My understanding was he was trying to start a new message, and I thought the do not trade banner prevented new messages from being received.
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Finally back on RWI and very soon on watchmaking - or not.
- Thread starter manodeoro
- Start date
I just checked—he's in the middle of a conversation. Seems to be making progress on restoring order and issuing refunds. 
Honestly, I'm just relieved I'm not a watchmaker. Tripdog's discovery of SOVED-24 scared the absolute hell out of me—I sold every last watchmaking tool I owned just to be safe.
Honestly, I'm just relieved I'm not a watchmaker. Tripdog's discovery of SOVED-24 scared the absolute hell out of me—I sold every last watchmaking tool I owned just to be safe.
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Inject yourself with bleach, just to be doubly safe.
Oh, I already did that!
And I'm not ashamed to admit I did that UV light thing and also drank the bleach.
What's good for COVID must surely also help with SOVED!
- 13/10/16
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I just checked—he's in the middle of a conversation. Seems to be making progress on restoring order and issuing refunds.
Honestly, I'm just relieved I'm not a watchmaker. Tripdog's discovery of SOVED-24 scared the absolute hell out of me—I sold every last watchmaking tool I owned just to be safe.
As I already said I fully understand that some members were concerned because of the time they waited and my lack of communication ... I explained the reasons ... and I accepted without arguing the "do not trade with me" badge.
However ... I'd like to make some things clear about what I do/did or don't/didn't, parts and/or refunds...
Custom dials :
1 - do/did I receive request for custom dials ?.. YES
2 - do/did I accept to make custom dials on request ?.. YES
3 - do/did I send unsollicited offers ?.. NO
4 - do/did I ask for even a cent before my work is done and accepted ?.. NO
5 - do/did I work "at my own risk" ?.. YES
6 - do/did I harass anybody changing mind of refusing a dial ?.. NO
I do my best not to make people waiting for to long before they receive what they're waiting for but sometimes shit happens ... and shit fell on me by tons during the last 2 years.
And as long as I don't ask for any money upfront and people are always free to say "I don't want to wait anymore" or "I changed my mind" I think I guess I have the right to work at my own pace.
Watchwork :
1 - handsets ...
Sometimes people send me a handset (to be relumed while luming a custom dial) ... I always offer to send some of the lume mix I use for the dial so that they can relume the handset locally but it's not always possible.
Both options are for free.
2 - cases :
Sometimes people send me a case ir a complete watch so that I can swap the original dial with the custom dial, modify the case, engrave the case, make a custom insert, etc ...
I try to avoid those complete/partial builds because it's time consuming and not my favorite work.
But for some specific models of dials ... such as a BlancPain BUND 3H or a vintage Omega 600 PloProf ... it seems people have difficulties to find a modder who would do all that.
In this situation I receive parts or complete watches BUT
- I never ask for any money upfront
- if anything goes wrong while modding the watch ... it never happened until now ... the risk is on me and I will refund the price people paid for the base watch
Refunds / Parts returned :
I asked the few who were waiting AND had sent parts/watches if they wanted me to send everything back, or a refund for the parts/watches if I already had started to modify it.
Just a few said yes and most of them prefered to wait.
Those who asked have received their parts/watches back or a refund.
Those who decided to wait a bit more have received their finished watch (80%) or will receive it soon.
That said ... my next posts will be to show some pics of what I've finished/done/started during the last few weeks.
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I took a course in electronic soldering.
It may seem strange to talk about this on a watch forum, but I was able to learn precision soldering.
With practice I should be able to solder dial feet for all sorts of different calibers
I lightly mill the back of the dial where the feet should rest, so that everything is flush-deck.
Then I braze using silver paste and lightly sand.
It's pretty quickly done and much stronger than two-component glue.
For the moment the results are far from perfect but I'm making good progress.
I may try with gold solder paste later when I'm trained enough
26mm dial plate for Rolex 5513 - dial feet for a movement 3135
26mm dial plate for Tudor 7928 - dial feet for a Tudor 390 movement
It may seem strange to talk about this on a watch forum, but I was able to learn precision soldering.
With practice I should be able to solder dial feet for all sorts of different calibers
I lightly mill the back of the dial where the feet should rest, so that everything is flush-deck.
Then I braze using silver paste and lightly sand.
It's pretty quickly done and much stronger than two-component glue.
For the moment the results are far from perfect but I'm making good progress.
I may try with gold solder paste later when I'm trained enough
26mm dial plate for Rolex 5513 - dial feet for a movement 3135
26mm dial plate for Tudor 7928 - dial feet for a Tudor 390 movement
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I finished 2 BlancPain BUND3H builds.
These projects had been delayed because I wanted to improve the design of the insert to be even closer to the original.
I worked on it for several months, but in the end I had to settle for making the same inserts as the previous ones.
So far, the owners seem to be very happy with the final products.
Of course those watches have been WP tested up to 5ATM and regulated around +2/-2 seconds/day
To be more precise, I've finished 3 of them, but the 3rd member has withdrawn.
So I'm going to keep the 3rd BUND for some time, even if it's a bit big for my wrist.
These projects had been delayed because I wanted to improve the design of the insert to be even closer to the original.
I worked on it for several months, but in the end I had to settle for making the same inserts as the previous ones.
So far, the owners seem to be very happy with the final products.
Of course those watches have been WP tested up to 5ATM and regulated around +2/-2 seconds/day
To be more precise, I've finished 3 of them, but the 3rd member has withdrawn.
So I'm going to keep the 3rd BUND for some time, even if it's a bit big for my wrist.
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I also finished a vintage Omega PloProf 600m build with a dark blue custom dial.
That one too was delayed because of the insert ... and because of my fault
The owner was happy to keep the original insert but I really wanted to make that build better.
So I delayed the finish and tried to make a vintage lumed plexi insert.
I made tons of tests but finally got results not good enough IMO.
So I finally finished the build and sent it to it's owner.
However ... I will keep trying to make a convincing vintage lumed insert on my spare time.
And if I ever succed I will send one of those free custom insert to the owner ... for free of coursen to thank him for his patience
That one too was delayed because of the insert ... and because of my fault
The owner was happy to keep the original insert but I really wanted to make that build better.
So I delayed the finish and tried to make a vintage lumed plexi insert.
I made tons of tests but finally got results not good enough IMO.
So I finally finished the build and sent it to it's owner.
However ... I will keep trying to make a convincing vintage lumed insert on my spare time.
And if I ever succed I will send one of those free custom insert to the owner ... for free of coursen to thank him for his patience
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I worked on a Seiko 7005-8030 MACV-SOG in pretty bad condition :
- the movement was not working
- the plexi was cracked
- the dial was ... deadly abused
I replaced the plexi and buffed the case just a bit (the owner wants to keep the vintage look)
I've reprinted the dial ... waiting for the lume work.
BUT ... I'm still fighting with the movement to bring it back to life
I'd like to keep all the parts original but I guess I'll have to replace the mainspring and the balance spring.
- the movement was not working
- the plexi was cracked
- the dial was ... deadly abused
I replaced the plexi and buffed the case just a bit (the owner wants to keep the vintage look)
I've reprinted the dial ... waiting for the lume work.
BUT ... I'm still fighting with the movement to bring it back to life
I'd like to keep all the parts original but I guess I'll have to replace the mainspring and the balance spring.
Once you got rid of the do-not-trade-banner I'd be interested in buying the 3rd BUND.
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At the beginning of March I had to spend a week looking after my 94-year-old mother who had a fall.
During those days I wasn't able to devote a single minute to working on dials or watches, but in the evenings when she was asleep I was able to play little chemist
The aim was to imitate the reaction of an old tritium lume when exposed to UV light :
- green luminescence under UV light
- brightness lasting a second after the UV lamp is turned off
I'll post a detailed thread on this experiment as soon as I can, but today I just want to show you the result I got.
Video of an old tritium dial under UV light :
Video of my special mixture under UV light:
It's not perfect but pretty close IMHO
I'll try to modify the mix to make it look better and I'll test it "in real" ... mixed with matte medium and applied on a dial hand handset.
During those days I wasn't able to devote a single minute to working on dials or watches, but in the evenings when she was asleep I was able to play little chemist
The aim was to imitate the reaction of an old tritium lume when exposed to UV light :
- green luminescence under UV light
- brightness lasting a second after the UV lamp is turned off
I'll post a detailed thread on this experiment as soon as I can, but today I just want to show you the result I got.
Video of an old tritium dial under UV light :
Video of my special mixture under UV light:
It's not perfect but pretty close IMHO
I'll try to modify the mix to make it look better and I'll test it "in real" ... mixed with matte medium and applied on a dial hand handset.
@manodeoro Nice to see that you're on the path of RWI redemption, brother!
And I'm sorry about your private troubles. I don't think anyone (me included) meant to ridicule that, it's just the frustration accumulated over many years, I guess. Lol
And I'm sorry about your private troubles. I don't think anyone (me included) meant to ridicule that, it's just the frustration accumulated over many years, I guess. Lol
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I lumed an old dial and made an UV reaction test.
The glow only lasts only a second after the UV lamp is switched off
unfortunately that's the best I can do at the moment.
I'm stubborn so I'll keep improving my mix but I think I'm on the right path.
The glow only lasts only a second after the UV lamp is switched off
unfortunately that's the best I can do at the moment.I'm stubborn so I'll keep improving my mix but I think I'm on the right path.
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@manodeoro Nice to see that you're on the path of RWI redemption, brother!
And I'm sorry about your private troubles. I don't think anyone (me included) meant to ridicule that, it's just the frustration accumulated over many years, I guess. Lol
I'll keep working and posting reularly ...BTW ... I'll have builds and custom dials ready to be shipped over the next weeks and I do NOT want to do any backdoor sale.
So could you please tell me how I can proceed to have the "do not trade with me" badge removed ?
I guess I can't send
IDK, but lets try this ....
@Feefo @C Master @daytona4me can any of you guys shed some light on the above puzzle ?
- 13/10/16
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I'll leave to southern France tomorrow morning ... need to check how my mother is going ... but I'll try to post some more pics.
Before leaving I'd like to share the last print tests I made for a new project I'm starting ... two 5513 builds with piano dials (one blue + one black)
Before leaving I'd like to share the last print tests I made for a new project I'm starting ... two 5513 builds with piano dials (one blue + one black)
In any case, it's very similar to the test I was able to carry out on real radium dials and hands. A team from the French National Radiological Safety and Protection Authority came to sort and isolate them at my home today. You can be satisfied. It's identical: it switches on and off very quickly.I lumed an old dial and made an UV reaction test.
The glow only lasts only a second after the UV lamp is switched off
I'm stubborn so I'll keep improving my mix but I think I'm on the right path.
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Today I finished and lumed 2 dials
DOXA IRISHSTAR ... for gen Doxa SUB 300T
5513 BLACK PIANO DIAL ... for 5513 movement
White Lume
Not too flat ... not too puffy
Exposed to halogen light
Light off ... checking the lume doesn't charge
Exposed to UV light
DOXA IRISHSTAR ... for gen Doxa SUB 300T
5513 BLACK PIANO DIAL ... for 5513 movement
White Lume
Not too flat ... not too puffy
Exposed to halogen light
Light off ... checking the lume doesn't charge
Exposed to UV light