Difficulty of removing hands?

[dan_j]

Hi guys,

I'm thinking of doing a mod on my Speedy to freeze the 6 o'clock subdial. I feel fairly confident about opening the caseback and doing minor jobs like removing stem and etc. But I have never done anything delicate like removing and setting hands on the dial. It sounds fairly easy theoretically but I'm afraid that I might bend a hand or damage the dial etc.

So should I get the tool and give it a try? or is this considered too risky for a rookie modder?

Thanks for your input
Daniel

 

[shizm23]

removing hands is super easy.. putting them back on is easy with practice.

make sure you do the following when removing:
- use a hand remover (eg "Bergeon #1 Presto Hand Remover Black Handle" on http://www.ofrei.com/page_209.html), and only squeeze.. do not push down or up, the motion of the puller will automatically lightly lift the hands off.
- use dial protectors (eg "Bergeon 6938 Dial Protection " on that same page above), otherwise you might scratch that pretty dial of yours.
- set the hour/minute to 12:00 first if you have a date complication.. actually just set it there regardless, makes it easier to remove the hands.

putting it back on:
- line it up right!
- hand setter is helpful to make sure you putt it on "perfectly" horizontal.. otherwise similar tools can be employed.. just don't put too much pressure.. I made that mistake when my popped my modding cherry.. needs a very light touch.
- put the stem back in before you pop it into the case.. put it in hack mode and change the time over 24 hrs... make sure you have the timing for hte date right, and that the hands are horizontal enough that they don't hit anything on the dial or each other.

Think that's it... anyone else?

oh and to add.. I'd probably try this on a watch you don't really care about first.. a6497's are easy peezy compared to a7750's, for instance.

 

[dan_j]

Thanks for such a detailed instruction wizawuza!

One follow up question though...so there's a hand removal tool (which I plan to order) but there's also a hand setter?

Daniel

 

[shizm23]

yeah, so the hand removal tool I showed you is above (btw, there are much cheaper, ~$8 versions out there.. such as these two: https://shop.homage-watches-guide.com/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=113, and https://shop.homage-watches-guide.com/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=114... note shipping from them is from austrailia and a bit slow if you're in a rush.. check out esslinger.com for your CA shipping.. to the US they're super fast). It's for actually pulling the hands up from the cannon pinion.


hand setter is something like this:
http://www.ofrei.com/page_209.html
first picture on the page.. that's a super nasty expensive one.. I got mine for like $20 from ebay.

On that same ofrei page, search for "AF-174.316", some people also get something like that.. where you pushed down (LIGHTLY!) kinda like pushing a thumbtack, kinda... but the hand setter station helps to make sure it's horizontal.

oh and when you're doing stuff like this you probably want a cheap movement holder like this:
https://shop.homage-watches-guide.com/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=37

 

[dan_j]

Sweeet! I'll definitely be doing some shopping/ebay-ing for those tools haha.

Thanks again for the information wizawaza!

I'll follow up in a month or so with the progress on this mod.
Daniel

 

[shizm23]

my pleasure.. I just got into this stuff a few weeks ago (just relumed my pam 112), and I made some minor mistakes (and learned too!) along the way.. hopefully some of it will help someone else!

and if you got any other questions always search, and then if nothing keep asking on the forum!

good luck man.

oh before I let you go.. what exactly do you mean by "freeze the 6 o'clock subdial"?

So you've got a chrono.. with I'm going to guess hours @ 6? why are you freezing it.. maybe there's some other suggestions that we can help you with if we know more..

apologies if the whole "freeze the 6" thing is common, I just haven't heard of it myself.

 

[14060 or 16610?]

Just a quick note if you're a newbie to hand removal. A lot of the rep hands are poorly made and may come apart on you during removal. The most common issue is that the hand tube is on its post too tight so it rips out of the hand. If this occurs you will either need to replace the hand or repair it with a staking set.

 

[dan_j]

I have a speedmaster rep with lemania movement that has 3 subdials like most other chronos. While two of them have proper functions, the one at 6 o'clock is a "12-hour hand"...meaning it simply follows the big hour hand and shows what 'hour' it is...It's rather silly and I have no idea what function it could possible serve lol.

Here's the tutorial though for more details
http://forum.replica-watch.info/vb/showthread.php/improving-reps-with-lemania-st-54267

Daniel

Just a quick note if you're a newbie to hand removal. A lot of the rep hands are poorly made and may come apart on you during removal. The most common issue is that the hand tube is on its post too tight so it rips out of the hand. If this occurs you will either need to replace the hand or repair it with a staking set.

Thanks for the warning. I am actually a little concerned about removing the tiny chrono hands but I'll do some practice on my broken watches. Hopefully it'll all turn out alright.

Daniel

 

[cybee]

but I'll do some practice on my broken watches. Hopefully it'll all turn out alright. Daniel

I think you just gave yourself the best advice. Good to get a feel for it and gain a little confidence before attempting it on your good watch. And don't eat any dark chocolate or drink a Starbuck's before doing watch work.

 

[shizm23]

I think you just gave yourself the best advice.

+1

Also I've seen the lemania movement act as a "moon" watch or whatever they're called.. e.g. http://www.marvellousreplica.com/Product_Detail.aspx?ProductID=200909200041

Personally I still think it looks stupid, but that case makes it look more relevant than if it is a normal hour hand.

 

[14060 or 16610?]

Thanks for the warning. I am actually a little concerned about removing the tiny chrono hands but I'll do some practice on my broken watches. Hopefully it'll all turn out alright.

Daniel

No worries, just wanted to point out that it does happen. I had 2 last night in fact where the hand tubes ripped out of the hands. The rep hands tend to be poorly formed, and furthermore their fitment to their respective posts is usually either very loose or way too tight. When it's too tight, the post gets left behind and is difficult to remove. I've even seen the assemblers glue or epoxy the hand in place when it doesn't fit properly.

Here are some of the service pics from last night. This happens all the time.

 

[WatchDoc]

so...removing the chrono hand on a Breit Avenger with a 7750 where the chrono sets at the 4 second mark (instead of at the 12) should be done carefully (obviously)...or not at all for a guy who's new to that mod/fix?

 

[dan_j]

I believe that can simply be fixed by pulling the crown out to time setting position and then pressing the top chrono button, which should advance the chrono hand one second at a time.

Daniel

 

[WatchDoc]

I believe that can simply be fixed by pulling the crown out to time setting position and then pressing the top chrono button, which should advance the chrono hand one second at a time.

Daniel

This will be my first 7750, have you done this before? Only asking cause it seems so simple, but hasn't been mentioned yet. Is that for the Gen movement, or you think for reps too?