Explorer II overhaul- Part 1

[SearChart]

I'm currently in the middle of an Explorer II overhaul.

The rotor axle was worn, you can clearly see the markings on the bridges and the smudge underneath the rotor.

I refinished the case back and cleaned the movement once.

The small group of separated movement parts on the right need to be replaced.


To be continued...

[Chewbacca]

well done Bas! (clapping)

i'm going to send you one of mine in a no tax service pouch when you open shop!

[ag986]

If I wore a hat, I would take it off to you.

[Santiago79]

Very interesting post. Looking forward to seeing more photos and part II

[Mick8moses]

great - thanks for the photos!

[RichM]

I’d gladly let you Sir, overhaul my watches. Great work and shots Bas. Thanks for sharing.

[TheVTCGuy]

How old is that watch Bas?

[Chewbacca]

(edit)

bas, make sure it also ticks and keeps time afterwards.

i know you open a bottle of scotch at noon.

[Redtele58]

I like this! My favorite type of post - thanks!

More please!

[SearChart]

Originally Posted by TheVTCGuy

How old is that watch Bas?

I don't know, 10 years orso?

Originally Posted by Chewbacca

(edit)

bas, make sure it also ticks and keeps time afterwards.

i know you open a bottle of scotch at noon.

Sure thing!
My hands get a little shaky if I don't drink a few glasses of lagavulin in the afternoon.

[watchwatcher]

Whoa...that case back looks amazing!

Question about the bezel: how hard is it to get bezel scratches off?

[2Redbulls]

Great post! I wish there was more threads like this.

[sensui]

Love watchmaking pr0n. Thanks for sharing!

[fatmanontwowheels]

Thanks for sharing. Fantastic job so far and the case back turned out awesome!

[SearChart]

Thanks guys!

Originally Posted by watchwatcher

Whoa...that case back looks amazing!

Question about the bezel: how hard is it to get bezel scratches off?

Thanks

The bezel will be refinished on the lapping disk (just like the polished part of the case back)
Never done this so we'll see, results should be really good.

Also the case sides are done on a belt grinder to prevent the rounding you'll get with a traditional felt disc.
I'm still new to this method so I'll definitely get some help from my superior. Don't want to ruin a bezel or case (ahum I ruined a sub bezel, ahum)

[faz]

Nice shots and great thread. Looking forward to seeing more. Always cool to see the internals of these watches taken apart.

[dysondiver]

great pics , interesting to watch ,,, no pun intended

[topjimmi]

Very interesting. Thanks for sharing

[watchwatcher]

Originally Posted by SearChart

Thanks

The bezel will be refinished on the lapping disk (just like the polished part of the case back)
Never done this so we'll see, results should be really good.

Thanks so much!

Do the numbers on the bezel cause difficulty in this? Or, I guess another way of saying this is, do you have to touch up the numbers after this procedure?

Thanks again.

[Greatwatch]

Originally Posted by SearChart

I'm currently in the middle of an Explorer II overhaul.

The rotor axle was worn, you can clearly see the markings on the bridges and the smudge underneath the rotor.

I refinished the case back and cleaned the movement once.

The small group of separated movement parts on the right need to be replaced.


To be continued...

how do you pop the bezel off

[Quicksilver]

Fascinating photographs.

[cop414]

Great post Bas!

[SearChart]

Originally Posted by Greatwatch

how do you pop the bezel off

With that tool pictured above.

[SearChart]

Now the bezel!

I did not do this one, I first need practice on a spare old one we have laying around.

The result is amazing, hard to properly capture but it's almost like new.

[Greatwatch]

Originally Posted by SearChart

Now the bezel!

I did not do this one, I first need practice on a spare old one we have laying around.

The result is amazing, hard to properly capture but it's almost like new.

mine has always been a tad misaligned at 12 hour mark

[1William]

Interesting photographs.

[nick c]

Good job Bas, thanks for sharing

[Gimoozaabi]

Great job indeed!
I personally would not touch the besel, although the one shown in the pictures is beautifully done. Now matter how scratched it is I wouldn't restore it.

Best,
N

Sent from my MI 5 using Tapatalk

[watchwatcher]

Originally Posted by SearChart

Now the bezel!

I did not do this one, I first need practice on a spare old one we have laying around.

The result is amazing, hard to properly capture but it's almost like new.

Holy cow...that is amazing!

[SearChart]

Originally Posted by watchwatcher

Holy cow...that is amazing!

I was pretty amazed myself. Can't wait to refinish one myself. It's not as easy as the case back though, so I will definitely need to practice.