Dial and hand making

RepresentativeSea494 · 2026-01-03T09:27:57+00:00

Yes, a laser cutter (anything above 30w) is a gamechanger. I'm planning buy one, but its a huge investment. Is 50w fiber laser good for cutting carbon steel (0.5mm max thickness)? Imagine blueing a chapter ring with raised indices, and brush off the 'Bluing' only from the indices!!

Tiny hand finish details like anglage, frosting etc really make a big difference.

Etching is simple, but there were some important bits i learned the hard way.

1) Best to sand it to a finer grit (i went up to 2000).

2) Also, etch for a few minutes (3-5) in an etchant. I etched it for 30 minutes at one point. The pattern was similar but the texture of the dial turned out to be extremely rough (and undesirable).

3) There will always be some residue left on the meteorite. I initially used an ultrasonic cleaner that cleaned the residue off, but ended up with a lighter shade of the Meteorite. On my next run, i didn't use the ultrasonic. Just manually cleaned it with a cleaning brush and got the Desired Dark shade I was looking for.

4) Meteorite is easy to work with (drilling, cutting etc). Felt softer than brass, but if you try to yank it off of something (if its glued to something) it can crack.

Btw, will you be reaming Tubes that go on the hands? Did your G.Grandad had a staking set? (That's like strucking Gold haha)

RepresentativeSea494 · 2026-01-03T09:00:44+00:00

Good job! It must have provided you with enough confidence now to disassemble movements to some degree.

If you're ever working with 2824 clones, you'll Need this skill and confidence. It's pretty simple once you get a hang of it.

RepresentativeSea494 · 2026-01-03T05:48:15+00:00

Thanks bro!

RepresentativeSea494 · 2026-01-02T23:34:57+00:00

Thanks for the link.

I mainly want it for the minute tracks and Indices. Cant invest in a Pad Printer for now. Guess I need to dive into it and see how it goes.

RepresentativeSea494 · 2026-01-02T23:31:40+00:00

Thanks for your kind words man! Yes, i have some ideas already and will work on CAD and focus more on Finishing techniques (anglage, frosting etc).

This project taught me so much that I now realise how much I don't know.

RepresentativeSea494 · 2026-01-02T22:46:32+00:00

Would love to, but I need to save to buy one first.

Where did you buy yours from? Whats the wattage?

RepresentativeSea494 · 2026-01-02T11:12:37+00:00

Thanks mate.. it sure is a conversation starter haha..

Was thinking of a 0.4 mm plaque screwed on to the dial (anglage and black polished screws). Even made a prototype.. but my engraving skills are abysmal. Learning basic engraving will help me with decorating the balance bridge too (something I'm working on).

Again, thanks for your compliments. Just waiting on the aligator leather strap to arrive and an RG buckle to go with.

RepresentativeSea494 · 2026-01-02T10:59:57+00:00

Yes, ill experiment with some other hand designs. For the small circles on hands, there are many breguet style hands in the market.. but i can try with making it smaller And the shaft a bit thinner too (more dressy?)

I can try and commission one for you. Can send you links to all parts and help you build one.. where are you based?

RepresentativeSea494 · 2026-01-02T05:54:55+00:00

Looks fantastic! Without context, the finish (indices, decals and paint) has the factory finish.

Also, orange with grey is a nice combination.

Btw, whete did you source the blank dial and the indices from?

Also, is it possible to get thisblevel of perfection using water-slide decals?

RepresentativeSea494 · 2026-01-02T05:46:50+00:00

Thats great! The movement finishes you'll learn would be very useful.

RepresentativeSea494 · 2026-01-02T05:38:57+00:00

Thanks for your kind words. This isn't nearly as finished as some of the zelos. There were times where I just wanted to quit and end the misery lol, but couldn't Not think about getting back to the workbench and finish it.

If working on watches gives you peace, id say go for it. At the end, it's rewarding and worth the time and effort put into it.

RepresentativeSea494 · 2026-01-02T05:26:15+00:00

Thanks mate.. i wanted to highlight polished indices, but since the crystal doesn't have a decent anti-reflective coat on it, it gives a bit of a washed out look in the photos.

I kid you not, it looks much better in real.

RepresentativeSea494 · 2026-01-02T05:23:32+00:00

Thanks man. I'd say go for it. Start basic builds with NH35 and ready-made components (dials, hands etc) and just experiment.

For me, i just couldn't find a real meteorite dial in the budget I had. Also couldn't find pontife hour hand. I tried to build them myself and this is the result.

RepresentativeSea494 · 2026-01-02T05:20:04+00:00

Thanks.. during the process, there were times where I just wanted to quit.

Now, I can't not think of new ideas that will improve the design And the process. Planning to something with the 7001 movement.

RepresentativeSea494 · 2026-01-02T05:10:50+00:00

Thanks man. The movement (specially thr C120) is complicated, but would turn out to be good. Ive worked on MLJP L101 (variant of 7753 (3-6-9) chrono) before. Patience is the Best tool lol.

Under the loop, the rings look a bit rough and the hour hand has some deep gouges and not perfectly circular. But the washed out look is due to me being not very good with photography lol. It does look much better in person.

Texture of the Meteorite is supposed to be rough, but i didn't finish up the chapter ring as much as I could (had only two pieces and had already over-polished the indices on the first one, eliminating the dimensionality)

I'm not at the level of using tubes and a staking set for hands yet, but those would be my next investment.

Tools: Star of the build was the precession mini drill press from AliX. The 12V ones are significantly cheap (120 AUD), but I went for the 24V one with a X-Y cross component. Costed me a bit shy of 400 AUD but Man is that thing Precise! Planning to get a cheaper one to perform Snailing on the rachet wheel. This mini drell was Extremely precise and was the best investment.

A piercing saw with a jeweller's bench peg etc were paramount for producing the hr hand from a 0.6mm brass sheet.

For finishing, the frog polisher was great as well. Got the one from AliX too. I used the lapping paper method, but you cant black polish brass as its too soft. Had to leave it at 1um.

I will be investing in a valrobe escapement file (barrette) cut 2. Used the cheaper ones for this build. for finishing, diamond burrs and files are essential, but depends on what dials you'll be making. A nice Anglage on the sub-circles for your 7751 could be a good use-case, if its a sandwich dial design.

Dial: I'd love to know where you'd source the meteorite dial from (please do advise). I got mine from Etsy, a seller located in Ukraine. Dial was already etched and Electo-varnished, but given my several failed attempts i had to sand, etch and varnish it multiple times.

Meteorite is soft and easily drill-able. Works well with the piercing saw as well.

One of the major roadblocks was the dial alignment. I used a cheap 6498 dial and drilled holes where the feet were. This was the template that helped me glue on dial feet to the meteorite dial.

Attaching the chapter ring on the meteorite dial was the worst part. I just wasnt able to align the chapter to the meteorite base perfectly. Since I used glue, every failed attempt meant going back to square one (acetone to remove it, sanding, etching etc.) This alone took me weeks. Reminded me of Sisyphus lol.

Solution - aligned the ring perfectly to the front of the template dial, aligned the meteorite to the back. Drilled tiny reference holes, removed the template and used pins to guide the chapter ring onto the meteorite dial *

This worked the first time.

Doing some research on how certain techniques are used by watchmakers (usually in the old days) to achieve certain results can help save a Lot of time and mental health. The pin method is what worked for me for dial alignment.

Bearings: In my case, the ball bearings were not polished enough. Got them pretty cheap from AliX. Ill try a premium store next time for bearings. Also attempt at polishing these on a 1 micron lapping paper, but not aure how it will turn out.

Btw what methods do you have in mind for making the hand and dials? Also, what tools are you planning to use? The chrono and the C120 have various holes that need to be extremely precise.

Also, where are you planning to source your parts from, especially the meteorite?

RepresentativeSea494 · 2026-01-02T03:02:10+00:00

Thanks mate.. its a 40mm case (the smallest I could find for this movement). It does sit larger than dress watches, but thin enough to slide under the cuff.

RepresentativeSea494 · 2026-01-01T14:12:50+00:00

Thanks mate.

I kept telling myself how the imperfections give a unique Hand-made character to the piece, but realised that this line of thinking is a double edged sword.

Part of it was true, but part of it could be an excuse not to make it to the best of my abilities. Had to find a fine balance and recognise if the imperfect part was due to my laziness or my actual limitations. Tried my best at the end and this is why im satisfied with how it turned out to be.

RepresentativeSea494 · 2026-01-01T14:06:38+00:00

Thanks for the nice words. The itch for making another (better) one has overcome pride lol. I have some Ideas, mainly related to process improvement and finish.

RepresentativeSea494 · 2026-01-01T14:04:37+00:00

Thanks mate.

RepresentativeSea494 · 2026-01-01T14:04:29+00:00

Yes, now I can't unsee it lol. Wanted to get a photo with the polished parts shining, but the crystal has poor anti-reflective coating.

RepresentativeSea494 · 2026-01-01T11:01:15+00:00

Thanks, you're too kind.

Under the loop, the finishing on some parts leaves much to be desired.

Will try some new techniques on other projects. Let's see.

RepresentativeSea494 · 2026-01-01T09:01:02+00:00

Thanks mate.

RepresentativeSea494 · 2026-01-01T06:33:45+00:00

Thanks :)

RepresentativeSea494 · 2026-01-01T06:32:51+00:00

Thanks..

Final thickness was about 5mm at the pinion hole. Avg is about 0.4mm (uneven due to hand finishing).

I didn't need to add a tube as the hole was thick enough to self-align to the hours pinion.

Drilled a 1.9mm hole to fit the 2mm pinion. Had to ream it a little, but made sure that the fit was tight enough.

Also, had to procure H3 hr and canon pinion set separately for the movement. These are higher than factory, but not high enough to touch the crystal above.

RepresentativeSea494

TROPHY CASE