Reply With QuoteGood luck.
I've always liked the 171 dial. Are you sending it to The Tiger UK to drill the lugs or having a bash yourself?
So. I've got myself an SKX171 to modify.
Here are my plans of which are fluid.
1: Drill the lugs
2: Fit a coin edge bezel (insert as yet undecided)
3: Fit a sapphire crystal (maybe a superdome from Dagaz when available again)
4: Change the movement to handwinding and hacking
5: Add a display back
Wish me luck
Last edited by jason.humphrey.180; 30th June 2016 at 06:31. Reason: can't see image
Good luck.
I've always liked the 171 dial. Are you sending it to The Tiger UK to drill the lugs or having a bash yourself?
Doing it all myself.
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Why drill the lugs?
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If you've ever tried to change a solid oyster strap with solid end links it makes all the difference. In fact it makes changing almost any strap except a nato or zulu much less of a chore. Plus it's hard to do and I like a challenge.
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I'm watching with interest, I've a 171 which I bought new back in 2000. Always thought it would look good with a little change to the bezel etc.
Keep us posted.
Steve.
Good luck!
I myself fancy trying this so know how you feel and let us know how you go on for any tips please
Details so far with lots of pics. I'm starting with the movement swap before I tackle the other modifications, as I haven't done that before and I suspect I may come across some teething problems. I should just add, that I'm not a professional watchmaker, just an amateur with a steady hand and a decent selection of tools. (therefore any additions or pointers from the pros on here are welcome....I'm keen to learn)
Work space ready.
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I try to get everything I need ready including domes for dust, finger cots, fresh lint free watch paper, clean rodico etc.
NEXT - Remove Bezel (to be fair, I didn't need to do this just yet)
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Last edited by jason.humphrey.180; 12th July 2016 at 22:56.
NEXT - Remove case back (using a special tool from a fellow watch fanatic)
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Now to De-case (removing the crown)
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Now - Remove hands and dial
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Managed to get a little silicon grease from the crown gasket on the dial 'grrr' Tips on removing any remaining residue on the dial please???
If I was going to remove the black day and date wheels for the new movement, I would first turn the 'C' clip to align with the crown and gently prise off (I've had one of these dissapear into orbit before)
Then I would set about first removing the day wheel. Then the calendar plates and the date wheel. Also if I was to need the black movement holder, I would gently prise this off.
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On this occasion though, I have parts ready so will keep the 7S26 movement removed as is.
Some pics of a new 6R15 movement that I've obtained. And comparison pics with the outgoing 7S26.
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I could have chosen a far less expensive handwinding/hacking movement i.e. a NH36 which is the Seiko Instruments version of the Seiko branded 4R36. But I wanted to go the 'whole hog' for this mod. I'm learning as I'm going.
Nicer finishing on this movement, better power reserve, greater accuracy etc.
Notice the extra plate on the winding side.
Now - To remove the calendar plates and day wheel(in white)
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4 screws releases the calendar plate.
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Got some parts removed from some previous modding projects.
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Going to need this
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Taking a break
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Good stuff. Keep posting pics - my gen 1 orange monster needs a service, maybe I'll do a movement swap instead.
Dave
I've done this, it's a good mod. Bear in mind the gen 1 & 2 stems are different.Originally Posted by Dave S
Does the gen1 crown fit the 6r15 stem?
Or is there some other subtle thing I'm missing?
Dave
I love these mod threads, I've got a Seiko which I hope to mode to a FFF after seeing a thread on here. Watching with interest.
The next picture shows the 6r15 movement in my movement holder.
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It now has the black plastic movement spacer attached. It's quite easy to detach from the donor movement and attach to the 6R15 movement. I thought it would be stiffer than it actually is. All you do is gently bend it away at a few points and it comes off and it will clip on again. (note the positions of the cutouts in relation to the crown/stem so you can fit it back in the right place.) Also I should note that to my knowlwdge there are 2 standard movement spacers. The one for the diver cases are 3.2mm and smaller seiko 5's have a thinner spacer.
I now have the black date wheel in place. To do this you must remove the 4 screws as shown in my previous post. This enables you to remove the uppermost calendar plate which holds the day wheel in place. You may also notice that the small white wheel (pictured on its own in my last post) is now in place. This just sits on the post provided.
There is a glaring mistake in this picture which I will explain next.
This pic is of the outgoing 7S26 movement.
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And this one is of the 6R15
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Have you spotted my error yet?
I didn't until I placed the 'Day wheel' over the hour wheel and it wasn't flush with the date wheel. (I told you I'm learning as I'm doing this)
So, if you look closely at the two pictures you can see that the profile of the base of the hour wheel on the 6R15 movement sits much higher than that of the 7S26 movement. I can only assume that this is because watches fitted with 6r15's generally only have a date wheel and not a day wheel.
This will become more apparent in the sext couple of posts.
Next job - need a new hour wheel.
I happen to have a knackered 7s26 movement that I was keeping to practise on. Here it is. Don't know what it had gone through, but the dial was glued (yes glued) on and there was glue on the day/date wheels.
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I need to remove the calendar plates on the knackered movement to get access to the hour wheel. And to do this I need to remove the 4 screws as before but with one small difference. On the older movements one of the 4 screws is a small counter-sunk cross-head screw as shown.
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Here's the screw driver- part number S-921 ( a Seiko specific part/tool obtained from http://www.kkhservices.co.uk/ )
I got this ages ago and finally found a use for it.
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Removing the hour wheel from the donor movement.
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And here's the 6r15 movement with it's hour wheel still in place.
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Here they are side by side. 6r15 on the left
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And now slotted on to the 6r15 movement.
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The other thing that the 6r15 movement is missing is a small (very small) 'C' clip. Once you have put the day wheel on and carefully pulled back the jumper spring so it sits nicely, you need to hold the whole thing together by gently pressing the 'C' clip down over the hour hand post.
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Next up. Refitting Dial and hands. And the thorny issue of the stem and crown...........
Last edited by jason.humphrey.180; 13th July 2016 at 22:42.
Reading this with interest, nice pics and narrative. How are you planning to drill the lugs?
Wait and see. Will post over the next week or two if it goes well.
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I look forward to it!
Replacing the dial and setting the hands
A few pics until the next step.
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Replacing the dial is just as simple as removing it. The dial feet slot into the holes keeping the dial to the correct orientation.
Then before setting the hands at 12:00, I wound the watch round until the date started changing, pulled the crown out so that the movement is it's 'hacking/stopped' position, then proceeded to set the hands.
I do have a hands setting tool with 3 sprung pushers in a stand but just can't get on with it, so I use some hand held 'setting' tools with different ends for hour, minutes and seconds.
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The stem and crown
There are differences in the stem of the out-going 7s26 movement and the incoming 6r15 as the one for the 6r15 has to be able to engage different operations - namely the hacking and winding facilities, so you cannot just use the outgoing stem and crown from the 7s26 on the 6r15.
Also, you cannot seperate the crown from the stem of the 7s26 diver's. If you could, I would imagine that you could trim the stem seen in the pictures with the yellow plastic end and attach the old crown.
My solution therefore was to buy an aftermarket stem and crown for Seiko divers. These come in 2 seperate parts and you would then trim the stem that comes with the 6r15 and attach the aftermarket seiko divers crown, perhaps adding a little loctite as you screw the crown onto the stem. I have heard, however, that some people who have tried this modification have found that the aftermarket crown can sometimes bind, cross thread etc
A far more elegant solution presented itself to me when I (finally after many months of looking) managed to obtain some SARB059 crown/stems. They are a perfect fit and also have the lovely signed 'S'.
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The next picture clearly shows how the profile of the Sarb059 stem (on the left) has a different profile from the out-going 7s26 stem. A bit like the way a key for a lock has a different profile to a key for a different lock.
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Really enjoy posts like these so thanks for taking the time to do the write up and photos.
Looking forward to the finished article
Just got round to drilling the lugs. Here's my set up.
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That's a nice setup. U make it look so simple.
However, what happen to the rest of the earlier pictures ?
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All the pics from my previous posts are showing up aren't they?
Viewing on tapatalk seems very show up a broken pic before every actual pic though. Bit wierd.
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So. I've got this case back from Dagaz to add to the watch when I'm fully done.
It's got a porthole to show off the movement and will still hopefully be good for 200m. I've got a local chap who will dry vacuum/pressure test the watch to 10bar on a Greiner Vibrograf Neptune 500 for a nominal fee. I'll be taking the movement out before he does this.
The question I have, is about getting the caseback engraved on a curve (like the outgoing caseback) to reflect the changes.
I've asked in (don't laugh) Timpsons, and a Jeweller who can hand engrave. The Hand engraving would be too expensive in comparison to the watch and Timpsons use a Rotary Diamond. To be fair to the Timpsons guy he reckoned that he could do some engraving to match the curve but that it wouldn't be anywhere near as precise as the original case-back lettering.
I don't think either of these options are going to 'cut it' (excuse the pun) for me.
Another option might be to get it laser etched. I've got someone in a friendly local engineering firm looking to see if he can configure his laser machine to do this.
If he can't can anyone suggest an alternative please. n.b. I'll leave it blank unless I can get a nice precise curved set of lettering done.
Got my caseback engraved thanks to my buddy Daryl. I think he managed to get the radius/curve just right. Finishes the watch off just right. And yes, the "Built, Not Bought" is a bit self indulgent.
No decent daylight to take final pics, so here's a lume shot for now.
Bloody hell, Darryl has done a good job. Does he undertake work for other people? I've also got a caseback I'd like engraved.
Good luck everybody. Have a good one.
Well, he worked it out fresh as a one off. But after he finished it I said "Don't be surprised if you get some more enquiries from my fellow forum members". So he's making a kind of jig to help align casebacks for future requests....either from me or others.
Send me a PM with your requirements and I'll foward your request. (He's not a watch nerd like us, but he is a bit of a perfectionist, in a good way)
Hi Jason
How did you drill the lug holes exactly at the right point to meet the "existing" ones? It looks impossible to me, but you clearly managed it! Great job
The jig I got made up gets the drill bit exiting through the existing hole and keeps the drill bitfrom trying to skip off the slope of the polished lugs. But it's still quite a delicate job that I take my time with.
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Last edited by jason.humphrey.180; 27th August 2016 at 09:45.
It's a lovely day today, let's see some finished pics please.
Okay....
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My last Modification took an SKX about as far from looking like an SKX as was possible- [IMG][/IMG]
So for this one I wanted to make an ultimate SKX. (Though, as anyone knows who has a few watches, this idea is always subject to change)
The list of modifications :
- Case completely stripped down
- Lugs Drilled
- Thick 4.2mm Domed Sapphire with inner anti-reflective coating
- Uni-directional clicking coin edged bezel
- Sloped Ceramic bezel insert
- 6R15 transplanted (Now has a wonderful 56 hour power reserve and increased accuracy in 5 positions on the timegrapher)
- Sarb059 signed Crown and stem combo
- Kanji day wheel for the Japanese feel
- Display case-back with laser etched wording to reflect the new movement (plus some artistic licence)
- A rubber rally/diver strap.
I'm pretty happy with how this turned out. The biggest question for me with how the end watch would look, was whether there would be an obvious gap between the bezel insert and the crystal, as I have seen in many ceramic insert mods before. But the higher 4.2mm crystal (3mm for the stock hardlex) takes out that gap.
Absolutely amazing you have some skills
That's a great job you've done.
You've done a great job there, hats off to you.
Wow, looks awesome and great post. Thanks.
You've done a great job there, hats off to you.Many thanks guys. I think that if Seiko re-imagined their SKX line it should have Drilled lugs and a 4R36 at minimum like the new turtles. The other bits would be nice but maybe then it wouldn't be the affordable bargain unbustable watch that it's earn't it's reputation for.
Anyway, this just arrived......
Should I.............?
Excellent work.
I've seen a few SKX series 7S26 Seiko Divers modified with the 6R15 movement and yours looks one of the nicest I've seen so far.
An excellent job and well explained , thank you for sharing it was very informative .
Great work! Really nice to follow the process, thanks for sharing.
I think the second hand you got would bring it up a notch, love that style.
The fact I don't have any love for the stock SKX second hand is what got me into mod:ing in the first place.
Here's a pic of my 007 with the Sumo second:
Keep up the good work :)
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