Building a Milsub

[jerkstore 14]

I'm on a milsub kick lately. So I decided to document the act of putting one together. This ended up as a Xmas gift for my best friend...

 

 

Ingredients:

Milsub case

Aftermarket T-19 crystal

Helenarou dial

2813 (21j) movement

21j hands

Rafflestime #2 movement ring

Aftermarket sub insert modded w/ acrylic pearl

 

 

After the parts arrive, the first step is to match the hand lume to the dial. The Helenarou milsub dial is white.

 

 

You can get a set of 21j hands from most parts suppliers.

 

 

The problem is that the "white" hand lume looks green in the daylight, So, remove the old lume using rubbing alcohol and toothpicks. Let the alcohol soak in for a few minutes and just push the lume out. Be careful not to scratch up the hands. After you get what you can with toothpicks, take an Xacto knife to the back of the hands to get rid of the last bits.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Flip them over and re-lume those hands.

 

 

The rest of the parts.

 

 

Its not technically necessary, but I like to remove the date mechanism when its not correct for the watch. First step: take the rotor off. I love these little movement cups; I use them all the time.

 

 

 

 

 

Test fit the movement, to make sure it works in the case. Pull the stem out, add the rotor back on, and set it in place. I used a Rafflestime #2 movement ring. Check that the stem hole lines up in the center of the case tube, and that the rotor spins freely when the case back is screwed down.

 

 

 

 

My dial has ETA feet, but the movement is a 21j. Remove those feet and sand off the nubs.

 

 

 

 

Attach the dial to the movement. Here, I used dial dots. Do your best to make it straight: the handstack must be centered in the dial hole and the 3 o'clock marker needs to be lined up right over the stem.

 

 

Install the re-lumed hands. For a no-date, press the hour hand down pointing anywhere. Advance it to the 3 o'clock marker. Then, install the minute hand pointed at the 12 o'clock marker. Advance the hands and make sure they are correctly aligned.

 

 

 

 

Before you press down the seconds hand, remove the stem/crown. The seconds hand moves much faster, and its harder to ensure it doesn't get damaged if you install it first. Also, there's no need to make sure the seconds hand is aligned to the hour or minute hand, since this can be done after the watch is together.

 

Put some rodico down on a movement cup. Advance the hour and minute hands until they are pointed in the same direction. Flip the movement over and make sure both the hands and stem are clear of the rodico. Now, pull out the stem.

 

 

 

 

Press down the seconds hand.

 

 

Case the movement. Grease the gaskets.

 

 

 

 

The watch is done. Well, not really. I discovered that the it would stop after running for about five minutes. But only when the crown was screwed down. Arghh.

 

So I checked whether the crown tube gasket was putting pressure on the stem. No, it lined up OK. Then, I checked whether the movement was slipping relative to the dial... Yes. (This is one potential problem of dial dots--they aren't perfect.) Screwing the crown down caused the crown spring to push the movement over relative to the dial enough that the cannon pinion forced against the dial hole. This dragged on the cannon pinion causing the movement to stop. So I took the movement out, resinserted the stem, removed the hands, glued the dial onto the movement, pressed down the hands again, removed the stem, and re-cased the movement.

 

Now, the watch is done.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hope you enjoyed it. Merry Christmas!

Edited December 31, 2013 by jerkstore

[ShovelnTC 31]

Great job and step by step description.

 

Thanks for going to the trouble.

[Markrfc 3]

Love your work and attention to detail, would love that for my xmas present.

[dingle 57]

nice work mate

[TRANSPORTER 1]

Lovely work well done, how much was the total cost of the build? I'm only asking as I'm just to damn lazy to search all the parts myself, there I've said it.

[Hazz 0]

Lovely build there, well done, and great write up

[jerkstore 14]

Thanks all! I hope you got everything you wanted for Xmas

 

Lovely work well done, how much was the total cost of the build? I'm only asking as I'm just to damn lazy to search all the parts myself, there I've said it.

 

I got the case really cheap from an RWI member who had a spare that he didn't plan to use. So my total cost was very reasonable.

1. 2813 Movement: $30. A new slow beat ETA will run $100+.

2. Helenarou dial: $50

3. Hands: Whole set of 21j hands pictured above is like $25. ETA Sword hands from Helenarou will run about $20.

4. Aftermarket T-19 crystal: $20

5. Movement ring: $12

6. Insert: ~$20

7. Base watch: ? (It depends on where you can find a milsub case...)

 

 

So, not terribly expensive.

Edited December 27, 2013 by jerkstore

[jjm4a2 0]

Love the description and amazing work. One of my favorite type of watches to mod.

[Rob Roy 35]

Super watch and Tutorial

 

You are a credit to the forum.

 

Col

[George. 34]

I wish I could do things like this... How did you learn? I think I would get really frustrated really quickly

[jerkstore 14]

I wish I could do things like this... How did you learn? I think I would get really frustrated really quickly

 

The first step is a good set of tools: the RWG toolkit is a great choice. Next, get yourself a practice watch. You could go for a cheapo rep. But I actually started on a Bagelsport submariner. You can find them for like $30 on eBay. Taking it apart and putting it back together several times was great practice.

[J!m 289]

Nice, clean build!

 

I was wondering, do you know the correct crystal for the 5517 model? Is it the same as the 5513? I can't find any info. I have a hi-dome that I sanded down to basically a low-dome that blends nicely from the bezel insert and domes over. I just don't know if it's correct...

 

Hmmmmm...

[Frankt8242 1]

I knew you were "ill" when you removed the date wheel....And....AFAIK, there is NO cure!!

 

Nice work BTW !!!...

[twofake 0]

Nice work . The thread would have also taken you a while to write so I thank you for your efforts .

[P4GTR 0]

Never got a chance to see this, glad it was bumped... Great build my friend.

[jerkstore 14]

Thanks guys.

 

Helenarou is a decent source for hands and dials. They have some stuff you can't find anywhere else (nice budget gilt big crown dial and hands). They have also started marking a 5513 case. Supposedly gen spec, although the crown guards look pretty stubby. Still, for under $200, could be worth a shot...

 

http://bit.ly/1oVqIU8