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5513 Build - Milk Case

J.F.T.

JFT
Supporter
Certified
24/1/23
22
26
13
United States
Hey everyone, I'm in the beginning stages of sourcing parts for a 5513 build and wanted to get some thoughts on what I have so far, and what I still need to get. Been lurking in here for a while and spending a lot of time researching over the last few weeks so I think I'm on the right track, but any feedback would be much appreciated.

Parts I've acquired so far:
Case and bezel: Milk 5513 case set (will need some minor reshaping but not too bad overall)
Insert: Milk insert (I will be aging this myself)
Crown/tube: Athaya 700 or 702, depending on which year's model I decide to try and rep. 700 is for models from 1967-71, 702 is after.

Parts I still need to buy:
Dial: Need some suggestions here. I know I want the matte dial, feet first or meters first doesn't really matter to me. Don't want the gilt dial or glossy dial from the 80s. Needs to be 26 mm to fit the Milk case.
Crystal: Clark T19 (probably superdome, but I also like the look of the less domed version. Will probably buy both and decide later)
I don't love the rehaut magnification of the Clark though, open to any suggestions of other options
Hands: Raffles or from wherever I get the dial from, ideally from the same source as the dial so the faded lume color matches or is similar
Movement: Seems like 2836 is best option?

If there is anything else that I'm forgetting, would love some input. Thanks!
 

J.F.T.

JFT
Supporter
Certified
24/1/23
22
26
13
United States
Forgot to mention that I will primarily be wearing it on a custom leather strap, but I also have a raffles bracelet and a few nato straps laying around if I want to change it up
 

J.F.T.

JFT
Supporter
Certified
24/1/23
22
26
13
United States
Update on this build: At this point, I've sourced the following:
  • Milk 5513 case set including bezel and insert
  • Lightly aged matte dial from Helenarou
  • Helenarou hands aged to match the dial
  • Clark T19 crystal
  • Athaya 702 crown and tube
  • Athaya pearl dot pip
  • ETA 2824 movement (will be removing ghost date)
  • ETA movement adapter ring from Helenarou
  • Raffles bracelet, nato strap
  • Bezel tension ring/friction washer
I think I have pretty much everything that I need, but anything else that I'm forgetting?
 
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Mat_w

You're Saying I Can Sell?
20/1/24
75
32
18
Australia
Hi. I stumbled across this thread while having a look around.

How’s the build going ?
 

aphmars13

Active Member
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4/10/22
388
310
63
South of France
It should look something like this😀. I still haven't installed the athaya pearl. And I haven't modified the case. And I haven't aged the insert. I have another 9401 project with the milk case, I'll be making modifications.
 

J.F.T.

JFT
Supporter
Certified
24/1/23
22
26
13
United States
Full disclosure, I decided to have a colleague assemble the watch for me instead of doing the build myself. As with all builds he ran into a couple of issues, most notably with the machining tolerance of the crystal retainer ring and the bezel.

The retainer ring needed to be glued down to the case as its diameter was slightly too large to stay in place without popping off. Also, the bezel needed to be shaved using a lathe as its inner diameter was a hair too small, and it was not perfectly round which caused the bezel to get stuck and not be able to turn. After using the lathe to shave off some of the inner diameter and make the bezel perfectly round, the bezel now turns without any issues.

Bezel insert aging was done by me - a combination of sanding, some time in a bleach solution, and quick flashes with a blowtorch. I have a custom leather strap being made for the watch as well which I'm looking forward to getting soon.
 
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aphmars13

Active Member
Supporter
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4/10/22
388
310
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South of France
Hi
I've done similar work, except that to avoid damaging the insert too much, I sanded and then repolished the plexiglass all around. However, the athaya pip I received: v2 does not fit on the insert. What was the trick? Did you grow the pip hole?
 

J.F.T.

JFT
Supporter
Certified
24/1/23
22
26
13
United States
Hi
I've done similar work, except that to avoid damaging the insert too much, I sanded and then repolished the plexiglass all around. However, the athaya pip I received: v2 does not fit on the insert. What was the trick? Did you grow the pip hole?
Yes - the hole needed to be drilled slightly bigger to get the pip to fit
 
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Yellowhammerwatches

Horology Curious
26/1/24
19
8
3
Can you get with me about sourcing the Milk case? I've got a gen 5512 dial but at 26mm cases are tougher to come by.
 

P..DR..D

KING OF LINKS
Staff member
Moderator Sales
Certified
12/1/21
20,891
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Can you get with me about sourcing the Milk case? I've got a gen 5512 dial but at 26mm cases are tougher to come by.
Be very careful with who you deal with and the advice is to request an official sales thread in the M2M area


All members looking to sell here need to be certified.

Member @swissmadetime1966 is not
 
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aphmars13

Active Member
Supporter
Certified
4/10/22
388
310
63
South of France
Be very careful with who you deal with and the advice is to request an official sales thread in the M2M area


All members looking to sell here need to be certified.

Member @swissmadetime1966 is not
I don't think he was trying to sell anything, but he was giving out personal information that he must have received via WhatsApp.... It was not to be done anyway. Thanks for the quick réponse.
 

P..DR..D

KING OF LINKS
Staff member
Moderator Sales
Certified
12/1/21
20,891
19,515
113
Éire
I don't think he was trying to sell anything, but he was giving out personal information that he must have received via WhatsApp.... It was not to be done anyway. Thanks for the quick réponse.
He listed a part, a price, gave his paypal address and asked for a shipping address.

It was an attempted sale by @swissmadetime1966

And the only time he will be warned about it outside of M2M
 
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