Raffles Explorer/space Dweller 2824-2 build with some questions

[paul837 6]

Hiho,

First 2824 build

• Raffles case
• Raffles dial - matte :(
• CousinsUK movement and stem 
• Aliexpress hands
• Tropic dome 295.469

 

1. Beat up the case, sanded to brushed     

2. Swapped glass to acyrilic, had to use glass press as the jaw wouldnt work for me, its solid fit, not coming out. Not pressure tested it but think its ok. Not sure if the £15 jaw I bought is just crap but I could not get it to grab no matter what. Is there a purpose made vice type simular to how I pressed it?

3. Aged dial slightly just painted lume with coffee, might do hands later however the color matches well as is. Cut 2 dial feet off

4. Messed up a 2824-2 movement on the stem lock, it wouldn't lock after I removed stem. Next movement I used a screwdriver (not a poker) and release stem in dateset position (not timeset). Sucks to repair bin a £85 movement especally when I felt i was gentle enough but I suppose this is the game we play. 

5. Raffles case included movement holder ring, movement case tabs+screws. However the included case clamps only reach to the movement ring.. I think lots of people do this build with 2824-2 so I'd love to hear what others found?

6. Aliexpress hands went on, the second hand didn't seem to fit so I stuck it on a smaller movement post (might have been a NH35), which seemed to help it, after it went on nicely after.

7. I continued build with some cheap movement clamps from a mixed 100 pack box, not happy with the ones I use, maybe not long enough, asked Rafflesdials for feedback why his included clamps don't seem correct. Anyone know??

8. Cut down stem to 16.3 but shaved a little more with file, might take down a tiny bit more in the future but thread locked on 

9. Gasket on and left unregulated as +13

Final thoughts were, this hobby can be frustrating and costly, like my raffles DG2813, I found the included parts didn't even fit the movement.  I think the NH35 is a good movement to use in these cases, nothing but good experience with them.

My 'modern' Cartier build that has no drilled lugs,  no aging or domed and only runs a miyoto 8215 that stops running when the caseback is tightend fully, I don't know why but it runs like a dream when I use a oversized gasket or just slackle the caseback off so its not pressing hard.

[paul837 6]

Answers to the red, observations and knowledge sharing is more than welcome, I did this to learn more than anything. If anyone has any questions directed to me or would like more photos please ask

[NCRich 13,748]

1.       You can’t install a plexi in a bezel/case assembly that is made for a sapphire glass.  It requires a new, wider bezel.  The plexi fits over the inner rehaut lip, then the bezel ring is pressed over the plexi.  The seal is made by the pressure between the inner and outer bezel.

2.       If you are going to build watches you have to be able to reset the keyless.  It’s not that hard and there are tutorials.

3.       The movement tabs are generic, you need a box of assorted ones to use different cases.

4.       Replica watches are always a hodgepodge of sizes.  You have to adapt.

5.       The case back is placing pressure on something.  It doesn’t take much to stop it from running.

 

[paul837 6]

Hi Rich,

Thanks for reply.

1.       You can’t install a plexi in a bezel/case assembly that is made for a sapphire glass.  It requires a new, wider bezel.  The plexi fits over the inner rehaut lip, then the bezel ring is pressed over the plexi.  The seal is made by the pressure between the inner and outer bezel.

I noticed that the glass gasket underneither looks just like the set up on my raffles 39mm case, which comes with a domed acryilic as default. My logic was that I compress the acrylic then the pressure of the acrylic side walls pushes it against the glass gasket. The pressure from my fit is so great that the acrylic wont even spin due to the friction, just like the 39mm case was from raffles. You're sure this isn't a proper/acceptable fit?

2.       If you are going to build watches you have to be able to reset the keyless.  It’s not that hard and there are tutorials.

When I find a tutorial that's specific to movement and instructs only to reset keyless i'll have a go. They all seem to be full disassemble. 

3.       The movement tabs are generic, you need a box of assorted ones to use different cases.

Hopefully this generic one I used is big enough to hold

4.       Replica watches are always a hodgepodge of sizes.  You have to adapt.

5.       The case back is placing pressure on something.  It doesn’t take much to stop it from running.

It looks like the caseback sits within the tabs shown and sandwiches the dial against the front, i'm wondering now if the hands are pushing against the glass, although it seems the case design would stop the dial from being further pushed further to the glass, since dial sits under a chapter ring type bezel 

I've closed the caseback tightly but with a thicker 0.9 gasket, I think I can just see the gasket through a tiny gap between caseback, definitely no problem on my other build that's identical except for the hands (perhaps the second hand tube is longer on this problematic one).

The only options I see is to change the glass for a higher inside clearance (if it is the hands touching glass), or file down the caseback screw section so that its no longer pushing down as hard against this movement holder.

Perhaps although its described as a case for the 8215, its acually not a good fit. I think my future project wil be to replace it with 2836 as I really don't like its not hackable on this movement anyway.

 

 

[paul837 6]

Just to add for (7) the movement case clamps used were 4mm from my personal stash, they fall a little short. I think 4.5mm or 5mm would be best.

Raffles supplied some tiny 3.4mm ones. He usually seems to supply 6mm length case clamps (which seem far too big to me???). He said he'll find some others for me. Great guy to deal with! God knows how much I spent there now.

[tribefan 6,768]

Search for this on aliexpress:

240Pcs Watch Casing Clamp Movement Adapter Securing Screw Washer Repair Part Tools with Box for ETA 2824 2836 2846

$9 USD

[tribefan 6,768]

Finally - on the watch stopping, I have had this issue on a cheap Ali watch forever and it is definitely the case. I have swapped three different movement, different spacer rings and same problem, watch randomly stops running once the case back is on. 

[NCRich 13,748]

This is how to put it together.  I really should do a tutorial on this, I've done it a thousand times.

http://kronometric.org/article/eta/eta_keyless_assy.html

 

[splke 4,383]

2 minutes ago, NCRich said:

This is how to put it together.  I really should do a tutorial on this, I've done it a thousand times.

http://kronometric.org/article/eta/eta_keyless_assy.html

 

 What happens when reinserting stem that buggers the keyless in first place? 

Can it be avoided or is it just one of those things that are unavoidable from time to time 

[NCRich 13,748]

13 minutes ago, splke said:

 What happens when reinserting stem that buggers the keyless in first place? 

Can it be avoided or is it just one of those things that are unavoidable from time to time 

Usually got buggered when you took it out, you just didn't know it.  Rolie told me to put a little grease on the stem when reinserting it to ease it in.  Focus on the word "little" 

 

Don't lube it like @TheGingerFerret's dildo.

[GingerApple 7,285]

4 minutes ago, NCRich said:

Usually got buggered when you took it out, you just didn't know it.  Rolie told me to put a little grease on the stem when reinserting it to ease it in.  Focus on the word "little" 

 

Don't lube it like @TheGingerFerret's dildo.

100%. It might slide all the way in and need surgical removal. The stem I mean.

[paul837 6]

22 minutes ago, splke said:

 What happens when reinserting stem that buggers the keyless in first place? 

Can it be avoided or is it just one of those things that are unavoidable from time to time 

Likely because I depressed the stem release button with a poker, its designed to be pushed by a screw driver so that the sides prevent it being pushed to deeply. Some say to release in time or date set position rather than wind.

I've done it on a DG2813 as well, never on any non chinese movements, perhaps its a cost/performance thing.

Thanks for the links guys, some day i'll come back to it.

[splke 4,383]

Yep I think I pressed too hard a few times also I didn't realise you don't press the button when rebuilding so probs fucked it twice 

[wozurd 3]

lovely beginner builds, Your info on raffles has brought me some peace of mind, what are average wait times on parts?

[paul837 6]

On 14/10/2022 at 13:43, wozurd said:

lovely beginner builds, Your info on raffles has brought me some peace of mind, what are average wait times on parts?

Its free shipping speedpak, usually he ships out on thursday for my orders. Very fast, less than 20 days to UK with no customs issues. I had him ship mine out for 5 or 6 seperate orders for about $100 each. 

[NH_Vintage 101]

@paul837 is the Air King to the right of your photo a Raffles build?

Which case did you use please.

Edited February 23, 2023 by Essex_Loupe

[paul837 6]

On 17/02/2023 at 09:55, Essex_Loupe said:

@paul837 is the Air King to the right of your photo a Raffles build?

Which case did you use please.

It was the raffles 36mm case.

The dial was too large to use in a 34mm case unless you filed it down.