repmaster1234 49 Posted February 16, 2018 (edited) Hi folks, I would like to offer a special thanks to @NCRich and @Bart Cordell for providing me with all the measurements and moral support that I needed to complete this project. For the past few months I've been working on a project that I'm sure many vintage watch enthusiasts have considered embarking on themselves - creating a bakelite bezel insert for the 6542. This all started off because A) I thought these inserts were beautiful and B) I wanted to create an affordable alternative to the $250-500 Vietnam inserts. After many months of struggling with seemingly every little task, I finally managed to get a decent end product. So, before I spoil you with pictures ....how did I do it? Well, first off I decided that the easiest way to do this damn thing would be with 3D printing, as I am familiar with AutoCAD. So I downloaded as many reference photos I could find of original bakelite inserts, threw them into Adobe Illustrator and began making a pattern that I would later import into CAD. There were many iterations of this drawing. Some of the earlier ones I experimented on with Blender, a free 3D modeling program. These attempts were very crude, and I ditched this program eventually as it was causing many headaches. After weeks of tinkering around, I was satisfied with the drawing I had created, and I found an excellent alternative to Blender that was much more intuitive to use - so I imported the pattern and got to modeling. At the beginning, I figured it would be smart to make a 3D model of a mold for a bezel so I could pour in clear plastic and create as many as I needed to - makes sense right? Well apparently plastic bonds to plastic, so this idea - and the many 3D models that came with it - were tossed out the window. Bye! Now my only option was to model the bezel itself, which was actually less annoying than trying to model a mold for one. Here are renderings I created from my first effort, not too bad but still a lot to improve clearly. After much refining, I came up with something that I thought was reasonably accurate enough to print. So I did. I received my baby in the mail after waiting for two looonnng weeks. I was overjoyed! Now all I needed was a mold. I did much research, and came to the conclusion that a silicon mold was my best option to produce clear resin castings. Here's what I came up with. The pencil became the pour spout and the toothpicks are to allow trapped air bubbles to escape. This is when I started to realize why these things are so damn expensive. Now all I had to do was pour in the resin, produce a bunch of really shitty reproductions because I have no idea what I'm doing (seriously, so shitty), until I finally managed to create this: A crystal clear "bakelite" insert. I decided that I wanted the lume to actually function as per the original, so I bought some powder and delicately painted it into the numerals. I then hand painted both the red and the blue halves. I wanted to give this one a vintage look, because I find those inserts to be the most attractive. The ones where the blue fades to a seafoam color and looks like a cloudy sky (I've spent way too much time looking at pictures of bakelite inserts clearly). Here it is halfway finished and with only one coat of paint. and from the front side And after many more coats of paint... In the sun And a lume shot VS the real deal All in all, I'm pretty satisfied with the way this turned out, and hopefully my future castings will only improve in quality - one can only hope. I think I'll sell this one on Ebay for Vietnam prices to recoup the many hundreds of dollars I've spent making this damn thing...and to provide me with funds to make a new round of inserts to sell to my rep-world friends. Thanks for reading. Edited February 16, 2018 by repmaster1234 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NCRich 13,739 Posted February 16, 2018 WOWWWWWW! Nice work mate. I guess I'll have to lume your dial this weekend. (on my work schedule anyway) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mr_B 2,401 Posted February 16, 2018 Looks fantastic. Good effort mate. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GingerApple 7,271 Posted February 16, 2018 To think that I feel a sense of satisfaction when I resize a bracelet. Wow. Tekkers buddy!!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Glaude 1,615 Posted February 16, 2018 Great work and great pictures, thank for sharing ! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
repmaster1234 49 Posted February 16, 2018 22 minutes ago, NCRich said: WOWWWWWW! Nice work mate. I guess I'll have to lume your dial this weekend. (on my work schedule anyway) Don't get me too excited, I'm still riding the high from this project. Just remember to lay off the coffee the day of luming 10 minutes ago, Glaude said: Great work and great pictures, thank for sharing ! 14 minutes ago, GingerBubba said: To think that I feel a sense of satisfaction when I resize a bracelet. Wow. Tekkers buddy!!!! 18 minutes ago, Mr_B said: Looks fantastic. Good effort mate. Thank you all Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wolfwood 3 Posted February 16, 2018 Amazing! Now I finally know how they make those Bakelites. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nikosaldente 630 Posted February 16, 2018 Amazing result! The feeling of accomplishing something like that in your own is very satisfying! I once managed to copy a pretty expensive nose clip used for Free Diving! I made it from Resin used in Dentistry! I ended up spending almost as much as it would cost buying the real thing, but this one I had done it myself! Great job, well done! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
frankfrank 1,125 Posted February 16, 2018 Wow this is really cool Well done Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
paccbet 7,176 Posted February 16, 2018 I think I need a 6542 now Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
deju 1,858 Posted February 16, 2018 That’s simply impressive on every level!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
repmaster1234 49 Posted February 16, 2018 45 minutes ago, Nikosaldente said: Amazing result! The feeling of accomplishing something like that in your own is very satisfying! I once managed to copy a pretty expensive nose clip used for Free Diving! I made it from Resin used in Dentistry! I ended up spending almost as much as it would cost buying the real thing, but this one I had done it myself! Great job, well done! What a great story! Do you happen to have pics? I'd love to see Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nikosaldente 630 Posted February 17, 2018 9 hours ago, repmaster1234 said: What a great story! Do you happen to have pics? I'd love to see I'm away from home for the weekend! I'll try to find the molds and final result and post them in the week Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Logixa 8 Posted February 17, 2018 Wow this is really cool! I can always appreciate some diy! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Explorr 4 Posted February 17, 2018 I truly admire you and your work. Could I do it, even if I wanted? More than doubt it. Congrats ! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Psssniper 84 Posted February 18, 2018 Awesome work! I'm impressed with the perseverance and the results. Thanks for sharing Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
repmaster1234 49 Posted February 18, 2018 Thanks for all the support. I refinished the topcoat to make it suitable for listing on the 'bay. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
repmaster1234 49 Posted March 4, 2018 New one, went for a more NOS look. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Genius 281 Posted March 4, 2018 Damn that's good! I really want one Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
deju 1,858 Posted March 4, 2018 That’s really slick! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
paccbet 7,176 Posted March 4, 2018 You definitely deserve that “master” in your name Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nico23 0 Posted May 5, 2023 Repmaster1234, please contact me concerning this bakelit insert on [email protected] …. thanks Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
