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Case needed a lapping machine....So I improvised - Results are amateur but promising

thor447
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thor447 WRT Addict

thor447

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I decided to do a little improvisation last night. I had a case where the sides were extremely worn, dented, etc. The case lines were nearly worn completely down.

I've wanted a lapping machine for some time but those are far too expensive for my humble budget. I improvised by hooking up one of my sanders to a voltage regulator to bring the speed down as much as I could. I put some 1000 grit paper on the disc and started to gently work the side of the case. I'm quite surprised at what I was able to accomplish with these rag-tag tools and bit of creativity. I'm limited by the table because it can only adjust to 45 degrees, so there are some angles on that case I won't be able to reach properly. While looking up pictures on the internet of other examples of this case it looks like there was not a sharp line between the side wall and the lugs, so I just tried to bring back a gentle curve between those to sides. Not too bad for my first attempt! I'm going to keep moving forward and go up to 2500 grit and see what I can get out of this before moving on to the polishing wheel.

 

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Screenshot2023-11-28060747.thumb.png.a9ecccc0f9b352f7dd5d1ed9b52282cd.png

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Edited by thor447
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thor447 WRT Addict

thor447

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1 hour ago, watchweasol said:

Hi A tidy job. Improvisation sometimes produces remarkable out comes.   Nice one

Thanks.  I need to work on my photography, clearly!  The rebuild video came out pretty well, but I still struggle with getting a good still shot.  It's a skill that I have yet to learn.  I mainly rely on luck, which isn't reliable at all, haha!

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thor447 WRT Addict

thor447

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16 minutes ago, Neverenoughwatches said:

Look great, did you re-brush the top edge or is that how it was ?

I re-brushed it.  Originally it had vertical brushing, but it was all but gone by the time I got the watch. The light reflecting off the top makes it difficult to see the brushing, but it actually looks pretty good in normal light.  As I stated earlier, I'm not a photographer by trade, haha!

I tinker with watches and occasionally upload a video to YouTube, including one for this watch.  I'm not here to promote my channel, as I've been a member here long before I began uploading content (started doing it at the request of a friend).  YouTube is just a hobby, and this is a place I can come to ask for advice, look at other's projects, and is a wealth of knowledge (on top of Mark's courses which I thoroughly enjoyed).  I did not want to sour that by trying to promote a YouTube channel here.  If you'd like I can send you a message with a link to the video.  I recorded the entire process of using the disc sander and brushing the case.  It isn't perfect by any means, but I think it turned out pretty well with the tools I had on hand.

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