Logixa 8 Posted July 24, 2018 I'm working on building my own vintage Franken datejust after having bought one from the Dj-master himself @BabaNJ. He sent me some dwo and an old dial to practice on and I'm now at the point to actual build one. So here are the parts that ill be using: Gen 1601 pie pan silver Gen engine turned bezel SS Clark Crystal raffled datejust case, jubilee bracelet model American with bigger crown, dwo Asian 2836 thats been serviced by me. I received the dial today and ran quickly to my little room workplace and inspected the dial. It seems in a very nice condition for something that it this old. I clipped the feet off and grinded the rest down with a dremel on slow speed I placed the dial on the movement to see how the dwo lines up and corrected the dwo until it lined up good enough. Tip: line up the 3 hour marker on the dial with the stem of the movement to be sure that it's straight. Usually the dial is fitted to the movement using some kind of double sided adhesive or putty. And so I did it too. But it got me thinking.. What if I can place the dial feet back on the moment but this time to fit a eta 28xx movements?! Why not try it? I placed the dial on the movement and the adhesive kept it in place. I moved it up and down left and right to get it centered with the hole in the middel and the hands pinions and the 3 o'clock marker with the moment stem. I turned the movement and dial upside down and saw that the place for the feet actually is accessible with a toothpick or anything else small. I clipped the dial feet off of an old dial and placed these into the movement dial feet holes to see if they were long enough. And they were! I took an epoxy and with the dial feet in the hole and sitting on dial I just added a really small amount of epoxy with a toothpick between the feet and the dial and let the whole sit for a couple of minutes I carefully took the dial off and the feet were still on it, woohooo! So I added more epoxy around the feet and let it sit for a night for a full cure. And now the waiting game starts for me to receive the rest of the parts and finish this puppy. Stay tuned! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RussP 22,204 Posted July 26, 2018 Excellent work so far. Please keep this thread updated. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Logixa 8 Posted July 26, 2018 thanks guys! I expect to have the rest of the parts delivered somewhere in the upcoming 2 weeks or so. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
thking1 0 Posted July 27, 2018 Nice work! I am interested in how good the raffles case is. Please be sure to give us some pics/feedback with what you find there. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
J!m 289 Posted July 27, 2018 Glad to see you restored the feet... It really bugs me to see a dial with no feet. FYI for the future: you can get replacement feet, which have a wide flat (and thin) top on them to accept epoxy with a lot less mess. You may find it necessary to grind some of your epoxy away before you assemble. And, don't forget your date wheel spacer ring under the dial!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Logixa 8 Posted July 28, 2018 22 hours ago, J!m said: Glad to see you restored the feet... It really bugs me to see a dial with no feet. FYI for the future: you can get replacement feet, which have a wide flat (and thin) top on them to accept epoxy with a lot less mess. You may find it necessary to grind some of your epoxy away before you assemble. And, don't forget your date wheel spacer ring under the dial!!! Haha thanks Jim! I noticed too that the mess of the epoxy causes problems with the datewheel grinding on it so I have cut off a piece of the epoxy now with a tacto knife that would hit the datewheel. Those dial feet you are talking about are the ones from Bergeon right? I was looking at them the other day The dial spacer is also sitting on the movement waiting for the dial Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dylan88888 24 Posted July 28, 2018 Well done for jumping into the building phase. I’m not brave enough to do so. Hope your build goes well. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Logixa 8 Posted August 1, 2018 update! Ok so i received all the packages needed to complete this build yesterday. Upon receiving i went immediately to my working room and set the things ready to start building. First I remove the standard fluted bezel and crystal and replace it with the gen engine turned bezel and clarks crystal. New pieces back on the case. Alignment of the cyclops is always a pain in the ass.. And from that point all shit went down south.. The misses had a bad day so guess who got the bucket of shit on him? yes, this guy! I had to complete the build quickly and i've stumbled upon several issues: 1. The dial feet came off together with the epoxy that was holding it... I need to get a stronger glue or something. Right now its hold using double sided adhesive but the adhesive is too thick and not strong enough. I've ordered new dial dots and feet from cousinsuk. 2. The DJ raffles case came without case clamp screws.. Crap.. 3. The current cannon pinion had issues. The hour and second hand were moving perfectly but the minute hand didn't move with time. Only when setting the time, would it move... So i replaced the canon pinion. 4. Getting the old fluted bezel off was a pain in the ass. It was very hard to stick my knife in between the case and bezel. i am going to buy a bezel removal tool from Aliexpress. 5. The jubilee bracelet end links do not fit the case properly, as in the springbars had to be bent to enter the case holes. wtf?.. So you see, modding CAN go wrong and requires you to be creative and work with what you have to come with a solution. The watch is currently assembled as I just couldn't bare to wait any longer and wanted to see if it works properly. New equipment and gear is on order. When I receive the new stuff, ill dismantle it again and assemble it but with more pictures. Some eyecandy, it looks amazing irl IMHO [url=https://ibb.co/gKbE1K][/url] [url=https://ibb.co/fMM3ve][/url] [url=https://ibb.co/g15JTz][/url] Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
deju 1,873 Posted August 1, 2018 I get the itch to do a vintage build so thank you for you’re honest appraisal of the journey,.. for me what can will go wrong all issues aside. It looks good mate Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BabaNJ 38 Posted August 1, 2018 Nice work. These builds always have some minor issue that ends up being a big pain in the ass. So be ready to assemble/disassemble multiple time. At least you can service the movements, my biggest $ drain is busting movements upon tryin to fix some minor issue. You need smooth bezel and oyster braclet with that dial by the way it would make it pop out much more. This is how it would look. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Logixa 8 Posted August 1, 2018 nice! Oh crap i just realised that this is a 1603 build and not 1601. Time to change the topic name Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Luxuracer 14 Posted August 1, 2018 Good job ... and very nice write-up, ... @Logixa This is exactly why I would leave the modding to guys like you and @BabaNJ ... buddy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Logixa 8 Posted August 1, 2018 @Luxuracer thanks mate! loving words. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Logixa 8 Posted August 9, 2018 The build is complete! Muhahah So the new dial feet, dial spots, movement case mounting screws and some other stuff arrived. Time to rebuild the whole! First we rough up the surface a bit so that the epoxy will bond better. I used dial feet of bergen now, they a have a small round pad on 1 side that gives it more surface to stick to. I roughed up that surface too a bit Now to add the feet with epoxy. In order to have the feet in the exact position for an eta, I used the dwo tool and a piece of Rodico. The Rodico is to have a small distance between the dwo tool and the dial so that the excess epoxy will not stick to the dwo tool I had left the epoxy to cure for 48 hours straight and when it was all cured, I started the assembly. Since all parts have been assembled before, no modding was needed. Just a bit of realigning the date wheel overlay. Tadaaaaaaaa fuckeeeeeeeerss! A 1603 with gen dial, gen bezel, raffles case and on a Rivet bracelet! What was that song again? RIVET STYLE MOTHER FUCKER TU TU TUUU TUUUUU TUTU.... oh yeah since I was already at it, I refitted some feet to the two tone too. 1 feet eventually stil came off during assembly but hey, the dial wont move with 1 feet either. So good enough for me Oh yeah an extra, I have a new gmt Pepsi from fellow member @nummer14 and I love it! It may not be Gen spec but it rocks and has a Asian eta in it! I only opened the case back and crown to grease the gaskets while at it. Logixa over and out! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BM284 1,518 Posted August 13, 2018 Well done - that worked out very well indeed. A great work though thread to boot for any aspiring modders out there tip of the hat to you sir Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Luxuracer 14 Posted August 13, 2018 Nice ... ! Does it run? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GingerApple 7,285 Posted August 13, 2018 Nice work dude! Not just a pretty face Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Logixa 8 Posted August 13, 2018 @Luxuracer yes it does my man! it has been one of my favorite watches since completion. It looks really good and runs about +12 seconds a day @GingerBlubba thanks! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MatteoB 0 Posted January 2, 2021 (edited) Wonderful project! Where did you buy the Datewheel overlay? Is the one from Raffles? Is this one: http://rafflesdials.com/one-pc-white-date-disc-wheel-overlay-with-flat-3-and-open-6-9-for-eta-2836-or-dg-2813-or-miyota-8215-automatic-movement-fit-the-mens-rolex-3135-steel-submariner-or-gmt-master-or-yacht-master-watch/ ? It looks different Edited January 2, 2021 by MatteoB Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
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