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Showing content with the highest reputation on 02/14/20 in all areas

  1. Having a blast getting these old 70's hand held games back into working order.
    3 points
  2. Since I've been a member of this forum for a while now, I have noticed that other than the standard dial colors of black, white, grey, gold and silver, blue seems to be the color of choice for many of us here in WRT. I have always been attracted to blue dial watches, especially since it's my favorite color. Here are mine. Please feel free to share yours with us. Blue dial watches are on top, and blue accented watches on the bottom. 1978 Timex Falcon Eye 1979 Timex blue tv dial 70's Sicura Satellite 1973 Timex Mercury 1980's Seiko Quartz diver 1978 Timex Sprite Modern Invicta automatic Pro diver 70's Benrus Citation with blue accents (electronic balance movement) 2010's Fossil "Moden Machine Automatic" blue accents 70's Timex, 21 Jewels with blue accents 1973 Timex Marlin with blue accents.
    1 point
  3. Hi guys … I had promised that I would make a « custom decal dial tutorial » on another thread there So here we are … There are many variations of decal dials, the best IMHO being the « negative gilt » dials which gives the best results. The process I’m showing today is aabout how to make a dial with black printings on a one color background. I had a cheap quartz diver waiting in my drawers so I’ll make a Heuer diver hommage based on the 980.016 model (quartz one too). DAY 01 : It’s 4:30 AM (I’m an early bird) and I have 2 hours to kill before a business trip to Paris (I’m French) so I decide I have time enough to begin. The first part of the process is to prepare the dial plate : - stripped it, removing all the lumes bars and dots - soaked the dial for some minutes in acetone to remove the paint - filled the tiny holes where the bars and dots go with cyanolite glue - sand everything flat I sand with 800 and don’t try to get a smooth surface as I want the paint to adhere perfectly to thedial plate. Here is the result … Then I want to spray paint. I make a tube with some painter’s tape, from a « curve » with it and place it on a plastic bottle cap. I want it curved so that I can stick the dial on it without any risk of bstructing the center hole or the date window of the dial plate. So I stick the sanded dial plate on the tape tube. As you can guess from the pic below … that’s not the first time a make an orange dial. Then I place the bottle cap and dial plate on a paper sheet and spray paint in orange. I use street art spray paint as it is « water resistant ». As you can see on the next pic, I don’t try to get a smooth surface, or even to perfectly cover the dial plate at first. I will let this coat dry, sand it with 2000 grade, then spray 1 or 2 coats until I get a perfectly smooth orange dial plate, ready for receiving a decal. So I place the bottle cap and dial under a shooter glass and will let it dry for about 24 hours before sanding and spraying the second paint coat. The 24 hours drying time is really important (though it could depend on the paint you use). The paint I use looks perfectly dry after about 5 hours but if you spray the second coat without waiting enough, that coat won’t perfectly adhere to the first and you could get a granular surface like an orange peel. And here is the dial waiting under the shooter glass. On the right is a « negative gilt » dial (third and last matte varnish coat) On the background there are two Raketa 2609 movements from the 70ies, quietly (really loudly to be honest) ticking for test after I‘ve recently serviced them. Now it’s 5:45 AM so I will have a and go to the train station. I’ll sand the dial plate this evening and spray the second paint coat tomorrow morning. Then sand it in the evening and spray the third coat (if needed) the day after. DAY 02 - DAY 03 : So here's what you get after the first paint coat … doesn't look really good but no matter as there's still some work to do to get a better result. And here's what you get after 3 coats of paint, each one sanded with 2000 grade, to get a perfect finish, flat and smooth. Now the dial plate is eady to receive the decal. DAY 03 : I won’t explain anything about Photoshop and Illustrator here … I’ll only explain how I print my decals. One thing really important, from my own experience, is the definition of the design. I’ve tried several, from 1200ppp to 6000pp and the best results I’ve got on printing decal sheets were with a 4000ppp definition. So all my dial designs are done in 4000ppp. The result is really BIG files … for example an A6 template with 12 dial desings ready to print is about 800Mo. As that dial is black printing only I open it with Photoshop and let the softwre (so ont the printer) deal with the printing quality. My printer is an old Epson Picturemate with a 1200 maximum definition. As the good quality decal sheets are not cheap and as I’m a « skinflint» I often print on A7 sheets … 6 dial designs on one sheet. When printed you should let it dry for about 4 hours then spray 2 really thin coats of matte varnish, letting each coat dry for at least 12 hours (24 hours is better). DAY 04 - DAY 05 : 2 days of speed-hiking with my wife so I didn’t worked on that tuto. You can check on the net what speed-hiking is, but to summarize it’s hiking as fast as you can with really light backpacks, trying not to run (or only short runs). On a good day you can walk 5 to 6 miles/hour … when trained you can walk up to 6,5 miles/hour … and while I trained for my first 62 miles ultra I achieved to walk (no running) up to 6,85 miles/hour (11 km/heure). DAY 06 : Today is Monday 6:00 AM. It’s been 5 days since I begun that tutorial and … my legs ache and all my body is painful (see Day 04 - Day 05) The dial plate is ready and the decal sheet too. You can see that the decal sheet looks matte now. That is because I have sprayed 2 coats of matte varnish on it, to protect the inkjet ink while I’ll soak the decal in water. Of course if you print with a laser you won’t have to spray varnish as the laser inks are (almost) water resistant. First thing to do is to chose the best item on the decal sheet and cut it round. Then you are ready to go. On the next pic you can see all you need now : - dial plate … fixed on a foam board using the dial feets - decal dial … nicely cut round - tweezers - thin and smooth brush (mine’s a watercolor brush) - some « micro set » … or just vhite wine vinegar (it helps the decal to set on the dial plate) - cold water Now you put the decal in cold water and while it soaks you brush some micro-set (or white vinegar) on the dial plate. Then you put the decal on the dial plate. Here you can see why I prefer using clear decal sheets on coloured dial plates … because it’s much easier to « perfectly » positionate the decal, using the central hole and the date-window. When you’re happy with the position of your decal you use a paper tissue to absorb the excess of water. Do that carefully as you don’t want to move the decal on the plate. And here we are … everything worked fine while absorbing the water and the decal position is OK. I’ll let it dry for about 12 hours before I cut the central hole and the date window, before I proceed to the varnish finish. Still Day 06 but 7:00 PM The decal has dried for about 13 hours so now I can proceed on cutting the decal sheet That's what I do then I : - fix it back on the foam board - apply some « micro set » around the center hole, the date-window and the outer diameter - gently press with a paper tissue so that the decal is perfectly applied (no more «air bubbles) And I let dry for 3 hours more Evening … 10:00 PM Now the decal is « perfectly » applied and dried and ready for the finish Last pic for today is after spraying the first coat of glossy varnish I will let it dry for 12 hours, sand it with 2000 grade paper and apply the 2nd coat. DAY 07 : 20:00 AM … only 1 pic today just after finely sanding with 2000 grade the 2nd varnish coat I applied yesterday DAY 08 : Yesterday evening I applied the 3rd and final varnish coat after finelt sanding and cleaning And today I can show you the final result … and say I'm pretty happy That dial is so glossy it’not easy to get a good pic, even on close-up. May I say that me hpone is nit the best at shooting pics (just like me) and the actual dial is much much better that it looks on the pictures below. I hope that you liked that tutorial and that it could be helpfull to members who want to try to build their own watch dials. I’ll try to make better pics with a real camera and a better lens … next week of the week after, after luming the dial together with the hands. Then I will still have to get a case and rework it so that it could be a 980,016 lookalike. Some of you may wonder how much time did I spend to make that dial. It took 8 days to achieve the all process but I spent only 1 hour the first day then only from 15mnm to 5mn the days after. So, apart from the design work on Illustrator and Photoshop (which took me hours), I would say that the whole process is about 2 to 3 hours. I must say that it's not my first try at dial making and I've trained for 2 years now. So if you want to try you should consider spending a few more hours but it's really worth the time spent as at the end you get your unique DIY dial.
    1 point
  4. Hard to believe this is the same crystal. Used increasingly fine grits from 400 - 2000, wet sanded. I have no idea what the material of the crystal is.
    1 point
  5. Just off the topic of watches for a bit, I have to tell you about the time I closed a door in the school classroom. On the back it said this... If you notice this notice you will notice that this notice is not worth noticing.... I will always remember
    1 point
  6. I agree, so long as the original is preserved if avaialble, and there is no intention to deceive, then I see not problem with fitting a replacement dial. If a replacement is passed off as original however, then there is a problem.
    1 point
  7. I don't think there is any harm is replicating an original dial as long as you hang on to the original. That way it stays with the watch and can be put back if someone in the future desired it.
    1 point
  8. Well the M56 is well within the '70's Mo, mine being , according to the dial markings, 1978.... To keep on the Timex Electric theme, I got these two M69 ladies watches, including the original box, as part of a 'spares/repair' job lot, both only needed a new battery to get them going again Again 1978.... And this 'resurrection', built up from a new, old stock M40 movement and dial /hands assembly, with almost the right case from my every growing stock of spare Timex electric bits
    1 point
  9. Hi A short while ago there was a mention of re forming and adjusting balance springs. I mentioned I had made some tools from sewing needles with the eye ground down providing a fork with witch to adjust the springs. I used two sizes of needle, put in a pin vise and just stoned the end off. Done carefully they make usefull tools. Mine are just fitted into to old chopsticks and being square they don't roll about the bench. A sewing machine needle fitted into a handle also gives a good stiff tool for manipulating small parts and inspecting train wheels etc. These are not expensive to make in either time or materials but I wouldn't be without them.
    1 point
  10. It also looks like the end of the boot has broken off as well. The part that stops the hairspring from falling out between them, but it's hard to tell from your photo
    1 point
  11. Hi Paul, Looks clean. ETA 2451 and its family are true work horse. Rotor should be quite, normally can,t be heard and hardly ever develops a fault, if no slack and falls under own weight, should be OK. If it rattles, check winder module, clean lube reversers. If the rest of the watch looks good , could be for keeps. I thought you was going to service it yourself.
    1 point
  12. Sorry I didn't get back sooner. Because I lost Cookie my cat I wanted some time to myself. Nice to know you had the help you needed and it was successful. Keep up the good work. Members on here always like to help. Photos really help.
    1 point
  13. Hi all, My name is Cory and when not navigating my (frustratingly) demanding career I like to repair, service, and build watches. I am really excited to become a member of this forum and look forward to connecting with the community here. Outside of my mentor, I don't know any one else involved in this hobby/trade, so it will be wonderful to share experiences, seek advice from, and exchange images with you all. I've attached an picture of a recent service/conversion I did for a UT-6498. Thanks! Cory
    1 point
  14. Handsome Rolex! As a rule, I'm not a fan of your standard Rolexes. But I've seen 3 in the last week that caught my eye, yours is one of them.
    1 point
  15. Here are a couple of pics of the movement... -Paul
    1 point
  16. .. and this one, which I was fairly certain wouldn't join the club, as they are usually very popular. Oddly, even though it is a non runner, I was the only bidder, so the hammer fell at two and a half quid.
    1 point
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