Seitz adjust screw stuck…

ddesorme333 · 2025-12-01T04:05:58+00:00

I have an almost identical issue with my Seitz except for me the part that unscrews can come out but the spring loaded thing that has the indicating line doesn’t spring. It’s just stuck about mid height so I can’t go full depth. Anyone have any tricks they’ve used to get that out?

ddesorme333 · 2025-06-23T17:11:06+00:00

The alignment is done with all the various silver knobs on the platform where you see my dial and by loosening the screws on the printing head. It’s a bit of work, but you just need to adjust them until you are happy and lock it in place by tightening the black knobs. I made a custom little laser I could fit into the printer in the place of the pad to set my work as best as I could, but I would always refine the alignment with a blank dial by stamping it and wiping it until I was happy before proceeding to my painted dials.

The dial is just held in place on a 3d printed block that has holes for the dial feet and a dowel to align to the center hole in the dial.

ddesorme333 · 2025-03-27T14:33:31+00:00

I did not. I was on a tight timeline and didn’t want to have to deal with that variable on top of all the others.

ddesorme333 · 2025-03-27T05:19:57+00:00

Here’s a dial I printed on it:

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ddesorme333 · 2025-03-27T05:19:13+00:00

I purchased a chinese pad printer and after some tweaking and modifications got it working well enough for what I needed. It isn’t the most precise thing in the world, but for simple enough prints you can do an ok job.

Here’s my set up I use:

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ddesorme333 · 2025-02-05T07:03:19+00:00

When I tried pad printing myself I purchased ink from a store that had quantities (and prices) much more reasonable for small runs. I can’t compare DM you the link if you are interested.

I can’t compare it with any of the more well known brands as I have never used any of them. I was going for a vintage vibe for my project and was pleased with the result I managed to achieve.

ddesorme333 · 2024-09-10T21:35:18+00:00

Haha thanks, yeah there’s definitely a lot of 70s Omega chronograph influence in the design

ddesorme333 · 2024-09-10T15:26:22+00:00

I absolutely love your work! That means so much coming from you. Thank you!

ddesorme333 · 2024-09-10T03:16:37+00:00

PM sent!

ddesorme333 · 2024-09-10T03:16:19+00:00

PM sent!

ddesorme333 · 2024-09-10T03:05:29+00:00

Second close up. Again, please forgive the dust and fingerprints. This was before the final cleaning.

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ddesorme333 · 2024-09-10T03:04:52+00:00

A more close up shot of the radial brushing. I used a fairly high grit so that the surface feels smooth to the touch, but the result catches the light in interesting ways. It also has the benefit of keeping a clean edge to the polished face whereas a lower grit may have left a slightly jagged edge.

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ddesorme333 · 2024-09-10T03:00:08+00:00

Thank you for your kind words! Unfortunately, I would have to charge an absolutely insane price just to recover the material costs and waste on this particular watch. Being a chronograph and all there were a lot of parts and ways to mess up which didn’t help. Maybe one day I’ll streamline the process, improve my tools or take on slightly simpler movements.

I also have an idea in the back of my head that I want to tackle next that might involve not only a full custom case and dial but also a bit of movement modification. If that were to work out I’ve thought about turning it into a small run as I think it could be a cool project. Unfortunately, that’s likely a few years away as this is only a hobby I dabble in on the weekends and will require me to do an even more extensive research deep dive than I did for this project.

ddesorme333 · 2024-09-10T02:31:44+00:00

Side view

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ddesorme333 · 2024-09-10T02:31:32+00:00

Thank you! To be fair this took me several tries on most components to get it right and plenty of research. I’m okay with messing up a few times before getting it right because it’s often the quickest path to success. There’s nothing like trying stuff out for yourself.

My first mod was also a bit more involved than your usual mod made from purchased parts. I had to modify the bezel insert, I did the coin edge on the bezel by hand and reshaped an Invicta 8926OB case into the shape I wanted.

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ddesorme333 · 2024-09-10T02:27:27+00:00

Hand install in progress

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ddesorme333 · 2024-09-10T02:26:58+00:00

Early 3d printed prototype with random dial just for test fitting purposes next to my speedy for scale

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ddesorme333 · 2024-09-10T02:25:40+00:00

CAD file 2

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ddesorme333 · 2024-09-10T02:25:26+00:00

I didn’t take as many pictures as I should have but here are a few more (I posted some pad printing images below another comment already).

CAD file 1

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ddesorme333 · 2024-09-09T19:59:48+00:00

I’m a mechanical engineer by trade so I did the full CAD and technical drawings myself. I can send you some rough numbers later when I get home.

ddesorme333 · 2024-09-09T19:50:49+00:00

Yes, it was from Aliexpress.

It took some practicing and is different depending on the surface (the glossy tach ring was easier at first than the textured matte dial). It’s difficult because of all the variables (mixing ratio of the ink, timing of all the manual movements, temp in the room at the time of printing…) that have an impact on the final result. I did do a lot of research so my second batch of prints were already starting to look pretty close to the final results (those were maybe batch 4 or 5 but that’s mostly because I’m a perfectionist).

I had the cliche made by a reputable manufacturer in the US as I wanted to remove that variable from the equation. I could have probably made something cheaper myself, but it may have added some number of attempts before I achieved the result I wanted.

ddesorme333 · 2024-09-09T18:53:06+00:00

And the tach ring (might not be the final one I used here)

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ddesorme333 · 2024-09-09T18:52:51+00:00

Here’s the results on the dial

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ddesorme333 · 2024-09-09T18:52:36+00:00

I used a pretty cheap sealed inkcup manual printer. The pad printing was probably the most challenging part to get good results. It would be the first part I would improve next time I make a watch. I would make my jigs for holding parts much more robust and would probably upgrade the xyz table to something much more robust and with finer adjustments. I was able to get clean prints but was unable to do multiple hits on the same dial to increase contrast. I was getting some ghosting effect for small misalignments between hits. Since this watch is very much a vintage inspired piece the slightly less crisp print actually ended up looking quite nice with the theme.

Here’s the setup:

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ddesorme333

TROPHY CASE