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Popperini

Problem! SEL bracelet on bluesy has been fitted using 2mm springbars...

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Glaude

I know I shouldn't laugh, but this was such a fun thread !

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tribefan

In the guitar world, we call that "relic'd" and charge twice as much for it.

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FunnyStarSystem

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Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. 

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Popperini

And so it continued...

I’m going to see if I can salvage the TT bracelet SELs by replacing the wrecked outer sections. I have a couple of potential donor scrap SEL bracelets I can use.

First stage was to removing the wrecked bits. I achieved this by initially clamping one side section in a vise and hauling on the other with pliers, then tapping a Stanley blade between the sections, opening them up enough to get a case knife in the gap and prise them apart. Obviously I didn’t have to worry about damaging the outer parts, so extreme prejudice could be employed... The donor outer sections are going to need more sensitive handling.

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It all went fine till the last one (well, quelle surprise), which came out but left one of its pins in the centre section. And of course one of the BLOODY 2mm springbars, which is also jammed in the centre piece.

I Jerry rigged a clamp arrangement that would allow me to secure the bracelet and yank on the stuck pin, which is now out. But I’m still fighting with the hollow springbar. I may have to... drill it out... lol

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GingerApple

If in doubt, drill. 

Or laser weld.

What could go wrong? :ohwell:

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Popperini

And drilling did the trick. Well, almost - I used a 2mm drill bit as a drift and whammed the springbar out with the aid of a big hammer.

So, I then rummaged in my bracelets box and the spares... They're 97200 style - for 6 digit Subs. And of course the outer sections of the SELs are a different size/shape. GRRRR.

So if anyone happens to have a 93250 bracelet going cheep, I'd love to hear from ya. Note that it has to have 3 part SELs - a lot of cheap rep bracelets have the SELs cast in single piece. Alternatively, just sell me a nice complete TT 93153 or 93253 bracelet, and I'll chuck this bunch of parts away. :) 

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k4jun
On 01/06/2021 at 10:14, Popperini said:

I'm not sure what the cost is for laser welding - but good point, it'd be worth getting a quote. It has crossed my mind (I also have a 16610 with a dented TC case that I keep meaning to send to Adrian for welding).

Oh, in other news - the bracelet still won't come off. I'm about to attack it with an angle grinder, and when that fails, a gas axe.

It is not crazy expensive, I paid less than 100 euro for filling in 3 big dings on my gen, so imo it was worth it... for gen, for the rep case I might been reluctant to pay for lw.:ohwell:

Fuck me dead, this thread was entertaining :woo::thumbsup:

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Glaude
8 hours ago, Popperini said:

So if anyone happens to have a 93250 bracelet going cheep, I'd love to hear from ya. Note that it has to have 3 part SELs - a lot of cheap rep bracelets have the SELs cast in single piece. Alternatively, just sell me a nice complete TT 93153 or 93253 bracelet, and I'll chuck this bunch of parts away. :) 

I believe the Ginger has one, but it goes with a case and some flangeless springbar have been used ... does that sound familiar ?

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Oascom

Wtf is going on over here ... Lol 

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Popperini
6 hours ago, Oascom said:

Wtf is going on over here ... Lol 

Nothing to see here... move along...

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Oascom
2 hours ago, Popperini said:

Nothing to see here... move along...

:shithappens:

 

You fuc... it up royally haha, good job !

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Wires
5 hours ago, Oascom said:

:shithappens:

 

You fuc... it up royally haha, good job !

Just for future reference how would you as a watchmaker have tackled this job? The correct way is  probably a lot less entertaining than what Popps did

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Popperini
5 hours ago, Oascom said:

:shithappens:

 

You fuc... it up royally haha, good job !

:thumbsup2:

21 minutes ago, Wires said:

Just for future reference how would you as a watchmaker have tackled this job? The correct way is  probably a lot less entertaining than what Popps did

As long as it was an entertaining read, I’m happy. 

But I don’t think there are any other options when presented with this problem. What made it such a shit show is that I’m terribly ill-equipped for this kind of mechanical surgery - because I’m ham-fisted, unskilled and impatient. 

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Oascom

This could work but instead of a drill you could use a milling bit. Not sure if you can lock your drill at certain height and thats the problem 

 

I have a micro milling machine and this would be easy to precisely take it out

jaQ12E.jpg

 

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GingerApple
1 hour ago, Oascom said:

This could work if you weren't so fucking useless but instead of a drill you could use a milling bit. Not sure if you can lock your drill at certain height, but I suspect you are the problem 

 

I have a micro milling machine and this would be easy for me to precisely take it out. I'm sure you'd still fuck it up regardless.

Fixed it for you.

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deju

:rofl: 

come on let’s not help too much, it’s a bloody adventure watching our very own forum Jeremy Clarkson attempt these things. 

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NCRich

I think that threads like this make it all worthwhile.

 

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Popperini
10 minutes ago, deju said:

:rofl: 

come on let’s not help too much, it’s a bloody adventure watching our very own forum Jeremy Clarkson attempt these things. 

I LOLed, although it does really hurt to be labelled a Jezza. I'm assuming this is in reference to his latest incarnation as "a farmer" - which I refuse to watch on the grounds that I don't want to feel like I'm making the objectionable twat any richer than he already is - same goes for everything he's done post Top Gear. Although I already am contributing to his fortune, by subscribing to Amazon Prime in the first place. Damn.

1 hour ago, Oascom said:

This could work but instead of a drill you could use a milling bit. Not sure if you can lock your drill at certain height and thats the problem 

Well I've already spent way too much on equipment that I can't use properly - so investing in yet more machinery I'd use like a plonker really isn't going to help. But I do appreciate the wise words of advice! :) 

However, my drill press has a milling bed attached, and I can raise the height of the bed while leaving the drill bit stationary, if I needed to (not sure if that's what you mean by "lock the drill at a certain height" though - see below). Which effectively gives me the functionality of a milling machine. But, it's a drill press, not a milling machine - and I've read that a drill press isn't designed to deal with the lateral forces involved in milling. All that having been said, I don't understand how a milling machine/bit would have helped in this scenario, where I needed to drill down through the slot in the end link to drill out the spring bar. 

But if the "locking" you're referring to keeps the vertical movement of the drill from descending beyond a certain height, then yes - that definitely would have helped prevent me from drilling right through the end link. Although I'd have still found a way to cock it up. I'm an artist, not an engineer - so I might try to be methodical and measure things, but the moment I've measured it I've forgotten what the number was and what I was even measuring it for.

 

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deju

@Popperini I’d actually suggest try the farming one, he’s very different from the usual persona he plays. It’s actually probably the best show he’s done. 

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GingerApple
1 hour ago, Popperini said:

I'm an artist, not an engineer

You're right, we're judging you by the wrong standards.

Perhaps you could post a picture of the finished Snoopy you made out of modelling clay?

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hasel5

As above from the ginger pink nice man 

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Popperini
5 minutes ago, deju said:

@Popperini I’d actually suggest try the farming one, he’s very different from the usual persona he plays. It’s actually probably the best show he’s done. 

Well… I have read good reviews of it, so maybe I’ll give it a chance at some point. 

While we’re on the subject telly, I need to recommend a BBC4 documentary called “Garage People”. It’s all about what goes on in rows of old lockups outside a run-down town in the Russian Arctic. And it’s brilliant. 

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Popperini
1 hour ago, TheGingerFerret said:

You're right, we're judging you by the wrong standards.

Perhaps you could post a picture of the finished Snoopy you made out of modelling clay?

I know I’ve got a terrible memory, but I think I’d remember if I’d ever committed to making a small Snoopy in a spacesuit out of modelling clay. 

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Diplomatico

Oh, I'd forgotten about this thread. Thanks for the bump and mood boost :-) 

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tribefan
7 hours ago, deju said:

:rofl: 

come on let’s not help too much, it’s a bloody adventure watching our very own forum Jeremy Clarkson attempt these things. 

 

5 hours ago, TheGingerFerret said:

You're right, we're judging you by the wrong standards.

Perhaps you could post a picture of the finished Snoopy you made out of modelling clay?

Thanks Kaleb.

4 hours ago, hasel5 said:

As above from the ginger pink nice man 

Is that you Gerald?

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