6610 custom build

[freebalkany]

This is looking very good. I especially like the aging you did on the dial and hands.

Also back to to the topic at hand for me.

I have received the crystal and set it up (still no bezel), it fits really well. You can really see how well this case is built. the diameter is a dead-on 29.50mm.

Furthermore, I have also finally received my movement. It's an eterna matic 12824 (AKA eta 2824). I believe it was manufactured in the 70s. I've got it for 32 euro shipping included. it was listed as for spare or parts. But it seems to be working fine. From what I can see, only the hour wheel is missing, otherwise everything seems to be present.

I did pop it on the timegrapher and the numbers are looking quite all right. I'm not sure if I should service it at all.

That's it for me.
Next step will be to take the calendar apart and replace the setting lever.
Still waiting on more parts to arrive.

Cheers

 

[freebalkany]

So, more updates from me:
first of all, the dial feet positions are correct and the dial is fitting as expected:

I've then proceeded on taking apart the calendar side. I quickly noticed that the setting lever on this movement is different from the ETA2824-2, which means that I won't be able to replace it with the ETA2801 one.

So my assumption here is that I might be able to use a setting lever from an ETA2750, from the pictures (part 445), they seem to have the same shape.

What do y'all think?
Thanks

 

[369mafia]

nice progress so far. not familiar with the guitar finishes turned out great. very similar to what I do with water based transparent air brush paints.

This was my first attempt at aging just a little bit of paint adds alot of character to a cheap dial
a raffles dial .

look fwd to seeing further progress...

 

[freebalkany]

Hello,
so unfortunately my trick with the setting lever from the ETA 2750 did not work out.

The second groove does not extend far enough for the keyless mechanism to engage properly with the ratchet wheel.

I'm thinking about getting another movement for this build. I'm hesitating between an ETA 2846 and an ETA 2772. I believe I will go for the former since I don't know if the latter has the correct dial feet position.

 

[manodeoro]

Hello,
so unfortunately my trick with the setting lever from the ETA 2750 did not work out.

The second groove does not extend far enough for the keyless mechanism to engage properly with the ratchet wheel.

I'm thinking about getting another movement for this build. I'm hesitating between an ETA 2846 and an ETA 2772. I believe I will go for the former since I don't know if the latter has the correct dial feet position.

You can probably solve your problem ...
1 - put the 3 position setting lever on top of the 2 position one
2 - mark the area you need to remove with a really thin permanent marker
3 - remove the metal using a thin file (diamond file would be the best)
4 - polish
5 - enjoy

 

[freebalkany]

Hello manodeoro
that's a good suggestion, I did give it a try, but unfortunetaly the files I have are really not thin enough to do the job.
Also, if I do as you suggest, wouldn't that cause the stem to maybe disengage when winding?

But I think it's not dramatic if I don't use that movement for this project. It's an eta 2824, I will definetely find a use for it!

Also, why I'm at it, I originally planned not to do any aging on the watch. But now that I'm seeing what you guys are doing, I have to say I'm quite tempted.
I'm aware of the bonesey method, I also know you can use coffee or bake the dial.
Is there a fool proof method I could use to do some light aging on the dial and hands?
I like what 369mafia did. Would you care to explain your process?

I also have a practice dial that I could use. It's a bit different though:


​​​​​​​Thank you!

 

[369mafia]

freebalkany

quite simple really
I used a water based transparent air brush paint and deluted it slightly and then sprayed the dial around the lume , text and chapter wring to give it a gilt appearance then I used a tooth brush with a darker brown and flicked the paint off the brush onto the dial to give it a speckled appearance. once dry I then gave it a light coat of matte clear coat and it gave the dial texture.

I did a second dial and was a bit more aggressive with it. I was going after a water damaged tropical dial from a gen example I had seen on ebay years ago.

This was the inspiration


the results

 

[freebalkany]

Hello there,
thanks for your input 369mafia . I think I will go for water based paint approach (bonesey style) with a clear coat on top. I will try first on the seiko dial I have laying around.

Furthermore, today I received my bezel and brevet crown. The bezel is as expected: too small. I will get a dremel and rework it. Hopefully I won't mess up anything.
As for the crown, to my surprise it's a bit bigger than the original. I've added some pictures:

So basically with all there is left to do expect a couple more pages in this forum thread.

 

[manodeoro]

Hello there,
thanks for your input 369mafia . I think I will go for water based paint approach (bonesey style) with a clear coat on top. I will try first on the seiko dial I have laying around.

Furthermore, today I received my bezel and brevet crown. The bezel is as expected: too small. I will get a dremel and rework it. Hopefully I won't mess up anything.
As for the crown, to my surprise it's a bit bigger than the original. I've added some pictures:

So basically with all there is left to do expect a couple more pages in this forum thread.

doesn't look bad from the side view but it looks quite thick ... something you can mod easily
1 - put a spare stem on
2 - fix the stem in a dremel
3 - rotate the crown slow speed and chamfer it with a thin file from the inside (side that will "touch" the case) until it looks thinner

 

[freebalkany]

Ah wait, I forgot to add the top view.

And the hands

 

[manodeoro]

Ah wait, I forgot to add the top view.

That's exactly what I thought ... your crwon looks too thick IMO
If you chamfer the "case side" it will look thinnerand less "stucked" to the case ...

 

[freebalkany]

Thanks for your input manodeoro ,
I'm certainly learning a lot of stuff here.
Do you think all those modification are achievable with just a dremel?

 

[manodeoro]

Thanks for your input manodeoro ,
I'm certainly learning a lot of stuff here.
Do you think all those modification are achievable with just a dremel?

I've modding a lot of crwons that way so I do not think ... I KNOW it's possible
If you're not in a hurry I'll try to simulate the mod next week and post some pics of the process.

 

[Toofsy]

Manodeoro's process, from his last advices I increased the chamfer

 

[Invetero]

guys regarding the crystal, for my raffles 1016 I used an aftermarket 25-135 crystal, it fits perfectly the raffles rehault, then I used an aftermarket bezel from ebay that is much lower than the too tall raffles bezel, and because the aftermarket bezel is for a 16014 it perfectly fitted the crystal and is as watertight as it can be, the last thing to do was to sand off the cyclop of the crystal. and boom you have a nice and tall domed crystal, you definetly should go this way to save yourselft a lot of trouble for your 6610 build !
not sure if I can post the bezel link from ebay here, but I will gladly send in PM for anyone interested.

 

[freebalkany]

Hello Invetero ,
I'm not sure what the policy regarding posting links here is. But I would really appreciate if you could send me the ebay link in private.
Thanks

 

[manodeoro]

guys regarding the crystal, for my raffles 1016 I used an aftermarket 25-135 crystal, it fits perfectly the raffles rehault, then I used an aftermarket bezel from ebay that is much lower than the too tall raffles bezel, and because the aftermarket bezel is for a 16014 it perfectly fitted the crystal and is as watertight as it can be, the last thing to do was to sand off the cyclop of the crystal. and boom you have a nice and tall domed crystal, you definetly should go this way to save yourselft a lot of trouble for your 6610 build !
not sure if I can post the bezel link from ebay here, but I will gladly send in PM for anyone interested.

no problem about posting a link ... so please share the informationswith all members

 

[freebalkany]

Hello there,
some progress from my end.
I have managed to machine the bezel so that it can fit on the crystal. The fit is good and I used to crystal press to put it in position correctly. Unfortunately I did damage the bezel a bit when holding it with pliers. I guess it's something I can live with. Also I noticed that the crystal is nearly flush with the bezel, almost like a sapphire. Is this something to be expected?


The more I work on it and make research on the explorer, the more I notice that what I am building is actually closer to the 1016 rather than the 6610.

 

[Dohdoh]

Hello there,
some progress from my end.
I have managed to machine the bezel so that it can fit on the crystal. The fit is good and I used to crystal press to put it in position correctly. Unfortunately I did damage the bezel a bit when holding it with pliers. I guess it's something I can live with. Also I noticed that the crystal is nearly flush with the bezel, almost like a sapphire. Is this something to be expected?


The more I work on it and make research on the explorer, the more I notice that what I am building is actually closer to the 1016 rather than the 6610.

Great progress! Keep up!
The bezel is a bit too high for a 6610 that's why it looks almost flush with the crystal... If I remember correctly, they are way thinner than the raffles one

Gesendet von meinem VOG-L29 mit Tapatalk

 

[manodeoro]

Hello there,
some progress from my end.
I have managed to machine the bezel so that it can fit on the crystal. The fit is good and I used to crystal press to put it in position correctly. Unfortunately I did damage the bezel a bit when holding it with pliers. I guess it's something I can live with. Also I noticed that the crystal is nearly flush with the bezel, almost like a sapphire. Is this something to be expected?


The more I work on it and make research on the explorer, the more I notice that what I am building is actually closer to the 1016 rather than the 6610.

Your bezel is a bit too high for a 6610 and the profile is off ... it could be modified but you will need a lathe