A little update from the formerly chatty but recently oddly quiet home front:
Last couple days it was raining packages, lots of projects move a bit further along, and I did some of the tedious work that I've been putting off. Full disclosure, the lady friend is out of town, so I've also been napping and watching a lot of trash TV in sweat pants...which is my favorite way to spend a vacation, lol.
I (3D printed a bunch of jigs, drilled holes and mounted feet on a
couple hundred dial blanks. I know it seems like a lot, but I like to make dials in batches...maybe 10 at a time, then pick the one or two that come out right and practice on the rejects...luming, finishing, aging, etc. When I'm done, I either answered a question, got better at a technique, or learned something new...and then I strip the rejects and start over. Plus, if you buy the undrilled blanks from AliX, they're like $.35 each, so they're damn near disposable. Let's just say I have a lot of tendonitis from the drill press, and there's little brass "corkscrews" all over the workshop, but I should be set on dial blanks for life (at least in 27mm and 29mm).
I almost finished my Commando build, although now I'm at a loss for what case to put it into. The dial is lumed, the lume came out very well, and it's lightly aged...I am trying to decide if it needs more patina or if I should leave well enough alone...most of the photos I've seen show watches that aren't terribly beat up, so I think light aging would be best, rather than seriously beat up. I have a few 34mm Raffles cases to choose from, and a couple gen cases that aren't for the right model (I'm considering a 1500 case or a 6XXX case, can't remember specifics), but look the part without case work...will probably decide tonight and put it all together. I also misplaced the hands, although I'm sure they'll turn up. I had everything sorted, but when I pulled the parts for the Commando build, they somehow got separated. I also can't remember if the Raffles hands were for a 2824 or an NH38...Raffles' website doesn't allow viewing previous orders, so I guess I hope for the best, lol.
One of the 5500s I built is having issues, so that's getting looked at. I have to say, I'm just about done with junk 2824 movements...they're cheap, but problematic, and after a build with an NH38, I have to say I love the Seiko movements. I'm either going to swap in a gen ETA or swap over to a NH.
The
$28 AliX Explorer cases arrived and I have to say, they're quite good for the price. They're completely sterile, but take a gen spec crown, so when you add one of the
$1 crowns from AliX, they're a serious competitor to Raffles. They still lack case back engravings, but I think I can either hand engrave or just use a decal and the etching technique there...it's not like anyone but I will see it. The crowns aren't bad, and they fit gen tubes (and come with their own tubes) so I'm planning on using them for the cases I have that lack crowns, rather than the Athaya process, which intimidates me a little bit, lol.
The cases for the
SWOLEX project arrived, and I have to say, they're perfect...cheap, gaudy, simple, but very true to something Swatch would put out. I have a couple dials done, so those should be built tonight.
Also received some super cheap
jubilee bracelets that I ordered on a whim. They're not bad for the price, although I wouldn't put them on a serious build...more like an occasional "freshening up" of a watch that's not getting wrist time.
