Carrera CV2A10 Case, Pushers, Bezel Insert, Chapter Ring Work In Progress

[SSTEEL 0]

Thanks, been enjoying documenting everything so far, not to mention the actual case work. The pushers are going to be the most challenging, but I am hopeful I will get the gens fitted, and watertight.

[SSTEEL 0]

Photos of Genuine Tag Heuer black bezel insert...

 

 

 

Measurement of this is 42.7mm. I have measured (with tape measure) my rep insert and its the same. Will measure the rep again once I fix my digital callipers.

 

The gen insert is part of my next gen parts order which consists of..

 

Bezel Insert

Chapter Ring (photos will be posted when I get them)

Case Back

Crystal

Crystal & Case Back gaskets.

 

Will update soon with photo comparisons of the CV2A10 Carrera Rep cases.

[Pharmo 33]

making good progress mate.. I wait in anticipation

[Duzza 182]

Cant wait to see the outcome

[SSTEEL 0]

OK, had some more spare time today so got to work with the black bezelled Carrera case. Now you may recall me stating the following earlier about this case..

 

I can now confirm that the black bezel 43mm Carrera is a different construction than that of the chromed bezel 43mm Carrera.

 

The black bezel insert came out very easily, and is held in place with double sided thin sticky tape, and not snapped into position.

 

 

Now whilst the above quote is true, the construction is indeed different, this difference being the bezel. I first thought that the black bezelled Carrera case's bezel was fixed, and not removable, but looking closely through my loupe at the outer circumference there was evidence proving otherwise, but was my eyes playing tricks on me I asked myself.

 

Well, after some failed attempts prising the bezel off with a plastic phone tool (intended use for opening phones cases), I then turned my attention to something more suitable, but wondered if I was on a hiding to nothing, and would I screw up the case, resulting it being scrap. I thought sod it, only one way to find out, experiment in the aid of helping others learn

 

My weapon of choice was the case back removal tool for push in case backs, you know the one, looks like a knife. Mine was in the RWG tool kit, and come in handy here, along with the RWG hammer, I lined up the sharp part of the blade into the bezel edge, and tapped it gently with the metal end of the hammer, and off the bezel popped

 

Here's a photo showing the difference in construction between the chromed bezel Carrera (left), and the black bezel Carrera (right).

 

 

Arty shot :P

 

A closer look at the chromed bezel case (note: only one hole at 12 inside to home the chapter ring).

 

 

And next the black bezel case (note: two holes, 1@12 & 1@6).

 

 

Now to my eye, looking at both these cases, they somehow looks slightly different as mentioned earlier..

 

 

Both the first Carrera donor case, and this second one, even though both are stated on their case backs as CV2A10 Carrera models, I have to say, they looks very slightly different to my franken case. More noticeable in the lug areas, but very minor.

 

On the donor cases, the lug profile is shorter, and not as wide as my franken. I will add photos showing this difference, and also some measurements once my digital calliper is fixed as I broke my lcd.

 

Still not had time to fix my digital calliper, so took a few photos in the hope to capture the slight differences in the case profiles. The two donor cases are identical in profile, so in the following photos I used my franken, removing the bracelet one side in a hope to detail these differences..

 

Franken on top..

 

 

I then fitted the case back to the donor case, and took some more photos hoping to show the minute differences. (Just hope its not my eyes playing tricks on me as I am yet to see these photos, only looking at the thumbnails and IMG tags :P

 

 

And just a reminder, and a closer look at the two types of Carrera removable bezels.

 

Black insert bezel

 

 

Black insert bezel on the right

 

 

Closer look at the two (The chromed bezel insert is not an insert at all, its all one piece, unlike the black bezel insert Carrera)..

 

 

So that concludes my investigational work on the cases, and now its just a case of fixing my digital calliper, and awaiting delivery of my genuine Tag parts to arrive.

 

Thanks for following

[SSTEEL 0]

Was getting ahead of myself then, what I meant to say, is, next to follow in this thread will be the pushers investigation, which may well lead to some tap, and die work.

[KeNnY 29]

good luck my friend !

 

And you all now were able to see why chrono Reps are not waterproof due to the pushers as gen pushers are screwed in not like rep that are holding only on clipper.

 

I was doing franken SMP and had to redrill the holes, to accept gen pushers and create threads but it is PITA work !

[SSTEEL 0]

good luck my friend !

 

And you all now were able to see why chrono Reps are not waterproof due to the pushers as gen pushers are screwed in not like rep that are holding only on clipper.

 

I was doing franken SMP and had to redrill the holes, to accept gen pushers and create threads but it is PITA work !

 

Exactly, my plan is to utilise the rep tubes which are glued into the case, (The actual holes in the case are too big for the gen pushers threads anyway), removing them from the case, measuring them, cutting them down to the right size as to accommodate the gen pushers profile, and then tapping the thread into the tubes so far (not all the way through), then screwing in the gen pushers, applying waterproof adhesive in the process, then bonding the tubes back into the case with the appropriate bonding glue. And breath lol.

 

Also to add to my earlier post, the reasoning behind wanting to see if the bezel removed from the case of the black insert case was down to the crystal gasket fitting. I tried to refit the crystal gasket, which itself is pushed into place between the bezel, and chapter ring. I was unsuccessful in refitting the gasket, so I thought that surely the bezel must come off, and if so, refitting my new gasket should be a lot easier, as the gasket is pushed in with the bezel and crystal at the same time.

 

Let me try and explain some key difference between the two cases. With the chromed bezel case, the bezel had to be removed in order to remove the chapter ring. The gasket sits on top of the chapter ring.

 

With the black insert case, after removing the crystal gasket, although the chapter ring came out easily, this was not possible on the chromed version due to the one piece bezel construction, restricting room to pull out the chapter ring. I think you may get the picture now.

 

Sorry if I appeared to make things complicated by possible repeating myself on something that in real life here is quite straight forward to those in the know, and experienced watchmakers/watchsmiths, but I want to explain things in a way for others to learn too. Hope this makes sense.

Edited July 1, 2013 by SSTEEL

[SSTEEL 0]

Not got round to the pushers yet, but I fixed my Digital Calliper today so got some finer measurements on a couple of parts.

 

For reference:

 

Genuine Crystal dia: 37mm

Replica Crystal dia: 36.95mm

 

Genuine Black Insert dia: 42.75mm

Replica Black Insert dia: 42.74mm

 

As you can see, the inserts are very very close, but the crystal difference, whilst small @0.05mm, when working with such small, precise fitting parts, this small 0.05mm is a big deal, and can ultimately halt a project.

 

I will see how I get on when I have the genuine crystal in hand, and also check the gen gasket also. I may need to carry out some milling work, but we shall see.

 

More measurements of other parts in this build to follow soon.

[SSTEEL 0]

Some progress to report. Today I removed the small tubes from the battered donor Carrera CV2A10 case which guided and held the rep chronograph pushers in the case. I first heated them up using a soldering iron, and then tapped them out, and out they popped

 

What was interesting once these were removed, they both have tiny O-Rings, which obviously aid water resistance. You can just about see in the photo below..

 

 

Photos of case holes now with the tubes removed...

 

 

Now onto the good news.

 

 

If you have been following my progress on this build you will recall me planning to tap/die the tubes I just removed so I could screw in the genuine threaded pushers (Red Start/Stop gen pusher pictured above), and then refit/bond the tubes, and gen pushers into the case.

 

After checking the above gen pusher against the hold left in the case after tube removal, I am happy to report, I will no longer need those tubes, the threaded part of the gen pushers are 0.8mm bigger than the holes, so I can now tap the thread directly into the case, thus making a much better water tight fitting. Once done, i will use a bonding agent with PTFE properties.

 

And here's a quick photo of my work bench as I finished work today

 

[TheSav 2]

You are documenting this all very well. It is interesting to follow your progress too.

[SSTEEL 0]

Thanks Chris, really enjoying myself too. Won't be doing anymore now though until after our vacation. Off to Turkey in just 12 days

[CaptainFantastic 509]

The patience you have with such tiny little parts, I'd be pulling my hair out. I can do fiddly but I really struggle with watches. Love the step by step so far. Something to look forward to when you're back.

[SSTEEL 0]

Thanks for the compliment Laurence

[court 12]

Ohh how I wish I had your skill and patience. Really entertaining thread thanks for the effort you're putting in.

 

Just so you know. It is appreciated.

[SSTEEL 0]

Thanks Court, appreciate the feedback my friend.

[TheTinMan 13]

Come on, get on with it! I can't wait to see the finished product.

 

I'm really happy to follow your progress. It's amazing to me that you've taken the time to document all of this. I would love to see your notes, especially the final fit on the pushers. This is something I would love to do myself some day - I've got all the parts to create a franken PAM complete with my own custom dial. I've been reluctant to date, but you may just be my inspiration to finally get it done.

[SSTEEL 0]

I do tend to take my time with things like this as I prefer to work whilst the house is empty, and also be in the right frame of mind before getting into it. Also, due to up and coming vacation, investments in tools, and equipment, these too have a bearing on the timeframes of my work on my watches atm.

 

I will get back to this project once back from our holidays, around 27th of this month

[Pharmo 33]

Ok...written 27th in the diary

[SSTEEL 0]

Ok...written 27th in the diary

 

I feel under pressure lol

[TheTinMan 13]

I am not trying to rush you, I just can't wait to see the final result. Good luck and enjoy the holidays.

[SSTEEL 0]

Well, it is kind of finished, and I have been wearing it for a few weeks now, and the work/detailing you see in this thread is with my donor cases, which once I get them right, I will do the same to the case I'm wearing now. The only things that are currently not gen on my franken are, pushers, crystal, case, case back, and tube. Genuine parts have been ordered though of these, so will document the transition of these too along with the pushers

[SSTEEL 0]

Links to a photo album containing photos I accidentally delete from my photobucket account...

 

[J!m 289]

Great thread!

 

Please get some purple lock-tite for your pushers*. It will seal them well, but allow removal. If you use something too strong, you will damage the case removing them.

 

Pushers need to be replaced every so often to keep them water-tight, and you have done a lot of work to have a problem like that in a few years!

 

*I got a kit at Pep Boys with three tiny vials- one blue, one red, and one purple. Purple is for tiny threads (like carburettor adjustment screws) and allows it to be broken free and adjusted without snapping the head off the screw...

[SSTEEL 0]

Great thread!

 

Please get some purple lock-tite for your pushers*. It will seal them well, but allow removal. If you use something too strong, you will damage the case removing them.

 

Pushers need to be replaced every so often to keep them water-tight, and you have done a lot of work to have a problem like that in a few years!

 

*I got a kit at Pep Boys with three tiny vials- one blue, one red, and one purple. Purple is for tiny threads (like carburettor adjustment screws) and allows it to be broken free and adjusted without snapping the head off the screw...

 

Thanks for that Jim, really appreciate the advice. I had planned on using a PTFE bonding agent, which I purchased from eGay as I wasn't entirely sure what to use. This is what I got..

 

FORCE-BRAKE & AIR PTFE THREAD SEALANT 65ML BOTTLE X 1

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/200305422700

 

But now you mention it, I will go for the purple loctite. Do you know the number for the Purple?