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First Dial From Scratch!


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Most of the dials I use are either made specific to a certain movement, or are modified to fit other movements. But this time I needed a dial that would fit a specific size case(12s case) and would also fit the movement (10s) that I wanted to install in that case.

 

I thought it might be better to try and make one from scratch....

 

I milled it out of 18 gauge Brass Sheet. I wanted the look of a triple sunken dial and milled it on my lathe to mimic that look. Since it is a pretty thick dial, I had turn a seat at outer edge of the dial to allow the movement to sit at the right depth so that the stem would line up with the tube on the case.

 

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I'm very happy with how it turned out(pun intended) as it was my first ever attempt at doing this!

 

I'll update with a picture of the finished dial when I get it back from the refinishers...

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Will you solder on dial feet - or do you have another fixing method in mind? If feet, what will your method be for making them?

 

Looks good so far!

 

I soldered the dial feet using my Dial Feet solder machine, basically a welder. You'll notice the file marks from removing excess solder so that the dial seats flush with the movement.

 

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Nice looking job Don, I really appreciate quality engineering!

Have you worked out a style for the graphics?

 

I'm thinking a nice matt silver with either style of numbers in the following pictures...

 

This one I had done with a Howard movement...I posted it here in a previous post.

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I like the font in this dial. It looks a little more elegant!

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Finally got my custom made dial back from the "Dial Refinishers"...

They do pretty good work, but I'm kind of a perfectionist so I really notice the little flaws in their printing process...couple of wayward specs of dust caught in the finish coat and the 3 has a glob of paint in it.

All in All, it looks pretty nice, I do believe!

 

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Not the dial, but a good shot of the Hamilton 921 movement...

post-90-0-70934000-1403636549_thumb.jpg

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Thanks Geo! I do have to say that I'm pretty proud of this watch! Everything on this piece just kind of came together perfectly! And, I was very satisfied with this strap too! It compliments the dial color very well and it looks a heck of a lot more expensive than the $15 I paid for it...

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