The 1016: The Under Appreciated Thread

[Karbon74]

Buy some now and later

I put in an order earlier this week and those parts along with my commando dial are on route and i have to put in another order this weekend. I cant keep this guy in business myself. You guys gotta pitch in.

For EU he does not charge shipping, it's so convenient for a fumbler like me who always forgets a part or breaks it

 

[Karbon74]

Yes, I love the look of radium burnt dials. I've actually played around with an old junk dial and a soldering iron, but haven't perfected it yet. It always looks cool when you can see where the hands stopped as the watch sat in grandpa's dresser drawer for 30 years or so, lol.

I have a trashed Vostok dial where the lume and print melted due to a failed experiment with acetone

the Radium burn look gives me an idea. I did not know there was such a thing

 

[316lad]

Today’s project.

Radium burnt hands.



I dig this look often found on early subs. Here is an example on an explorer 6610

I have an okd set of raffle hands that will be perfect for this


First corrosion with a vinegar bath. Then some creativity with some paints.

I've seen that dis-colouration hue beofre with iodine. If you can ger hold of some... Chemists over here have it.

 

[Gaspacho]

@369mafia do you know if the commando dial will fit an 1500 case?

 

[dpd3672]

I have a trashed Vostok dial where the lume and print melted due to a failed experiment with acetone

the Radium burn look gives me an idea. I did not know there was such a thing

Yes, I see lots of very cool ones looking at Ebay listings. These really show where the hands stopped and sat while the radium slowly burnt the dial.




And sometimes they just leave a halo around the indices, like this one, which also burnt the crystal:

 

[369mafia]

@369mafia do you know if the commando dial will fit an 1500 case?

Yes it should. The last commando I build was with a gen 5500 case set and mochacha dial.

 

[369mafia]

Yes, I see lots of very cool ones looking at Ebay listings. These really show where the hands stopped and sat while the radium slowly burnt the dial.




And sometimes they just leave a halo around the indices, like this one, which also burnt the crystal:

Wow. Even on the crystal.

My 7909 BNGE is similar



My hand starts to tingle after about 20 mins. Is that normal ?

 

[Gaspacho]

Yes it should. The last commando I build was with a gen 5500 case set and mochacha dial.

Cool!! I have a 1500 full case set that I was thinking of selling, not anymore!

 

[dpd3672]

Wow. Even on the crystal.

My 7909 BNGE is similar



My hand starts to tingle after about 20 mins. Is that normal ?

Redium burns are one of those little "extras" that make a replica look more authentic. A pristine 50 year old watch screams "fake," but one that looks like it got dropped next to the tower at Los Alamos by Oppenheimer is a big step closer.

Just know when to use it and when not to use it. It looks great on an early Explorer...not so much on a Sub with a ceramic bezel...

I think they started phasing it out in the early '50s, and by 1960 or so, everything was Tritium...until it wasn't.

 

[dpd3672]

Wow. Even on the crystal.

My 7909 BNGE is similar



My hand starts to tingle after about 20 mins. Is that normal ?

Hopefully, the only thing you have in common with Marie Curie is a brilliant mind...

 

[Gaspacho]

Hopefully, the only thing you have in common with Marie Curie is a brilliant mind...

Be very careful when working with radium, a friend of mine who is a watchmaker avoids working on watches with radium dials. On the other hand:

The Radium Girls and the Generation that brushed its Teeth with Radioactive Toothpaste

The Radium Girls were so contaminated that if you stood over their graves today with a Geiger counter, the radiation levels would still cause the needles to jump more than 80 years later. They were small-town girls from New Jersey who had been hired by a local factory to paint the clock faces of lum

www.messynessychic.com

 

[dpd3672]

Cool!! I have a 1500 full case set that I was thinking of selling, not anymore!

Cool!! I have a 1500 full case set that I was thinking of selling, not anymore!

This makes me wonder...Other than the crystal and bezel, are all 4 digit cases the same, relative to size?

That is, are all 34mm cases identical, other than the bezel and crystal (and model/serial numbers, fo course)? Are all 36mm cases the same?

So a 34mm Explorer uses the 5500 case. The 5500 and 1002 case was also used in the Air King. Would a 1002 case then be visually identical in measurements and finish? Would, say, a 1500 also be indistinguishable, other than the serial number engraved on the case?

A Commando is a 6429, IIRC, but those cases are rare as hen's teeth. I can live with an "incorrect" gen case if it's otherwise the same.

 

[Gaspacho]

1920s girls just want to have radium fun.. it seems

 

[dpd3672]

Be very careful when working with radium, a friend of mine who is a watchmaker avoids working on watches with radium dials. On the other hand:

The Radium Girls and the Generation that brushed its Teeth with Radioactive Toothpaste

The Radium Girls were so contaminated that if you stood over their graves today with a Geiger counter, the radiation levels would still cause the needles to jump more than 80 years later. They were small-town girls from New Jersey who had been hired by a local factory to paint the clock faces of lum

www.messynessychic.com

I read a great book about those ladies, which had nothing to do with my interest in watches, it was just an interesting and tragic story. The first chapter (s?) describe the history of radium and how it was used as a generic, catch-all cure for just about any ailment you might have...sort of like "multivitamins" do today. If you have the chance, I'd highly recommend it.

Amazon.com

 

[Gaspacho]

This makes me wonder...Other than the crystal and bezel, are all 4 digit cases the same, relative to size?

That is, are all 34mm cases identical, other than the bezel and crystal (and model/serial numbers, fo course)? Are all 36mm cases the same?

So a 34mm Explorer uses the 5500 case. The 5500 and 1002 case was also used in the Air King. Would a 1002 case then be visually identical in measurements and finish? Would, say, a 1500 also be indistinguishable, other than the serial number engraved on the case?

A Commando is a 6429, IIRC, but those cases are rare as hen's teeth. I can live with an "incorrect" gen case if it's otherwise the same.

Afaik 1500 and 5500 case shape are slightly different, but not dramatically

 

[dpd3672]

Afaik 1500 and 5500 case shape are slightly different, but not dramatically

Thanks, I suspected it wouldn't be that easy. I have an older 36mm case that I noticed is a bit different than the 16XX cases I have. The case back, for sure, but I didn't know how much of the difference was from decades of polishing and wear and how much was straight from the factory.

 

[Gaspacho]

Thanks, I suspected it wouldn't be that easy. I have an older 36mm case that I noticed is a bit different than the 16XX cases I have. The case back, for sure, but I didn't know how much of the difference was from decades of polishing and wear and how much was straight from the factory.

Yes, 36mm cases are all different in shape, I bet it is the same with the 34mm. But you can get a 1500 case super cheap, even more than a 5500, at least it was true a couple years ago.

 

[1675lover]

@369mafia why not get raffles to get the factory to make 13mm seconds and minute hands?

 

[Gaspacho]

For those of you with 5500 cases, exception to the crystal, how big is the difference?

 

[dpd3672]

Yes, 36mm cases are all different in shape, I bet it is the same with the 34mm. But you can get a 1500 case super cheap, even more than a 5500, at least it was true a couple years ago.

Yes, I have a pair of 5500 cases for some Explorer builds, and a 5700 case incoming for an E

For those of you with 5500 cases, exception to the crystal, how big is the difference?

I'm away from home, but I can post a few photos of the ones I have in a bit. Up to a point, they all pretty much look the same, but the little agonizing detals make all the difference, lol.