Show us your mods / builds

[8Ace]

PHers are a practical bunch in general, and there are loads of threads with folks making huge modifications to their cars and bikes. I've noticed that this is also the case with regard to watches, and there a fair few amateur watchmakers on these pages who enjoy tinkering, albeit at a much smaller scale.

There's been a few nicely modified watches in recent threads, but I'd like to have a thread dedicated to peoples non standard watches, either modifications of existing watches or scratch builds, buying a selection of bits and putting it all together.

So please - show us what you have, any details you can give in terms of starting point and which bits were used will be helpful for others who want to go down that path. I've started and it's hugely satisfying.

I have a couple of projects on the go right now, but the first one I finished is this, and it's probably my favourite watch in my collection.



Seiko SNLK09. Bought as someone's modification project that went wrong, so I only used the case and bracelet. Cost c. £19.

To this I added:

New Seiko NH35 movement £30
Domed sapphire crystal (£10 - brand name Minging (yes really))
Explorer 1 dial and Benz hands from Rafflestime £25.

For a total of well under £100 I have a brilliant and reliable watch that shroud last me for ages.

Let's see what you have

[8Ace]

AmosMoses said:

Based on a Bliger case, then I added an NH movement, Seiko dial & hands and an aftermarket strap.

Nice work. Most of the bliger /parnis cases are made for Miyota or ET clones. Was there anything special you needed to do to get the NH35 to fit in there?

[8Ace]

Fallingup said:

8Ace said:

PHers are a practical bunch in general, and there are loads of threads with folks making huge modifications to their cars and bikes. I've noticed that this is also the case with regard to watches, and there a fair few amateur watchmakers on these pages who enjoy tinkering, albeit at a much smaller scale.

There's been a few nicely modified watches in recent threads, but I'd like to have a thread dedicated to peoples non standard watches, either modifications of existing watches or scratch builds, buying a selection of bits and putting it all together.

So please - show us what you have, any details you can give in terms of starting point and which bits were used will be helpful for others who want to go down that path. I've started and it's hugely satisfying.

I have a couple of projects on the go right now, but the first one I finished is this, and it's probably my favourite watch in my collection.



Seiko SNLK09. Bought as someone's modification project that went wrong, so I only used the case and bracelet. Cost c. £19.

To this I added:

New Seiko NH35 movement £30
Domed sapphire crystal (£10 - brand name Minging (yes really))
Explorer 1 dial and Benz hands from Rafflestime £25.

For a total of well under £100 I have a brilliant and reliable watch that shroud last me for ages.

Let's see what you have

That's really nice. Will look into that. Thanks for posting. May I ask where the dial was obtained.

Edited by Fallingup on Saturday 16th May 21:54

Thanks. Dial and hands are the work of Rafflestime - I used his eBay shop. Do a search for Seiko explorer dial and you're bound to find his shop pretty soon. Excellent quality for the price and a massive variety.

[8Ace]

TorqueDirty said:

None yet for me but I have bought all the tools and am planning to do a Seiko SKX project at some point.

Just need to find a donor watch that does not cost the earth - which is not easy.

An unconventional, but cheaper approach could be to use an SKX homage (sold by Sharkey on ALiexpress). Identical case to the skx and comes with an nh36 rather than 7s26 movement - one less thing to change later on.

Maybe something to consider if you're going to change it fairly extensively?

[8Ace]

Was hoping to have one to show you today but the DG3804 movement I used is a bit fragile. I buggered up the keyless works while pressing the stem release button too hard. Not too difficult to fix but I broke the seconds pinion (0.17mm) when removing the hands to get to it.

Anyway, have a new one on the way from cousins so shouldn't be too long.

[8Ace]

Mezzanine said:

I would buy all of these - they all look superb.

Agree - the last one looks especially brilliant.

If you like the above you should check out Lume Shot on Youtube. He builds Seiko watches and his Bloodmoon special is a similar look.

[8Ace]

Paw said:

What would you recommend as a good base for a build ? I was looking at SKX007 or 009, but I have not found a good base. I do like the offset crown of the Seiko.

Thanks

Paw

What sort of look are you going for? If you love the SKX case shape then a Sharkey / Heimdallr homage would be a good bet to start off with.

$149

Getting hold of a new SKX is going to cost you over £200 and the homage has sapphire crystal and a better movement (NH35).

Edited by 8Ace on Monday 22 June 12:39

[8Ace]

Finally!

[8Ace]

8Ace said:

Finally!

It's taken me ages to get this right. The basic components are:

Seagull ST2130 (regulated using Clock Tuner to +0 seconds a day)
Parnis Aquanaut case in rose gold
Corgeut Black Bay dial and hands in rose gold
Black rubber seamaster style strap.

Total cost of components well under £200. Took a while to get right but to say I'm pleased with it is an understatement.

[8Ace]

AlleyCat said:

AmosMoses said:

May I present the polar sub. Clearly influenced by the Rolex Polar Explorer. I adore that watch but hate the clyclops and bezel.

Here I’ve taken the elements I like, mostly the mix of orange, white and black style and combined it with the Seiko tradition of the contrast minute hand for their divers.

NH36 powered of course!

That is lovely! Great job

+1 Really like that. Never seen a white bezel before but I love it. Transforms the look on the watch.

[8Ace]

Nayche said:

I use Sr Watches very frequently, very good but can take a while to arrive.

My latest mod. A SRPC49 inspired SKX diver.

Oh that looks tremendous, well done! I'll have a look at SR watches as I've not heard of them before.

[8Ace]

bazza. said:

Very, very cool. Where did you get the case from?

[8Ace]

Just finished. Guanqin sub homage with Aluminium bezel insert, and MM300 dial / hands from Yobokies.

I ordered the Hulk style watch originally, but the ceramic bezel just looked really dull compared to the aluminium. Much prefer this version.

[8Ace]

Ninjin said:

Need some help from you modders. I started playing around modding my PVD bronze Corgeut and lost one of the screws that hold the movement holder clip. Newbie mistake, had it in tweezers and it just pinged somewhere!

Would anyone have one spare or know where to get one.

You're in luck! I have several, in two sizes (2.2 x1.2x2.0mm and 2.0x1.0x2.0mm). I'll enclose a couple of each.

Looks like you're not set up to receive emails, but I am so send me a pm with your details and I'll get them on their way.

Edited by 8Ace on Saturday 10th April 15:26

Edited by 8Ace on Saturday 10th April 15:30