:err: Call me a copycat, but this is too good to be missed by our rwi members..
the floppy cg lever is IMO one of the weak spot of most Panerai reps. Actually no one will notice it, no one will know it, but it will bother you. It does not feel as precious as the genuine lever does and at least to me the floppy lever was a big disappointment.
The genuine lever has a rubber bushing that makes the lever feel nice, tight and smooth.
The bad news: None of the current reps has the rubber bushing. The only rep crown guard I've ever seen that copied that feature correctly is the discontinued V crown guard.
The good news: It can be retrofitted to propbably all crown guards and I'll show you how to.
All you need is your crown guard, a small table drill press and a rubber-insulated cable. The wires diametre without the insulation should be a little smaller than your cg pin and the insulation should add about 1mm to the wire. I chose a cable 1mm X 0.8mm, so the complete outer diametre is 1.8mm.
This is a disassembled Ultimate crown guard from a cartel 088. It is a quite good crown guard, but again: The lever...
Make sure you've bought the correct cable
Secure the lever on your drill press. Do not drill to the same diametre as the cable has!!! Stay about two tenths smaller - you'll need that for a good fit.
I enlarged the hole in the lever to 1.6mm
Burr the enlarged hole. It will make assembly easier.
Cut a small piece from the insulation
Probably you won't be able to push the rubber into the lever. If so enlarge it slightly with a broach until you can push the rubber into the lever. It must sit tight and firm.
Assemble the CG again. It may be more difficult to push the pin into the CG than before - you have to get through the rubber the first time... Maybe some rubber is pushed out of the lever when inserting the pin. If that happens take the lever out of the cg again and cut the rubber coming out of the lever. After that the pin should go back in place propperly.
The result is a CG that feels precious and tight - just like the genuine
the floppy cg lever is IMO one of the weak spot of most Panerai reps. Actually no one will notice it, no one will know it, but it will bother you. It does not feel as precious as the genuine lever does and at least to me the floppy lever was a big disappointment.
The genuine lever has a rubber bushing that makes the lever feel nice, tight and smooth.
The bad news: None of the current reps has the rubber bushing. The only rep crown guard I've ever seen that copied that feature correctly is the discontinued V crown guard.
The good news: It can be retrofitted to propbably all crown guards and I'll show you how to.
All you need is your crown guard, a small table drill press and a rubber-insulated cable. The wires diametre without the insulation should be a little smaller than your cg pin and the insulation should add about 1mm to the wire. I chose a cable 1mm X 0.8mm, so the complete outer diametre is 1.8mm.
This is a disassembled Ultimate crown guard from a cartel 088. It is a quite good crown guard, but again: The lever...
Make sure you've bought the correct cable
Secure the lever on your drill press. Do not drill to the same diametre as the cable has!!! Stay about two tenths smaller - you'll need that for a good fit.
I enlarged the hole in the lever to 1.6mm
Burr the enlarged hole. It will make assembly easier.
Cut a small piece from the insulation
Probably you won't be able to push the rubber into the lever. If so enlarge it slightly with a broach until you can push the rubber into the lever. It must sit tight and firm.
Assemble the CG again. It may be more difficult to push the pin into the CG than before - you have to get through the rubber the first time... Maybe some rubber is pushed out of the lever when inserting the pin. If that happens take the lever out of the cg again and cut the rubber coming out of the lever. After that the pin should go back in place propperly.
The result is a CG that feels precious and tight - just like the genuine
