New TC Sub bezel problems

[Mendota]

Not sure if you guys remember, but there is an actual retired Comex diver on this board. I forgot his user name, but he used his Rolex professionally for decades. He posted pics of it this spring. Gorgeous piece and well used and trusted.

I agree that he's the exception, though, and most Rolex subs only see desk diving. Hell, look at how much the noobs over on TRF freak out when they hear that someone wants to actually use their watch. They sh#t themselves if they splash water on it when washing their hands.

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[sneed12?]

Divers don't use these watches for diving.

I'm a hobbyist diver, not a serious one by any means... but literally every time I dive I have a Submariner or a Seiko diver strapped to my wrist and use the bezel to time the dive.

 

[KBH]

Hey, I wear my watches all the time in the water. I'm sure most divers do. If I was ever to do Nitrox or deep ocean diving I would not be using it for timing anything to do with decompression tables. For hitting the local reefs at less than 60' I'd much prefer to rely on the air gauge on my regulator to know when to ascend.

Anyhow I gave that up 10 years ago and gave my tanks to my son. Skin diving a couple times a year for lobsters is about all I'm good for.

 

[imajedi]

Not sure if you solved your bezel turning problem but it's been asked and answered already.

Even the gens are designed to require you to push down while turning the bezel, this was meant to prevent the bezel accidentally turning if bumped. I'd write up how the whole assembly works but I already did once and so you can just search for it. Suffice to say if you reassemble the watch without the bezel washer, just remove it, it will turn much easier without the need to press down.

 

[Garyb]

Pretty sure the OP is now banned and can no longer read newer posts.(nor can he cry about his bezel or crystal)

 

[Maron]

Pretty sure the OP is now banned and can no longer read newer posts.(nor can he cry about his bezel or crystal)

Lol

 

[idinwo01]

Not sure if you solved your bezel turning problem but it's been asked and answered already.

Even the gens are designed to require you to push down while turning the bezel, this was meant to prevent the bezel accidentally turning if bumped. I'd write up how the whole assembly works but I already did once and so you can just search for it. Suffice to say if you reassemble the watch without the bezel washer, just remove it, it will turn much easier without the need to press down.

Is that true? I know the 1680 bezels are like this (push down, then turn) but I have not found a reliable source to confirm that the 16610 bezels are the same. On the other hand, the 116610 bezels rotate quite easily. I'd be interested in getting this verified since I've never heard of the need to apply pressure with the sapphire subs.

 

[imajedi]

Is that true? I know the 1680 bezels are like this (push down, then turn) but I have not found a reliable source to confirm that the 16610 bezels are the same. On the other hand, the 116610 bezels rotate quite easily. I'd be interested in getting this verified since I've never heard of the need to apply pressure with the sapphire subs.

It has to be true based on the bezel construction. The lip of the bezel fits over the lip of the crystal retaining ring. When you insert that washer, it causes the underside of the bezel lip to be pushed up against the underside of the crystal retaining ring. It's the friction between these two that makes the bezel hard to turn. When you push down, the friction is reduced or removed and the bezel turns. Given how thin that washer is, you can see that a small error in the tolerance stack can make the bezel very hard to turn, potentially even if you push down. That's the problem with the TC sub. The tolerances aren't tight enough and sometimes you get a bezel that is very difficult to turn or won't turn at all. If you remove the washer, you get at least the thickness of the washer in relief and now the bezel can be turned much easier. TC and Gen have the same construction (by that I mean conceptually) so they work the same way. There is a thread here somewhere where a guy diagrams exactly how the bezel on these subs functions. I'll try and find it and link it.

Note the ceramics have a different construction and don't require any downward pressure.

 

[gbxx]

Pretty sure the OP is now banned and can no longer read newer posts.(nor can he cry about his bezel or crystal)

Dang - that dude got his ass spanked right out of here!

He must have really pissed someone off to bypass the brig and go straight to ban.

 

[BSCS]

It has to be true based on the bezel construction. The lip of the bezel fits over the lip of the crystal retaining ring. When you insert that washer, it causes the underside of the bezel lip to be pushed up against the underside of the crystal retaining ring. It's the friction between these two that makes the bezel hard to turn. When you push down, the friction is reduced or removed and the bezel turns. Given how thin that washer is, you can see that a small error in the tolerance stack can make the bezel very hard to turn, potentially even if you push down. That's the problem with the TC sub. The tolerances aren't tight enough and sometimes you get a bezel that is very difficult to turn or won't turn at all. If you remove the washer, you get at least the thickness of the washer in relief and now the bezel can be turned much easier. TC and Gen have the same construction (by that I mean conceptually) so they work the same way. There is a thread here somewhere where a guy diagrams exactly how the bezel on these subs functions. I'll try and find it and link it.

Note the ceramics have a different construction and don't require any downward pressure.

Would simply filing down the washer a bit loosen up the bezel? Wouldn't natural use of the bezel make it looser too?

Why was the op banned? Too bad he sold the watch. It would've been an easy fix. I guess he panicked.

 

[imajedi]

Would simply filing down the washer a bit loosen up the bezel? Wouldn't natural use of the bezel make it looser too?

Why was the guy banned. Too bad he sold the watch. It would've been an easy fix.

Yeah, thinning the washer would work either by sanding or use.

 

[Maron]

Would simply filing down the washer a bit loosen up the bezel? Wouldn't natural use of the bezel make it looser too?

Why was the guy banned. Too bad he sold the watch. It would've been an easy fix.

He was kind of crazy. Didn't seem like he wanted to find a solution to the problem, just cause problems. He had his sales threads nuked more than once. He obviously didn't want to be part of the community and I'm sure he got out of line with mod

 

[BSCS]

He was kind of crazy. Didn't seem like he wanted to find a solution to the problem, just cause problems. He had his sales threads nuked more than once. He obviously didn't want to be part of the community and I'm sure he got out of line with a mod

Too bad.

 

[Raddave]

Guys, we decided to give him another chance......

 

[Maron]

Guys, we decided to give him another chance......

Oh good news. In that case, what I meant to say is that it seemed he might have been overwhelmed with this new experience and just needed some time to settle in. Welcome back!

 

[BSCS]

Could this be op's problem? http://blog.tc-sub.com/2012/10/tc-bezel-assembly-bump-in-road-and.html.

 

[Maron]

I was investigating bezel assemblies on TC Subs and found this http://blog.tc-sub.com/2012/10/tc-bezel-assembly-bump-in-road-and.html.

I kind of don't understand

 

[BSCS]

I was wondering if this could be the problem on op's watch. I'm not sure myself. Just wanted an expert opinion.

 

[idinwo01]

Note the ceramics have a different construction and don't require any downward pressure.

I was investigating bezel assemblies on TC Subs and found this http://blog.tc-sub.com/2012/10/tc-bezel-assembly-bump-in-road-and.html.

TC posted a YouTube video at the end of that page. Watch that video (specifically at 0:59) and you will see that he is able to turn the bezel with ease using only two fingers. I can turn the bezel on my ceramic in a similar fashion.

However, on my TC V6 I need to apply a great deal of pressure downward using three fingers to turn the bezel. I've turned the bezel over 400 full rotations in the past three days and don't see any improvement from "wear and tear". It seems to me a tolerance is off and something needs to be sanded or possibly only a new assembly with better tolerance would work.

 

[BSCS]

TC posted a YouTube video at the end of that page. Watch that video (specifically at 0:59) and you will see that he is able to turn the bezel with ease using only two fingers. I can turn the bezel on my ceramic in a similar fashion.

However, on my TC V6 I need to apply a great deal of pressure downward using three fingers to turn the bezel. I've turned the bezel over 400 full rotations in the past three days and don't see any improvement from "wear and tear". It seems to me a tolerance is off and something needs to be sanded or possibly only a new assembly with better tolerance would work.

Did you get any more feedback from TC?