[BUILD LOG] Rolex 6610 big white lollipop - 1957

[Erect]

Amazing. Can you please share any more details on the sweep hand(s)?

Sure. Similar situation as the big crown buckle. It's custom by a factory in China in accordance with supplied drawing/blueprint.
I was hesitating to get a 7.5mm hour hand made at first, but minimum quantity to make is 150 units. Each mould costs 1300-1500 yuan (200 USD).
I could try to get a few of the seconds hands shipped over to Europe.

 

[chrome72]

First off, I don't know the answer. But after going through countless high resolution photos of late 50's through mid to late 60's 1675 dials, the texts were definitely etched. I don't think overly polished is necessary if you can catch the exposed brass in time and coat it to prevent further oxidation and darkening. I "think" the laser would work better than we think.
To explain, I'm convinced it's all about illusions of the eye. One would assume a mirror polished bezel would shine the most, but then you see it next to a fluted bezel and those sharp edges are bouncing light in every direction.
Again, I don't know the answer. But I'd prefer just enough tooth in the brass to bounce light around.

I had someone with the xtool fiber laser community do a test for me. They polished the brass, used Jax brass blackener and then lasered off the patina. While it is not highly polished and is a bit duller, it does looks nice and promising. This obviously isn't a watch design but its the general idea.

 

[Erect]

I had someone with the xtool fiber laser community do a test for me. They polished the brass, used Jax brass blackener and then lasered off the patina. While it is not highly polished and is a bit duller, it does looks nice and promising. This obviously isn't a watch design but its the general idea.

Looks great. Specs on the laser machine?

 

[chrome72]

Looks great. Specs on the laser machine?

Per the laser dude....IR engrave dot duration 500 micro seconds, power 1-100%, 40kHz. Greyscale, bidirectional.

 

[Erect]

Per the laser dude....IR engrave dot duration 500 micro seconds, power 1-100%, 40kHz. Greyscale, bidirectional.

Can u ask which device precisely, brand, type? And what the precision is on it?

 

[chrome72]

Can u ask which device precisely, brand, type? And what the precision is on it?

It’s the xtool f1 ultra.

 

[chrome72]

It’s the xtool f1 ultra.

Precision is .03 mm x .03 mm

 

[Erect]

Precision is .03 mm x .03 mm

Very nice! It can definitely make nice dials.

 

[WatchN3RD]

I had someone with the xtool fiber laser community do a test for me. They polished the brass, used Jax brass blackener and then lasered off the patina. While it is not highly polished and is a bit duller, it does looks nice and promising. This obviously isn't a watch design but its the general idea.

That is awesome news! Do you think he'll be willing to do a few dials?

Also, I am trying a different clear coat that's slightly more industrial than the lacquers and acrylic clears. It didn't cause any microscopic yellowing or etching, so I'm getting the "pop" I want. I haven't tried polishing it yet because I'm not sure of the cure time, but I'm content with the results thus far. The transfer actually came out really clean.
[url=https://clickpix.org/image/AB1108EE-3366-47E0-8E6A-656ACA6EC84C.KRGWii] [/URL]

 

[chrome72]

That is awesome news! Do you think he'll be willing to do a few dials?

The guy who did this is too busy for a small beans project.
I am going to take some trial dials patina'd up to a business that does some fiber laser engraving who have already agreed they would love to try this project.

 

[WatchN3RD]

The guy who did this is too busy for a small beans project.
I am going to take some trial dials patina'd up to a business that does some fiber laser engraving who have already agreed they would love to try this project.

I love it! What type of files do they prefer? I'm extremely interested after seeing Erect's results. Please update us as things progress.

 

[Erect]

I love it! What type of files do they prefer? I'm extremely interested after seeing Erect's results. Please update us as things progress.

Heres an update, not on the 6610 dial unfortunately. However, that will get prioritised from now on.

The tiffany on the last dial is applied through pad printing.

 

[WatchN3RD]

Heres an update, not on the 6610 dial unfortunately. However, that will get prioritised from now on.

The tiffany on the last dial is applied through pad printing.

You've got cocaine at 4 o'clock, and you're not sharing?
Joking... but that brass really pops. What finish or grit do you think it is before you laser and clear coat?
I really love that 1675.

 

[WatchN3RD]

That is awesome news! Do you think he'll be willing to do a few dials?

Also, I am trying a different clear coat that's slightly more industrial than the lacquers and acrylic clears. It didn't cause any microscopic yellowing or etching, so I'm getting the "pop" I want. I haven't tried polishing it yet because I'm not sure of the cure time, but I'm content with the results thus far. The transfer actually came out really clean.
[url=https://clickpix.org/image/AB1108EE-3366-47E0-8E6A-656ACA6EC84C.KRGWii] [/URL]

Quick update on my end. The clear is polishing up nice, but I can tell it hasn't fully cured. Might need to give it a few days (or weeks) for it to be hard enough for a proper mirror shine.
And I could've been wrong about no etching. The solvents might've etched it a little. Look at the indices and coronet.

 

[Erect]

You've got cocaine at 4 o'clock, and you're not sharing?
Joking... but that brass really pops. What finish or grit do you think it is before you laser and clear coat?
I really love that 1675.

The brass is first blacked as shown in previous pictures. Then engraved and finally nitrocellulose lacquer is applied. Not sure if any buffing.

I will try to get a few of these dials shipped over, but it will be a while… the work pressure in china is immense. So very little free time.

 

[chrome72]

Heres an update, not on the 6610 dial unfortunately. However, that will get prioritised from now on.

The tiffany on the last dial is applied through pad printing.

Ok now I will ask you what laser and what settings

 

[Erect]

Ok now I will ask you what laser and what settings

Fiber laser - 0,04x0,05mm precision. Don’t know the rest exactly. Your laser has better precision so shouldn’t be an issue.

 

[Megahz1]

Quick update on my end. The clear is polishing up nice, but I can tell it hasn't fully cured. Might need to give it a few days (or weeks) for it to be hard enough for a proper mirror shine.
And I could've been wrong about no etching. The solvents might've etched it a little. Look at the indices and coronet.

Impressive! Keep up the good work

 

[369mafia]

I am excited with these results. Nice work guys. This technique looks to be our answer . I think this is truely the way.

I want to get into this.

googles :- desktop lasers
results : sharks with fricken lazerbeams on their fricken head.

 

[chrome72]

There are desktop hobbiest diode lasers out there (brands are: Xtool, atomstack, Sculpfun). They specialize in diode lasers which are great at engraving wood, plastic, cardboard etc, but suck at actually engraving metal. They can mark metal which is really annealing the metal. The spot size of lasers are these are sub 1mm (some are .05mm x .08mm which is small but its rectangular). Fiber lasers can cut metal. But fiber lasers are $1.2K+ however they can have almost .01mm x.01mm spot size which is crazy small.

About 1.5 years ago the diode laser market released an infrared laser. This kind of laser has the ability to remove rust from metal. Rust is really oxidation. The infrared lasers also have a spot size of .03mm x .03mm which is super tiny and the size would be great for what we are doing. These machines also have movement accuracy as low as .01mm! So I have a strong suspicion that one of these hobbiest lasers + the infrared laser module could remove the oxidation from the dials (aka the way I have been making my gilt dials for now). It won't be able to actually engrave a metal plated dial (aka it wont be able to engrave black zinc coated brass to reveal the brass).

I know cost is relative but you can buy a used diode laser engrave for $150ish (refurbished on amazon, ebay, or used on facebook market place etc) and buy an infrared laser module for $500ish. So for $650 you could potentially be blasting out tropical dials or even black oxidized dials.

After i wrote all that I remembered someone already did that and and i feel dumb as this was already mentioned awhile back on a thread i started. The member just needed to dial in his settings. I don't know if he ever followed up on it. You can see in the shine in that specific post and the post above it. I feel dumb for not searching within my own threads for guidance ha.

So you could feasible do this at home for $650ish. You could also use it to laser designs on the caseback too.