Need Advice on Modding a Tudor BB54 (ZF) – Hand Fitment Issue

[esquivo]

Hey everyone,

I just got my Tudor BB54 (ZF) and wanted to attempt the True Patina mod (this one: Instagram link). I picked up some pencil hands from Rafflestime, but I quickly realized that the hand posts are much shorter than the original ZF hands (Rafflestime hour hand on the left for reference).


I’m looking for advice on how to move forward. From my understanding, my options are:

1. Find different hands that have the correct post height – Any recommendations on where to source hands that will fit?

2. Modify the hand height – but this seems too risky and beyond my skill level.


I have some basic modding experience and I’m comfortable swapping hands (and the occasional keyless works reset ), but replacing a hand height kit is probably out of my technical reach.


Would appreciate any guidance, recommendations, or alternative solutions! I’ll attach a picture for reference.



Thanks in advance!

 

[Cubatobaco]

Let me see if I can find @KJ2020 post on his alteration of hands. It's an awesome resource!

 

[KJ2020]

Finding long collar hands will be difficult. Assuming you are using a 2824, the easiest route would be to install a kit of taller (H4) hands pinions. The hour and minute wheels are quite simple. The only challenge is the fourth wheel (seconds hand) but it's really not that bad. After removing the train bridge, it's the wheel on top so a quick swap. Refitting the train bridge onto 4 pinions can be a minor nuisance sometimes, other times it's a plop and go. LMK if you choose this route, I can offer assistance. I also recently found a good vendor for these parts that is quite inexpensive.

 

[esquivo]

Finding long collar hands will be difficult. Assuming you are using a 2824, the easiest route would be to install a kit of taller (H4) hands pinions. The hour and minute wheels are quite simple. The only challenge is the fourth wheel (seconds hand) but it's really not that bad. After removing the train bridge, it's the wheel on top so a quick swap. Refitting the train bridge onto 4 pinions can be a minor nuisance sometimes, other times it's a plop and go. LMK if you choose this route, I can offer assistance. I also recently found a good vendor for these parts that is quite inexpensive.

Hey KJ2020,

Really appreciate your insight and the (encouraging) breakdown—thank you! I'm always amazed how knowledgeable people like you in this community are always willing to jump in and help!

I had a feeling finding long collar hands would be tricky, and while swapping to H4 pinions is definitely beyond what I’ve done before, your explanation makes it sound a bit less intimidating. I may need to build up the courage (and skills) to attempt it! I’d absolutely appreciate both your assistance and the contact for that vendor.

Thanks again for taking the time to help!

 

[KJ2020]

Hey KJ2020,

Really appreciate your insight and the (encouraging) breakdown—thank you! I'm always amazed how knowledgeable people like you in this community are always willing to jump in and help!

I had a feeling finding long collar hands would be tricky, and while swapping to H4 pinions is definitely beyond what I’ve done before, your explanation makes it sound a bit less intimidating. I may need to build up the courage (and skills) to attempt it! I’d absolutely appreciate both your assistance and the contact for that vendor.

Thanks again for taking the time to help!

Glad to help bro. If you are going to be around reps for a while, starting to learn how movements work is a logical step toward maintenance freedom. It's greatly rewarding and also cost effective and convenient. The 2824 is a great movement to start on, it was my first.

There is a phenomenal 3D tutorial breakdown of the 2824 in the link below. Even if you don't want to begin mastering watchmaking now, this link will show you so much detail in such a unique way you won't be able to quit looking at it, haha. And ofc it will help you do the small part you need to do in switching out the fourth wheel.

Bartosz Ciechanowski 2824 breakdown

Here is the link for the inexpensive parts. You'll need 1 each of the H4 hour wheel, cannon pinion and fourth wheel (often mislabeled second wheel). They are $3.70 each

You may have to create an account to see these parts, you have to when buying anyway.

ETA Spare Parts | finest watch parts

ETA Spare Parts | Watch parts category

www.jkhorological.com

ETA 2824 #227 H4 Second wheel H4 (h=5,57 mm)

ETA 2824 #242 H4 Cannon pinion with driving wheel H4 (h=2,70 mm)

ETA 2824 #255 H4 Hour wheel H4 (h=1,75 mm)

LMK how it goes.

 

[esquivo]

Glad to help bro. If you are going to be around reps for a while, starting to learn how movements work is a logical step toward maintenance freedom. It's greatly rewarding and also cost effective and convenient. The 2824 is a great movement to start on, it was my first.

There is a phenomenal 3D tutorial breakdown of the 2824 in the link below. Even if you don't want to begin mastering watchmaking now, this link will show you so much detail in such a unique way you won't be able to quit looking at it, haha. And ofc it will help you do the small part you need to do in switching out the fourth wheel.

Bartosz Ciechanowski 2824 breakdown

Here is the link for the inexpensive parts. You'll need 1 each of the H4 hour wheel, cannon pinion and fourth wheel (often mislabeled second wheel). They are $3.70 each

You may have to create an account to see these parts, you have to when buying anyway.

ETA Spare Parts | finest watch parts

ETA Spare Parts | Watch parts category

www.jkhorological.com

ETA 2824 #227 H4 Second wheel H4 (h=5,57 mm)

ETA 2824 #242 H4 Cannon pinion with driving wheel H4 (h=2,70 mm)

ETA 2824 #255 H4 Hour wheel H4 (h=1,75 mm)

LMK how it goes.

Man, I’m absolutely astonished by those 3D animations—what an incredible resource! I’m pretty sure I won’t be doing much else this weekend other than diving into that, haha. Seriously, thanks for sharing it!

I went ahead and ordered the parts from the link you provided, so I’m all set to tackle this project. In the meantime, I already removed the ghost date and considering changing the lume on these new hands to match the dial (another first for me!).

Really looking forward to getting my hands dirty and learning more about the movement along the way.

I’ll keep you posted on how it goes, and I appreciate all the help!

 

[esquivo]

Glad to help bro. If you are going to be around reps for a while, starting to learn how movements work is a logical step toward maintenance freedom. It's greatly rewarding and also cost effective and convenient. The 2824 is a great movement to start on, it was my first.

There is a phenomenal 3D tutorial breakdown of the 2824 in the link below. Even if you don't want to begin mastering watchmaking now, this link will show you so much detail in such a unique way you won't be able to quit looking at it, haha. And ofc it will help you do the small part you need to do in switching out the fourth wheel.

Bartosz Ciechanowski 2824 breakdown

Here is the link for the inexpensive parts. You'll need 1 each of the H4 hour wheel, cannon pinion and fourth wheel (often mislabeled second wheel). They are $3.70 each

You may have to create an account to see these parts, you have to when buying anyway.

ETA Spare Parts | finest watch parts

ETA Spare Parts | Watch parts category

www.jkhorological.com

ETA 2824 #227 H4 Second wheel H4 (h=5,57 mm)

ETA 2824 #242 H4 Cannon pinion with driving wheel H4 (h=2,70 mm)

ETA 2824 #255 H4 Hour wheel H4 (h=1,75 mm)

LMK how it goes.

Hey @KJ2020,

Just wanted to give you an update—the parts have arrived! Now I’m just building up the courage to dive in and get started, haha.

I have a quick question before I get going: Everything on the dial side looks pretty straightforward, but I’m not entirely sure how far down I need to disassemble the movement to properly replace the Seconds wheel).

After removing the autowind bridge, can I go straight to removing the train wheel bridge and then swap the second wheel? Or do I need to also remove the balance wheel before getting to it?

Appreciate your insight as always!

 

[KJ2020]

Hey @KJ2020,

After removing the autowind bridge, can I go straight to removing the train wheel bridge and then swap the second wheel?

Yes you can. It's actually the "fourth wheel" for seconds hand but it is very commonly misnamed.

But before you do any work on a movement, you need to let the power down. This means letting the mainspring unwind fully so there will be no spring force exerted on any of the parts when you remove a bridge.

Mark Lovick shows how to do this at about 1:30 in video. But there is little or no wind in that mainspring. So hold the crown with pressure rotating it forward, with a tiny screwdriver press the click away from the setting wheel, then gradually release your grip on the crown to let it rotate backwards through your fingers. You can catch it momentarily to stop or slow down the unwind. The idea is to make it happen slowly, not slamming all the way to zero wind in one gigantic uncoiling.

 

[esquivo]

Yes you can. It's actually the "fourth wheel" for seconds hand but it is very commonly misnamed.

But before you do any work on a movement, you need to let the power down. This means letting the mainspring unwind fully so there will be no spring force exerted on any of the parts when you remove a bridge.

Mark Lovick shows how to do this at about 1:30 in video. But there is little or no wind in that mainspring. So hold the crown with pressure rotating it forward, with a tiny screwdriver press the click away from the setting wheel, then gradually release your grip on the crown to let it rotate backwards through your fingers. You can catch it momentarily to stop or slow down the unwind. The idea is to make it happen slowly, not slamming all the way to zero wind in one gigantic uncoiling.

Wow, that was super quick—really appreciate it! And yeah, while wrong anyways, I totally meant to say “seconds wheel” instead of “second wheel”—my bad!

I actually stumbled upon this video yesterday, and it almost makes it look easy… almost, haha. Definitely feeling a bit more confident now!

Thanks again for all the help! I’ll keep you posted on how it goes.

 

[esquivo]

Yes you can. It's actually the "fourth wheel" for seconds hand but it is very commonly misnamed.

But before you do any work on a movement, you need to let the power down. This means letting the mainspring unwind fully so there will be no spring force exerted on any of the parts when you remove a bridge.

Mark Lovick shows how to do this at about 1:30 in video. But there is little or no wind in that mainspring. So hold the crown with pressure rotating it forward, with a tiny screwdriver press the click away from the setting wheel, then gradually release your grip on the crown to let it rotate backwards through your fingers. You can catch it momentarily to stop or slow down the unwind. The idea is to make it happen slowly, not slamming all the way to zero wind in one gigantic uncoiling.

Just wanted to share a quick update—and thank you again for all the guidance so far!

Following the video you shared, I was actually able to disassemble and reassemble the movement successfully (albeit with a healthy dose of nerves, haha). Everything was going smoothly until I realized I had used the old minute wheel instead of the H4 version. I only caught it when I was trying to place the hands.

So… I had to take it apart again—and unfortunately, after reassembly, the movement stopped working. I’m not sure if I damaged the barrel, the pallet fork, or maybe the balance wheel during the process.

At this point, I think it’s probably best to source a new movement and start fresh. Do you have any tips or trusted sources where I could get a decent ETA 2824 clone or something compatible?

Thanks again for all your help—couldn’t have gotten this far without it!

 

[KJ2020]

Just wanted to share a quick update—and thank you again for all the guidance so far!

Following the video you shared, I was actually able to disassemble and reassemble the movement successfully (albeit with a healthy dose of nerves, haha). Everything was going smoothly until I realized I had used the old minute wheel instead of the H4 version. I only caught it when I was trying to place the hands.

So… I had to take it apart again—and unfortunately, after reassembly, the movement stopped working. I’m not sure if I damaged the barrel, the pallet fork, or maybe the balance wheel during the process.

At this point, I think it’s probably best to source a new movement and start fresh. Do you have any tips or trusted sources where I could get a decent ETA 2824 clone or something compatible?

Thanks again for all your help—couldn’t have gotten this far without it!

If you just want a less expensive clone like you had and not a gen Swiss movement, you can get one from AliExpress. I've bought dozens of movements there. Just look for a vendor with a high rating and good reviews. Test the movement as soon as you receive it. I've had a very small number of issues and they all were resolved quickly in my favor.

A PT5000 is a 2824 clone also. So that's a viable choice. Look around and see what you like.

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256805748392438.html?spm=a2g0n.productlist.0.0.18486789SMTkM5&aff_platform=msite&m_page_id=nlhvikmghbasybbi195dd5abdda219ebcaad3cfde4&gclid=&pdp_ext_f={"order":"565","eval":"1"}&pdp_npi=4@dis!USD!92.96!44.38!!!672.17!320.90!@2101d9ee17431754664273515ea1b3!12000034918397239!sea!US!1915646246!X&algo_pvid=55e021b7-3b9c-44d3-84aa-42b7839e5adc

 

[esquivo]

If you just want a less expensive clone like you had and not a gen Swiss movement, you can get one from AliExpress. I've bought dozens of movements there. Just look for a vendor with a high rating and good reviews. Test the movement as soon as you receive it. I've had a very small number of issues and they all were resolved quickly in my favor.

A PT5000 is a 2824 clone also. So that's a viable choice. Look around and see what you like.

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256805748392438.html?spm=a2g0n.productlist.0.0.18486789SMTkM5&aff_platform=msite&m_page_id=nlhvikmghbasybbi195dd5abdda219ebcaad3cfde4&gclid=&pdp_ext_f={"order":"565","eval":"1"}&pdp_npi=4@dis!USD!92.96!44.38!!!672.17!320.90!@2101d9ee17431754664273515ea1b3!12000034918397239!sea!US!1915646246!X&algo_pvid=55e021b7-3b9c-44d3-84aa-42b7839e5adc

Thanks again for the solid advice—as always! I went ahead and ordered a 2824 clone from AliExpress, following your recommendation. I’ll definitely test it as soon as it gets here, just to be safe. Appreciate the tip about the PT5000 too!

Really grateful for all your help throughout this project!