Explorer I "DIY" set : the Bosshua other option

[mrsullivan]

All right, watch is build.
It all went fine : from fitting the ST2130 movement on dial and holder, to hands, casing and stem back in place, no particular worry.

Time to close the caseback, give the crown a few turns and there we go, the watch has a beating heart.

It actually looks good, feels all right and the movement seem to keep great time. As it's getting late here I'll timegraph it and take daylight pics tomorrow.

Although I can go to bed with peace of mind, a few things are weird still : the hands (once again) don't seem to be the right ones, and I have doubts about the lume. And the bracelet, although feeling decent, is not an Explorer one.

Well, good night to all, final reviewing tomorrow.

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[scottiedog]

All right, watch is build.
It all went fine : from fitting the ST2130 movement on dial and holder, to hands, casing and stem back in place, no particular worry.

Time to close the caseback, give the crown a few turns and there we go, the watch has a beating heart.

It actually looks good, feels all right and the movement seem to keep great time. As it's getting late here I'll timegraph it and take daylight pics tomorrow.

Although I can go to bed with peace of mind, a few things are weird still : the hands (once again) don't seem to be the right ones, and I have doubts about the lume. And the bracelet, although feeling decent, is not an Explorer one.

Well, good night to all, final reviewing tomorrow.

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Great work mate. Congrats! Look forward to seeing the timegrapher results. Cheers.

 

[Ex-ki]

Didn't you mount the oscillating weight?

 

[mrsullivan]

Didn't you mount the oscillating weight?

Yes I did, but almost forgot about it LOL.

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[mrsullivan]

Ok, now the watch is built, it's time for a quick overall feedback out this "watch kit" offer.

The kit is supplied with all what you need to build the watch.
Of course a bit of practice, basic technical knowledge and the right tools are necessary, but an "rookie" enthusiast can enjoy building his own timekeeper for a pretty decent price.

Take note that no dial spacer is supplied, in my case it came with the Seagull movement I bought.

Seagul ST2130 : I was very happy with the 1rst one I used on my other watch kit test (Oyster Perpetual from Raffledials). But with this one I don't know why but the timegrapher is crazy wild. Service needed right away? Or just regulation?

Pros :
Cheap price, pretty solid parts, these kits are fun and allow one to practice his skills, mostly with basic watch models (no dates or days, or complication).
To me the overall watch looks quite nice, so it's an ok deal. But, there's always a but...

Cons :
Inaccurate choice of parts supplied : the kits came with wrong hands (size and lume color) and bracelet. I had the same issue with both Bosshua and Rafflesdials. The parts are actually decent individually, but as a kit there's a big chance you'll get mismatched bits. Be careful when ordering, make sure the parts shipped belong to the right model.
Once again this goes with both suppliers I tried, Boss and Raffle, but luckily they both are very nice and responsive with their clients.

All in all, yes the watch kits are cheap and fun, but in the future I'd rather order parts individually to make sure they are the right ones.
No blame to the dealers, once again they have a wide range of parts and very good sources for parts nonetheless.
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And now here come the pictures...

 

[Ex-ki]

Service needed right away? Or just regulation?

Ooops, it seems that there is a problem here...
Have you touch to the balance wheel or the balance fork during the assembly?

Take a look at this video if you don't know how to regulate it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0dPrUG5PFM
However, performance is so bad that regulation may not solve the problem.

 

[mrsullivan]

Edit : Does it mean movement broke?

I'll post in the tech section for advice.

I remember touching the wheel with my toothpick to launch it, as it was not starting by itself after a few winds. Mistake?

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[Ex-ki]

This doesn't mean a whole broken movement, it means that there is a problem with the balance wheel and/or the rest of the escapement section.
First, we can see that you are facing a big beat error, which means that the pivot located under the balance wheel is not centered with the pallet fork.

Can you remove the automatic section and take a macro shot of the balance wheel and its 2 regulator arms?

Like that:

 

[mrsullivan]

Ex-ki thank you for the picture, I'll check this out on top of KJ2020's advices, great team work here!

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[mrsullivan]

As some saw on my thread in Tech section, the Seagull ST2130 movement has been regulated, and works like a charm.

We now have a fully working quite nice DIY Explorer,.

Cheers.

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[mrsullivan]

Well, what I do is I engage the stem in the movement on winding position, use my calliper to measure the gap between the base of the tube thread and crown, while pushing it down on its spring.
I then remove all, take the crown off, mark the stem with a pen to the right lenght and cut it. I then replace the crown, tight it and replace the whole part on the movement.

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[mp1mancini]

Looking at your pics the bracelet looks good to the case. Given the lugs at 20.9mm do you think the fitment is suitable?

 

[Tekumseh]

Thanks for spending the effort on picturing all of that....
great work, well done!

Looking at the timegrapher pictures, I think you had bad luck with this ST2130,
as it shows a low amplitude after regulation.

Therefore I guess it's one of a dirty batch and may fail soon.
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[bukkupke]

Weird franken but you built it well! The case is polished all over? Gen is brushed with just the bezel polished. Also looks like the crystal is sitting pretty high, but you might be able to fit it in deeper?

 

[mathmattics]

Hi, I'm rather late to the party, but your post inspired me to try this build as well. One question though, how did you get the ST2130 to fit the movement ring? Mine sits too low in the ring and so the movement is too low and far from the dial to place the hands. When I asked Bosshua007 about it, he recommended I get the ST 2146 or an eta 2836 instead since its a little taller. Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[mrsullivan]

Hello, sorry for those who posted here earlier this year, I did'nt see this passing by my notifications.

mathmattics The ST2130 just sat in as it is, movement ring fit right away and dial spacer that came with the movement when I bought it was the good size. Maybe your movement ring was from a different batch than mine ?

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[mathmattics]

mrsullivan Ah, Ic. I emailed Boss and he said that the movement ring was for the Eta 2836. I just assumed they were all the same movement ring and so I didn't specify which one I needed. He did say a watchmaker could probably adjust the movement ring to make it work, but a watchmaker I am not, lol. Thanks so much for getting back to me. I appreciate it!