ring turns smoothly and precisely. There are a couple of minor areas that can be improved, notably small adjustments to CGs shape, but it's not a necessity - they can be used as they are with no further work.
There are also a couple of discrepancies in dimensions. I spoke with Milk about this and he explained that due to cost reasons these cases are first stamped in a mold and then machine finished (as opposed to 5D CNC machining which would give greater accuracy in dimensions but also cost a hell of a lot more).
It's important to understand Milk is only supplying the technical data for the cases, he gives this to the machine shop who then create a mold from that data. The cases in their 'raw' state are then machined to their final dimensions, polished and brushed. The machine shop claims a variance of +/- 0.15 mm in the finished cases, but I think it's more like 0.2 mm.
This is very complicated to correct as the mold has been paid for and made - and let's not forget the aim of this is to provide an affordable alternative to the cases from Vietnam, so redoing the molds isn't an option.
There are consequently 2 small issues that need to be noted - the rehaut neck is a little too small for a water tight fit on a gen crystal, so you need to seal the crystal at it's base where it comes into contact with the case, and a gen insert is not a 'snap fit' in the bezel ring - again, some glue will hold it in place.
As I said, they can be used as they are with no extra work done, but I've lightly reworked both cases, (second set of pics below) correcting CG shape, cleaning up the chamfers etc - minor stuff.
Milk was selling the 1675 cases for $250 plus shipping I believe, if he offers these at the same price, or even slightly more due to the superior finish, then they are excellent value for money.
If you have any questions about these cases, then send a PM to milk051506 - no, I don't know the prices, I don't know availability, and no, I can't supply you with tubes, crystals, crowns, inserts or anything else for these cases.
If you'd like to purchase one of these cases, then send a PM to milk051506, he will set up a reserved sale for you in M2M.
Both of these refinished cases will soon be up for sale in M2M. The sale will be open to Supporters and Patrons only, cost of each case will be $250 US, plus shipping, all proceeds (except shipping) will go to RWI.
'Before' pics, as the cases come from Milk:
'After', with some minor refinishing and reshaping work:
milk051506 has just finished working on a 1680 case and a 5513 case, and sent me 1 of each to give him some feedback. Pics are below - the first 6 are of the 1680 case, followed by the 5513 case, then the 2 cases together.
The finish on these is better than that on the 1675, which needed a little work to reshape the CG's and clean up their inner edges. The 2 cases I received had well proportioned and symmetrical CGs, no sharp edges or burr on machined surfaces. The polishing and brushing is well executed, bezel ring turns smoothly and precisely. There are a couple of minor areas that can be improved, notably small adjustments to CGs shape, but it's not a necessity - they can be used as they are with no further work.
There are also a couple of discrepancies in dimensions. I spoke with Milk about this and he explained that due to cost reasons these cases are first stamped in a mold and then machine finished (as opposed to 5D CNC machining which would give greater accuracy in dimensions but also cost a hell of a lot more).
It's important to understand Milk is only supplying the technical data for the cases, he gives this to the machine shop who then create a mold from that data. The cases in their 'raw' state are then machined to their final dimensions, polished and brushed. The machine shop claims a variance of +/- 0.15 mm in the finished cases, but I think it's more like 0.2 mm.
This is very complicated to correct as the mold has been paid for and made - and let's not forget the aim of this is to provide an affordable alternative to the cases from Vietnam, so redoing the molds isn't an option.
There are consequently 2 small issues that need to be noted - the rehaut neck is a little too small for a water tight fit on a gen crystal, so you need to seal the crystal at it's base where it comes into contact with the case, and a gen insert is not a 'snap fit' in the bezel ring - again, some glue will hold it in place.
As I said, they can be used as they are with no extra work done, but I've lightly reworked both cases, (second set of pics below) correcting CG shape, cleaning up the chamfers etc - minor stuff.
Milk was selling the 1675 cases for $250 plus shipping I believe, if he offers these at the same price, or even slightly more due to the superior finish, then they are excellent value for money.
If you have any questions about these cases, then send a PM to milk051506 - no, I don't know the prices, I don't know availability, and no, I can't supply you with tubes, crystals, crowns, inserts or anything else for these cases.
If you'd like to purchase one of these cases, then send a PM to milk051506, he will set up a reserved sale for you in M2M.
Both of these refinished cases will soon be up for sale in M2M. The sale will be open to Supporters and Patrons only, cost of each case will be $250 US, plus shipping, all proceeds (except shipping) will go to RWI.
'Before' pics, as the cases come from Milk:
'After', with some minor refinishing and reshaping work:
