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VSF Submariner VS3235 Gen Parts Installation Project
- Thread starter dogwood
- Start date
It’s not really necessary to do the winding intermediate gear anymore since the Dandong version is now perfectly adequate. So the three parts that you’d want to upgrade for a “gen like experience” would be:
- The balance complete
- The pallet fork
- The escape wheel
In my case it started gen but since my one gen 3235 had serious issues I had to strip it down and replace or mix gen with vsf parts, now my project is 98.99% gen few parts still vsf but just yesterday ordered few other parts to get on to my 3235 movement which then will eliminate even further vsf, my project costed me £3980 I recon by end with all gens parts on case with gen 126610LN hands and crystal and gaskets will be £4300 let’s say for this money you can get nice fully gen two tone DJ 36mm or omega for just under £2900, or even Tudor brand new for £3600 not going to even mention Breitling with their vast collection great watches! Got gen Colt Chronograph on steel bracelet 2017! Stunning watch
Since a bunch of you in here are modding i thought maybe someone would have a spare part i need from a VS3235. I need these two little pillar bushings, they're located under the train wheel bridge, and then under the bridge that supports the center wheel. I attached a pic of the bridge which I don't need, i need the 2 pillar bushings that sit around the two screw holes that support this bridge pictured on white. Pointed to them on the base plate with arrows, and took a pic of it on a green background as good as i could with it being so tiny. I tried pulling them from a clean movement, but the same pillar bushings are a different height on cleans 3235. I actually only need one but if you have 2 i'll take both incase there are any size differences, the bushing flew off my bench and dissapeared into the abyss. If you have em drop me a message.
I have a couple of spares. DM me if you still need them. I’ll setup a reserved sales thread.Since a bunch of you in here are modding i thought maybe someone would have a spare part i need from a VS3235. I need these two little pillar bushings, they're located under the train wheel bridge, and then under the bridge that supports the center wheel. I attached a pic of the bridge which I don't need, i need the 2 pillar bushings that sit around the two screw holes that support this bridge pictured on white. Pointed to them on the base plate with arrows, and took a pic of it on a green background as good as i could with it being so tiny. I tried pulling them from a clean movement, but the same pillar bushings are a different height on cleans 3235. I actually only need one but if you have 2 i'll take both incase there are any size differences, the bushing flew off my bench and dissapeared into the abyss. If you have em drop me a message.
Where can I pick up the vs 3235 , I see a bunch of 3235 but they are vf and different factory’s?In an effort to expand my watch "smith" skills, I decided it would be a fun project to order some gen parts for my VS3235 movement and see if I could install them without hurting myself (other than my wallet), and see if the movement was any better off for the trouble. The parts I decided to swap for gen were:
My reasons for doing these three parts specifically were that I'd read in Logixa amazing teardown thread that the crown wheel on the VS3235 could have some issue due to the spring washer rubbing and producing metal shavings that would damage the movement long term. As for the balance complete and the balance bridge; those I decided to swap to gen because I wanted to see how well I could regulate the movement using the microstella nuts as opposed to using the regulation arm on the stock VS3235.
- Crown Wheel (part no. 3235-213)
- Balance Bridge (part no. 3235-120)
- Balance Complete (part no. 3235-432)
So, here's a pic of the gen parts.
And just to get a baseline of the movement's health, here's what it looks like on the timegrapher *before* I've installed any of the new gen parts.
If you were a normal person, you'd look at that timegrapher result, and say "if it ain't broke, don't fix it"... fortunately, in this community we are not normal. And that's how I began to disassemble a perfectly good watch to install expensive genuine parts into a watch that clearly didn't need them to function. Onwards!
After taking the movement out of the case and removing the automatic mechanism, balance, and main train bridge, I was able to access the bit of the watch that I was planning on replacing. First up was the escape wheel. The gen version is beautifully skeletonized. Here's a pic of the Gen and VS versions under my digital microscope. There's a real difference in the finish quality (and maybe a difference in geometry -- more on this in a minute).
The crown wheel is also accessible from under the main train bridge. The difference here between the gen and the VS parts is more subtle. It's basically impossible to tell the two parts from one another without the aid of magnification. But under magnification, it's possible to see that the gen part has a much nicer finish.
The install of the crown wheel was very straight forward. I simply dropped it into place and was done. It was the same story for the escape wheel. I took out the old one, and put in the new one, re-assembled the train of wheels and then re-installed the train bridge. The train bridge went into place without any trouble and I screwed everything back down. Although when I got the pallet fork re-installed it didn't seem like the VS pallet fork and the gen escape wheel were playing that nicely with eachother. I put a little wind onto the main spring to see if I could manually actuate the pallet fork, but it looks like the VS pallet fork isn't quite right for locking and unlocking the gen escape wheel. For those who've done something like this before, did you need to replace both the escape wheel AND the pallet fork with a Gen in order for it to work?
Next was the balance and balance bridge. I'd read that sometimes that balance bridge won't quite sit properly on the VS mainplate's centering pins, and that sometimes you need to broach the holes on the gen bridge. I tried without broaching, and while *slightly* tighter than the stock balance bridge, the gen bridge fit without the need for any broaching.
With the knowledge that the balance bridge would fit onto the main plate, I decided I'd try to connect my balance complete with the balance bridge. This was really hard. Is there a tool or jig that would make this easier? I was using two pairs of tweezers; one to hold the bridge, and one to grab the little anchor thingy on the end of the hairspring, then I'd try to move the hairspring anchor thingy into the slot on the balance bridge's hairspring stud. I managed to do this once, but then I needed to somehow change tools to get a screwdriver to tighten the hairspring stud screw. While I was doing so, the anchor thingy came out of the stud slot. My arms were getting a bit tired at this point so I called it a day. If anybody has any suggestions on how to make this process a bit easier I'd love to hear.
And finally, a pic comparing the gen balance bridge with the VS balance bridge + balance complete. There really is a difference in finish quality at high magnification.
Thanks
The vs3235 can be acquired from many of the TDs. Or there’s a seller on Alibaba named Sillian who sells them (MOQ = 2).
Thank you for the info . I contacted them last night about the 5 digit sub case .
Hey there, I'm also working on my project like yours. Would you be able to point me in the direction where I can find such main plate. I'm also looking for one for my gen parts.
This part, including the bridge, and second wheel, VSF and GEN are NOT interchangeable. If you replace, the second wheel will jam.Since a bunch of you in here are modding i thought maybe someone would have a spare part i need from a VS3235. I need these two little pillar bushings, they're located under the train wheel bridge, and then under the bridge that supports the center wheel. I attached a pic of the bridge which I don't need, i need the 2 pillar bushings that sit around the two screw holes that support this bridge pictured on white. Pointed to them on the base plate with arrows, and took a pic of it on a green background as good as i could with it being so tiny. I tried pulling them from a clean movement, but the same pillar bushings are a different height on cleans 3235. I actually only need one but if you have 2 i'll take both incase there are any size differences, the bushing flew off my bench and dissapeared into the abyss. If you have em drop me a message.
I did the whole project at the first year VSF 3235 was released. This and date jump/date disc are not interchangeable (unless you have GEN 3235-100 main plate), and also the cap jewel on main plate side.
It's possible i have all gen parts installed in mine except the main plate. I did have to adjust the jewel depth on one of the train bridge jewels though. I'm just waiting for a replacement dial then i'll post pictures of mine finished. The date Jumper assembly and disk worked with no issues for me.
I am interestested to see though if i swap in the part above and the second wheel if my amplitude increases i'm at 0, 268, 0 now but perhaps i will go much higher if i use the rep parts for those two. I'll check it before i case it all back up in the next week or so when the dial comes.
When you say cap jewel are you referring to the balance jewel in the shock setting on the dial side on the main plate? If so i used all rep jewels on the main plate. Those bushings i was able to get from another member here.
Hey there, I'm also working on my project like yours. Would you be able to point me in the direction where I can find such main plate. I'm also looking for one for my gen parts.
I mean the whole balance jewel assy. The main reason is, the hole on VSF 3235-100 main plate is bigger than Rolex cap diameter.
You cannot. There are several sellers on ebay selling 3235-100 main plate. But they are all fake ones. 3235-100 has serial number so it is extremely hard to find.
At the time of VSF first release 3235, VSF (or, xxxx watch factory) selling 3235 as a whole movement for $8000 but I missed. When I look at back on how much I spent on ordering gen parts, it is about this amount. But, there's no medicine for remorse.