Budget AP Franken Advice

[moneybbq]

Hi RWI,

I am working on a budget Franken AP project for ROO 42mm. Got the APF AP ROO watch and the gen dial. while reading all the relevant threads, still have some questions.

(1) can I glue the gen dial directly on the rep movement? I would be fine if there is a slight misalignment.
(2) can I trim the backcase while still having the glass on the back? or I need to use the solid back case.
(3) or (1) and (2) won't work, I have to go the lwo 283 route and source all the rests (dw, etc...)

Thanks!

 

[Rx4Time]

The date wheel will not line up with the 7750's stock date wheel.

 

[legend]

I know you said that a little misalignment is fine. You could do 1,2 and 3 but I’ll recommend you to the lwo283 route anyway both for aesthetical and reliability purposes. Yes some work is needed on the case but it’ll be worth the while.

 

[kidcreole]

Don’t use glue. Dial dots or double sided tape is the best way. Also gives you better ability to align. If you have to use glue try something like jewellers glue that is thick and tacky slow curing. Otherwise you’ll put your movement at risk.

 

[moneybbq]

I know you said that a little misalignment is fine. You could do 1,2 and 3 but I’ll recommend you to the lwo283 route anyway both for aesthetical and reliability purposes. Yes some work is needed on the case but it’ll be worth the while.

Thanks Legend. One caveat holding me back on lwo283 is that I won't have the open backcase if going that route.

Here is a pic showing APF ROO vs Gen at the bottom. Can I still have a similar open case with lwo283? It seems there is not much info about that on the forum.

You also said I could do 2. Are there any tradeoffs? is that I won't be able to keep the rotor with the trimmed backcase?

 

[legend]

Well the 7750 decoration looks nothing like the gen caliber as well if you know what to look for. The balance wheel position for example is totally off.
Another option is to use the APSF 3120 clone movement with the dd module though this will require even more work to pair the dd module and the clone movement base.

Yes you can keep the rotor when thinning the caseback if you use the LWO but not the 7750.

 

[moneybbq]

Well the 7750 decoration looks nothing like the gen caliber as well if you know what to look for. The balance wheel position for example is totally off.
Another option is to use the APSF 3120 clone movement with the dd module though this will require even more work to pair the dd module and the clone movement base.

Yes you can keep the rotor when thinning the caseback if you use the LWO but not the 7750.

Thanks, this is really helpful.

 

[legend]

I won’t recommend you retain the 7750 if you’re going for the gen dial for the below reasons

- reliability: the lwo283 is not a fantastic movement per se but a lot more reliable than the A7750 sec@12

- the LWO283 movement allows the caseback to be thinned to gen spec while retaining the rotor

- the date window on the gen dial will line up with the LWO movement while making the date ont the A7750 right justified significantly when paired with it.

 

[moneybbq]

Friday throwback, my budget Franken build: APF AP ROO base + gen dial + gen rubber strap. The DW is slightly positioned to the right as others have suggested, but still within my tolerance limit. The 7750 movement runs smoothly with +- 1s/d.