How did you grind down a Davidsen dial?

[RqThrottle]

Hi guys!

For those of you who have done this. How did you guys grind down the dial so it fits on the 1:1 cases? as I understand, About 1mm has to be removed from the total diameter. Anyone has the measurements of Davidsen dials vs others?

I am just planning to use some hobby flat files all around the circumference. Will that work?

If converting from a 3 hand to a 2 hand, is there a non-destructive way to do this? I though of drilling a little hole on the back of the dial there the third hand would go, but I am afraid the dials are not deep enough.

Any tips for this mod would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks!

 

[AWS]

.....i dont know about how to grind down the dial but..i did do the 3hand into 2hand...just line up the sec hand staff to the dial so you know where exactly it touches on the dial and make a little dimple there then just file down the sec hand staff till you cant feel it anymore...i did this yesterday to fit davids 210a dial into my 172 case and movement...i hope this helps as i`m no expert :lol: ...its very easy...you will know if you did not file enough becouse the movement will not work :lol: ...cheers,aws.

 

[AWS]

...oh..i just reread your post ..you said "non destructive" .....just line up and file the little dimple into the dial back...you dont need much taken out of the dial to cover the staff...cheers,aws.

 

[darksideuser121]

Hand grinding a dial can be done. Use a sandblock or file and work and work and work.

Once I did a couple I got tired of the time and so used a dremel axle (padded, you don't want to mess the dial surface) and so mount the dial on the demel and spin that again first against a file, then finer sandblock.

I measure the desired dia. with calipres and check often! during the event.

Even pressure and mounting it right and you should eat away in a perfect circle.

One trick I learned on sandwich dials is to remove the layers and do the back first. Get the thicker back to the correct dia. Reattach the top skin and visually grind it down to match. Less time exposing the painted dial parts to degredation ...

---
The dremel thing is a good idea. Nice thinking
The SUB SECOND pin is a more problematic bugger. The BEST way to do it, is to remove the wheel from the movement and then cut and finish the protruding axle. This is by far the cleanest and most fool-proof method. (as long as you don't go too short!)

Drilling a hole in the dial will work, if the dial is deep enough. On a sandwich dial usually the back layer is enough to do this, but not always. If when you apply the dial and case it and the movement stops, then there is friction still ... Often it won't happen until you tighten everything down ...

Grinding off the seconds pin while in the movement is the worst method as it allows a lot of things that can go wrong. Think of the crud you are introducing into the jewel bearing and movt.? Masking the surface will help, but this method often still requires drilling the dial because there will be a nub, getting that thing flush and not screwing up the jewel is the problem. You have less of a chance stuffing up the movement by taking off the power train bridge and removing the wheel. It sounds like more work, but in the long run, it isn't.

 

[RqThrottle]

Hey Enzo,

Thanks man, great info! I love the idea of attaching the dial to a dremel.

Is it easy to remove the back plate of a sandwich dial? Without even having seen one, its hard for me to imagine how the plates attach to each other.

Finally, getting the edges perfectly smooth is not quite required, is it? There is a little bit of the dial that is not seen once the dial is on the case, right?

Thanks again,

Rafael.

Hand grinding a dial can be done. Use a sandblock or file and work and work and work.

Once I did a couple I got tired of the time and so used a dremel axle (padded, you don't want to mess the dial surface) and so mount the dial on the demel and spin that again first against a file, then finer sandblock.

I measure the desired dia. with calipres and check often! during the event.

Even pressure and mounting it right and you should eat away in a perfect circle.

One trick I learned on sandwich dials is to remove the layers and do the back first. Get the thicker back to the correct dia. Reattach the top skin and visually grind it down to match. Less time exposing the painted dial parts to degredation ...

---

The SUB SECOND pin is a more problematic bugger. The BEST way to do it, is to remove the wheel from the movement and then cut and finish the protruding axle. This is by far the cleanest and most fool-proof method. (as long as you don't go too short!)

Drilling a hole in the dial will work, if the dial is deep enough. On a sandwich dial usually the back layer is enough to do this, but not always. If when you apply the dial and case it and the movement stops, then there is friction still ... Often it won't happen until you tighten everything down ...

Grinding off the seconds pin while in the movement is the worst method as it allows a lot of things that can go wrong. Think of the crud you are introducing into the jewel bearing and movt.? Masking the surface will help, but this method often still requires drilling the dial because there will be a nub, getting that thing flush and not screwing up the jewel is the problem. You have less of a chance stuffing up the movement by taking off the power train bridge and removing the wheel. It sounds like more work, but in the long run, it isn't.

 

[OldeCrow]

Rafael.

splitting the dial is easy, just carefully take a razor blade and gently work your way around the dial between the sandwich and pry the glue apart. be carefull to take your time and work around the dial you don't want to bend it or break the feet off that align the back plate to the front plate, some dials use the same feet to align the front to the back and attach to the movement, others have two sets of feet one that aligns the front to the back and then the feet that attach to the movement.

I do roughly the same thing as enzo to size them. I split the dials first then put them back together and cover the front of the dial with tape (be sure its the kind that won't leave adhesive behind or tear up the paint from the dial when it's removed) then I use a padded sanding barrel on the dremel and hold the dial loosely between my fingers so the dial can spin too. This removes enough material off the dial to install it in the 1:1 cases. Go slow and test fit often which ever method you use because once its too small you are done

 

[ssalxpanerai]

Rafael.

splitting the dial is easy, just carefully take a razor blade and gently work your way around the dial between the sandwich and pry the glue apart. be carefull to take your time and work around the dial you don't want to bend it or break the feet off that align the back plate to the front plate, some dials use the same feet to align the front to the back and attach to the movement, others have two sets of feet one that aligns the front to the back and then the feet that attach to the movement.

I do roughly the same thing as enzo to size them. I split the dials first then put them back together and cover the front of the dial with tape (be sure its the kind that won't leave adhesive behind or tear up the paint from the dial when it's removed) then I use a padded sanding barrel on the dremel and hold the dial loosely between my fingers so the dial can spin too. This removes enough material off the dial to install it in the 1:1 cases. Go slow and test fit often which ever method you use because once its too small you are done

Thank you for the method how to split the dial out of its base. I am thinking of doing that but not so sure till I read this.

Just to share my experience for this topic. I file the DVN dial down 3 of them just by hand. I use just the small filer and take time on it. File direction from dial into the back of the base. This way we don't damage the dial. Just take time. Really no special method. The edge is not need to be good. After install, we don't see it. Just make sure it cleans. I did not measure the diameter. Just try it on the case. Every round of filing, I try it till it fits.

 

[RqThrottle]

Guys,

Great info! Thank you SO much. Awesome contributions on this thread.

I am going to go ahead and tackle this project soon. I am still a bit concerned about the removal of the seconds pin, but I may leave that worry to Ziggy. I will just stick to the dial sizing for now, as I know when I am biting more than I can chew.

First order of the day is buy a good set of hobby files. I am going to go ahead and attempt this by hand first. I am pretty good working with my hands and terrible with powertools

Thanks again,

R