freddy333 Posted January 11, 2009 Report Share Posted January 11, 2009 What does a guy do on a cold, rainy night, after realizing that he has an extra 1 of these? & an extra 1 of these (well, it was extra when I took the picture)? & an extra 1 of these? & an extra 1 of these? What else.................. You make 1 of these & call it a day No, you can pick your jaws up from the rug........this is not my new franken (it is a gen 6536), but it IS the target (more or less) of my next project (I actually wanted to make a 4-line 6538, but the 8mm Brevet crown that defines the '38 is prohibitively priced ($1,200-$1,800+) & it seems that the more lines of text there are on 653x aftermarket dials, the more silly mistakes they have, while a single-line dial I found is hard to tell apart from the gen, so that is my plan). Here are the ingreed-a-mints (comments/recommendations welcome) -Rolex 1030, which is correct for this modelMQ single-line 6536 gilt dialMY gilt handset & insert(probably) Clarks T19 crystal6mm Twinlock (or, possibly, Brevet) crownRolex 7205/57 riveted braceletSilix ROLS176 case (same 1 used for my 6542 project, but since the 6536 insert is metal, it will be a straight swap for the oem Silix insert & no heavy equipment will be required ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shundi Posted January 11, 2009 Report Share Posted January 11, 2009 Very nice, very nice...I'm always perpetually jealous of your Rolex frankens freddy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dluddy Posted January 11, 2009 Report Share Posted January 11, 2009 Sounds like another winning formula Freddy. Can't wait to see this one develop Gotta love the versatility and what you can do with that Silix case Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddy333 Posted January 11, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 11, 2009 Very nice, very nice...I'm always perpetually jealous of your Rolex frankens freddy! Sounds like another winning formula Freddy. Can't wait to see this one develop Gotta love the versatility and what you can do with that Silix case Thanks. That 1 Silix case is a helluva base for vintage Rolex watches. Depending on how much grinding you want to do, it can be modded into a number of different models. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dluddy Posted January 11, 2009 Report Share Posted January 11, 2009 Thanks. That 1 Silix case is a helluva base for vintage Rolex watches. Depending on how much grinding you want to do, it can be modded into a number of different models. I have an old Abay (Paul) 1680 and it's case is similar thin profile. Holding on to it and plan to build something out of it one of these days. BTW, what is a MQ dial? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toadtorrent Posted January 11, 2009 Report Share Posted January 11, 2009 That will be quite something. Besides drilling of lug holes, aging and CG shaping...do you have to do special mods to the case to hold the movement with size issues and stem positioning? What do you use for a movement retainer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alligoat Posted January 11, 2009 Report Share Posted January 11, 2009 Looks like a cool project, Freddy. I'm liking that bezel that you're starting with, it's very nice. I'm headed over to www.watchsilix.com- the economy site to check their cases. I like the ROLS176 case, I'm just not excited about 2836-2- my guess is it's a copy. I just don't need the copy movt., and I don't like the price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddy333 Posted January 11, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 11, 2009 BTW, what is a MQ dial? Mingquay, another Vietnamese seller (same as NDTrading). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddy333 Posted January 11, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 11, 2009 Besides drilling of lug holes, aging and CG shaping...do you have to do special mods to the case to hold the movement with size issues and stem positioning? What do you use for a movement retainer? No CG shaping as the Silix case is CG-less, but I will have to smooth the case area around the crown to remove the slight dimples the Silix cases have. I had to do just a wee bit of grinding around the inner face of the case where the dial slides down against it, but the stem aligns perfectly. But, to be honest, 95% of the modding work I had to do on the Silix case (for the 6542 project) related to reducing the height of the vertical ring portion of the case that held the crystal in position. You can Search out my original tutorial/journal for the details, but, basically, the ring's height had to be reduced to allow the flat-bottomed Plexiglas 6542 insert to sit low enough in the bottom of the Silix's bezel to keep it in position, so I do not remember exactly what the minor mods were. Looks like a cool project, Freddy. I'm liking that bezel that you're starting with, it's very nice. I'm headed over to www.watchsilix.com- the economy site to check their cases. I like the ROLS176 case, I'm just not excited about 2836-2- my guess is it's a copy. I just don't need the copy movt., and I don't like the price. If any of these ETAs are copies, that 1 is for sure. But I removed & sold it, so I cannot verify the source 1 way or the other. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanuq Posted January 11, 2009 Report Share Posted January 11, 2009 Wow, another winner!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coolfire Posted January 11, 2009 Report Share Posted January 11, 2009 freddy, i will never cease to be totally amazed by your projects... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
its_urabus Posted January 11, 2009 Report Share Posted January 11, 2009 good luck with this amazing project. But I do have something to ask, no more pics of your naked wrist it is just not right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dizzy Posted January 11, 2009 Report Share Posted January 11, 2009 & an extra 1 of these? HA HA i laughed when i read that... i was thinking, it must be NICE to have "extra" gen movements just laying around lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sub1965 Posted January 11, 2009 Report Share Posted January 11, 2009 freddy have you checked out the non-cg cases on http://watchsilix.com/ they look quite similar, much better priced Also, the case backs looks much more alike 6536. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tribal Posted January 11, 2009 Report Share Posted January 11, 2009 Simply Wow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RWG Technical Posted January 11, 2009 Report Share Posted January 11, 2009 Reminds me of my 1962 5508 that I sold last year...very nice, can't wait to see the end product. RG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddy333 Posted January 11, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 11, 2009 freddy have you checked out the non-cg cases on http://watchsilix.com/ they look quite similar, much better priced The case for the 6542 project came from the more expensive silix-prime site, because, at least until I was sure all of the disparate parts could be made to fit/work together, I needed the ETA 2836-gmt that ROLS176 came with to keep costs as low as possible (after I was sure everything fit together, I swapped the 2836 for a slow-beat modded 2846, which itself will be swapped for a gen 1036-gmt with the proper roulette date wheel as soon as I locate a 24-hour wheel). However, since the 6536 project will be gen-powered from the start, I only need the case (which may also get swapped later for gen parts). I have not done a thorough search for cases on watchsilix since before I began the 6542 project, but I recall that Silix uses many of the same cases for their cheaper counterparts (powered with Asian movements). So the cheaper watchsilix is definitely the way to go if I can find the correct case. I just (while I am writing this) did a quick perusal of watchsilix's Sub section, but I do not see a CG-less case of the correct dimensions (the gen 6536 is 37mm x 13mm & the watchsilix cases all appear to be 40mm x 14mm (ROLS176 is 38mm x 12mm, which was just 1mm larger than the gen 6536)). So I may have to use the ROLS176 again to get a nearly correct case dimension. Also, the case backs looks much more alike 6536. Here is a gen 6536 caseback All of Silix's CG-less cases appear to have the same (wrong) caseback that ROLS176 came with. If you know of 1 that looks like the gen pictured above, can you provide a direct link to that model? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddy333 Posted January 11, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 11, 2009 Wow, another winner!!! freddy, i will never cease to be totally amazed by your projects... good luck with this amazing project. But I do have something to ask, no more pics of your naked wrist it is just not right. HA HA i laughed when i read that... i was thinking, it must be NICE to have "extra" gen movements just laying around Yes, it is. Simply Wow Reminds me of my 1962 5508 that I sold last year...very nice, can't wait to see the end product. RG All - Thank you for the kind words. As always, very much appreciated. I suspect I may need to pick your collective brains along the way, so stay tuned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sub1965 Posted January 11, 2009 Report Share Posted January 11, 2009 The 6536 you show is worn alot, I have always been under the impression that the back should be flat. I was refering to the cheaper as less inaccurate while both actually are quite bad. Assumed that the inserts in those watches (223 vs. 176) are of the same size, the difference in measured width looks to be in the bezels outer diameter. While the bezel of 176 seems to be as wide as the actual case, the bezel of 223 looks to "hang over" the case, which leaves us with the question whether the case itself on 223 is 40 or perhaps smaller? Just a thought worth checking out, awesome projekt btw & good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddy333 Posted January 11, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 11, 2009 The 6536 you show is worn alot, I have always been under the impression that the back should be flat. While most of the pics of gen 65xx series Subs in my archive are of the rounded/polished variety (like the pic I posted above), a small number are similar to the flattened caseback in the Maron pic (which I also have) & my gen 6542 back Assumed that the inserts in those watches (223 vs. 176) are of the same size, the difference in measured width looks to be in the bezels outer diameter. While the bezel of 176 seems to be as wide as the actual case, the bezel of 223 looks to "hang over" the case, which leaves us with the question whether the case itself on 223 is 40 or perhaps smaller? Judging from the overhang of the bezel over the crown, I think you may be right about the bezels being wider than the case. Here is 223 Here is 224, which is the 1 I will probably order (the case is the same as 223, but, even though I will not be using them, the insert & dial are more appropriate for an early 653x Sub) Here is ROLS176, which is what I used for my 6542 project Oddly, ROLS176 is described as having the smallest case dimensions of all of Silix's Subs &, yet, if the bezels are all the same (which I believe they are), 176 may turn out to be the largest after all & will be the 1 I need to use for this project as well. I may have to order both 224 & another ROLS176, just in case. Update - After giving this a bit more thought & measuring my bezel (38mm OD), I think both 224 & 176 cases are the same, only the bezel (on 224) is larger. Silix is probably measuring the case width using the OD of the bezel, which on 224 is probably 40mm. While the bezel on 176, which does not overhang the crown, is probably 38. And since my 6536 bezel/insert will be made for a 38mm case, I suspect that it will fit the case just fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alligoat Posted January 12, 2009 Report Share Posted January 12, 2009 One question, Freddy. Is the bezel of ROLS176 really notched like it looks like in the picture, or is it the standard Sub type bezel? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddy333 Posted January 12, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2009 Here is ROLS176 as it arrived (but I think I may have installed my half-modded handset for this picture) The Silix bezel looks very much like an early 6542 bezel, which is why I ended up using the Silix instead of MY's bezel (which I WILL use for the 6536 project) And here is ROLS176 with the 6542 insert & crystal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alligoat Posted January 12, 2009 Report Share Posted January 12, 2009 Thanks, Freddy. That bezel makes it worth the price, IMO! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freddy333 Posted January 12, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2009 Yes, exactly. And because of that along with the question of bezel overhang discussed earlier, I decided to spend the extra cash & just get another ROLS176 (instead of the cheaper ROL224) since I know what I am getting with that 1. Now, the l-o-n-g wait begins for Silix to actually get the watch shipped (as I recall, the last 1 took nearly 2 months to arrive). But, on the positive side, since the insert is metal the bezel will fit perfectly onto the case & the only grinding required will be the case sides (to flatten them), which is easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanuq Posted January 12, 2009 Report Share Posted January 12, 2009 Bezel overhang? Not way up here in the arctic... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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