I need to add some more patina to the 24 hour hand and the second hand.
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Project "RWI Raffle Win"... a 1675 Build
- Thread starter p0pperini
- Start date
I need to add some more patina to the 24 hour hand and the second hand.
dkrnrl15
Getting To Know The Place
- 6/6/20
- 71
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Hey all,
I was extremely fortunate to win a beautiful gen spec 1675 case, plus bezel and crystal, in the RWI 2019 raffle. So I thought it would be nice to catalogue the progress from its arrival today to completion - and along the way to get advice and recommendations from you, the vastly more experienced RWI crowd. My huge thanks go to milk051506 for these cases, yodog for the scalloped edge bezel, and tripdog for his reworking of the case prior to it being sent to me.
Trip's photo review of the case is here.
I also went ahead and bought two of milk's bezel inserts. One fuchsia and one BLRO. This chap is a goldmine of lovely GMT parts for us!
I've only just received the case today, so I've just had the briefest of ganders this evening and taken a couple of snaps.
This weekend, I'll start to give more thought to the other parts I'll need to source to get on with the project.
I've already had some advice from tripdog: "I would look at early versions of the 1675 GMT if I were you, the case and lugs are quite slim, so an early gilt dialed 1675 would be the obvious choice for me as the cases from these watches would have been polished and brushed many times since the late 50's/early 60's. A gloss gilt dial, dwarf GMT hand, 7206 rivet bracelet - would make a great looking watch." He recommended Ruby's for a dial - so I'm currently looking at those. Any other thoughts and advice would be welcome.
I'll post progress pics as the project advances.
Thanks again to RWI for the great raffle prizes!
Is there any problem with using the milk case as 16750.
I don't think so... From what I've read, the cases are so similar that visually there's nothing significant between them.
Good evening everyone too I am waiting for the case milk051506 , I took inspiration from this 1675 which was sold on H.Q.milton https://www.hqmilton.com/timepieces...-1675-with-mark-1-dial-and-fuchsia-bezel-4790, these are the pieces that I have bought so far, waiting for their arrival, then it is sent to kilowattore
Love that dial, where from? Insert too? Might have a go myself, with help from a respected modder
- 12/3/18
- 35,388
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I need your help. In the past few weeks, i cracked 5 crystals for my milk case build. I bought from different fabric and machined them, but still the same.
I always bought a 25-116 crystal and have these sizes:
Case diameter: 28.90mm
Crystal outer diameter (original): 30.30mm
Crystal outer diameter (turned down): 30.00mm
After putting the crystal to the case diameter: 30.20mm
crystal retaining ring inner diameter: 30.15mm
I can put the crystal on the case. It sits tight on the case. When I tried to press the retaining ring over the crystal, it cracks along the cyclop.
I always bought a 25-116 crystal and have these sizes:
Case diameter: 28.90mm
Crystal outer diameter (original): 30.30mm
Crystal outer diameter (turned down): 30.00mm
After putting the crystal to the case diameter: 30.20mm
crystal retaining ring inner diameter: 30.15mm
I can put the crystal on the case. It sits tight on the case. When I tried to press the retaining ring over the crystal, it cracks along the cyclop.
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I need your help. In the past few weeks, i cracked 5 crystals for my milk case build. I bought from different fabric and machined them, but still the same.
I always bought a 25-116 crystal and have these sizes:
Case diameter: 28.90mm
Crystal outer diameter (original): 30.30mm
Crystal outer diameter (turned down): 30.00mm
After putting the crystal to the case diameter: 30.20mm
crystal retaining ring inner diameter: 30.15mm
I can put the crystal on the case. It sits tight on the case. When I tried to press the retaining ring over the crystal, it cracks along the cyclop.
What do you mean you 'machined' them? You need to shave the outer diameter of the plexy a little bit.
I used my lathe and shaved the outer diameter of the plexy from: 30.30mm to 30.00mm. Once I shaved it to 29.90mm - still cracked :-(
Do you know the size? How many mm should the plexi be bigger than the retaining ring ?
Thanks for explaining, lathe machined, makes sense!
What type of chuck did you use as that might put pressure on the plastic while the shaving occurs.
I suggest doing this by hand, and don’t worry about the exact sizing, shave a little, try it on, etc until you have a good balance of being able to push the ring down and have pressure fitting.
You can use a flexible nail file to go around the plexy while turning it around - this will require some polishing on the sides after.
I used this method on a number of Milk case builds (GMT, 5513, 1680) and had no issues with the plexy cracking.
Let me know if you need to see this and i’ll make a video.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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What I'm curious about matzemedia is how you secure the plexi in order to use it on the lathe. As solution6 has mentioned, it sounds like however you're doing it, it's putting quite some stress on the plexi. Using a lathe does seem like a real "sledgehammer to crack a nut" approach. Although the mere mention of a lathe does get me all envious.
Solution6 thanks for the description and illustration of the less extreme tool for the job. That's the same way I've successfully done the job too.
matzemedia if you don't have it already, get a tube of Polywatch to polish the sides of the plexi after it's been sanded. Diamond lapping paste (available in various grits) and toothpaste can also be used. But I'm sure you know all this anyway - I mean, you've got a lathe!
Solution6 thanks for the description and illustration of the less extreme tool for the job. That's the same way I've successfully done the job too.
matzemedia if you don't have it already, get a tube of Polywatch to polish the sides of the plexi after it's been sanded. Diamond lapping paste (available in various grits) and toothpaste can also be used. But I'm sure you know all this anyway - I mean, you've got a lathe!
My lathe chuck has the opportunity to span parts from the inner. I took a photo with one of my broken crystals. When I use less pressure on the lathe chuck and put some soft cloth in between, it fits soft. In my case I just removed 0.3mm in 5-6 steps (each step 0.05mm) with the lathe, sanded and polished it with Polywatch on the lathe. They look great till I put the retaining ring over. But Solution6 and p0pperini you may be right that this is stressing the plexy to much.
Solution6 removing 0.3mm from the diameter with a nail file sounds like a lengthy process for a view hour. If you have a trick, I'd love to see the video on it. I am currently really desperate.
My both favorite dealer in Germany are currently out of order. I have to wait till I get a new one for a view weeks.
To use the official expression, when seeing a sexy pic... "Phwoooar!"
It looks and sounds from your description like you've done everything right here though - that doesn't look like a setup that's going to damage the plexi. So it's really odd that you're getting these plexi failures. I'm not sure from the packaging which brand you're using now, but have you tried a different brand of crystal - Sternkreuz for instance?
However, it may just be the stresses of spinning at high speed and the heat generated by the lathe shaving process that the plexi doesn't like. So may be try doing it manually with a flexible file. It does take a little while - but can be done while watching something on TV or YouTube, or in time to your favourite music, to keep it from being too tedious.
Solution6 removing 0.3mm from the diameter with a nail file sounds like a lengthy process for a view hour. If you have a trick, I'd love to see the video on it. I am currently really desperate.
My both favorite dealer in Germany are currently out of order. I have to wait till I get a new one for a view weeks.
I have a better option, rather than you watching a video of me shaving a bit of plastic, haha - I could adjust one and send it your way.
Currently have a Milk GMT case set waiting for a movement so could form a plexiglass on that case/ring.