(UPDATE)My failed Seiko mod!

buzzmartian

Tyme Master
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I decided to mod my PADI Turtle a while back by changing the hands and bezel. This is a stock photo of what it looked like.srpa21j1_2_1.jpg

Then I went ahead and changed the Hour and Minute hands. I put a hour hand that matched the minute hand and then a black second hand with a red tip. With my bad eyes, all the white on the hands seem to just blend in to everything IMO. Look at stock photo.
IMG_4188.jpeg

So today my pilot style bezel finally arrived. I thought I would try something a little clean and different. It's a fixed bezel.

IMG_4189.jpeg

But in the process of snapping on the bezel which even the manufacturer states is a PITA, I had my crown unscrewed and my thumb slipped off the case back while applying pressure and then this happened.
IMG_4193.jpeg

Now I have to get this fixed. Bummer!!
 
Last edited:
Bummer, but hopefully shouldn't be too hard to fix. Good luck with the repair.

I found this on the WRC
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  • Posted April 19, 2014
    I received this watch from a friend to see if I could repair it for him.
    The stem was broken at the narrowest point where the set lever rides. I ordered a stem and tried to remove the broken portion left inside the crown. Not paying attention to the amount of force I was using to unscrew the broken stem, I snapped the stem off farther inside the crown. Now I have nothing to "Grab" onto so that I can remove it.
    The movement is a Chinese copy of the Venus 175 chronograph movement set inside a replica Panerai watch. I would normally not even touch such a watch as the build quality is usually total junk! But, now I need to remove the stem somehow and replacement parts (crown) are obviously not a possibility.
    I though about drilling it out but that would most-likely lead to damaged threads I fear!

    Any other ideas on how to proceed?


    post-90-0-01422500-1397914402_thumb.jpg

And another useful tutorial from Francisco

First, I would like to thank all the forum members that helped me to discover this technique.

Some times the stem may break itself in the way that following picture shows:

4064994045_bdebbc8cca_o.jpg


As seen, there is no enough room to take the stem and to unscrew it from the crown. Therefore, it seems impossible to remove the stem. Hence, a new stem should be bought, what could be sometimes very expensive.

In other cases, it is possible to unscrew the stem, but the rest of the stem is too short and the stem is expensive or spares are not available. In such cases, if the broken part is the threaded part, a stem extensor can be used. Next picture shows a stem extensor.

4065744440_5b6c57e534_o.jpg


The broken stem would be screwed in the small tube. However, in our case, a stem extensor is not useful, as we cannot remove the broken stem form the crown.

What we are going to do is to dissolve the stem. This is possible because crown is made of a material much more resistant to corrosion than the stem.

To dissolve the stem we will use alum powder. If you cannot find it in a local store, it can be easily found at Ebay. Follows one example:

4064994221_755b5215ab_o.jpg


I bought this one:

4064994305_428d79f88a_o.jpg


We put quite alum powder in a small glass.

4064994357_fdea5a5e59_o.jpg


Really, I did put twice quantity than the picture shows. The alum powder is dissolved in water.

4065744754_3ef40cbda2_o.jpg


The crown is submerged in the water. Moreover, I added an old stem to see the effect of the alum powder on it.

4065744838_c56c80ac7e_o.jpg


This is a very slow process. The time needed depends, of course, of the amount of stem to be dissolved. I recommend shaking the glass every couple of days.

In this case, as I wanted to see the effect on the old stem, I wait quite a long time. Last picture was taken after 9 days. It is possible to see small pieces of the stem on the bottom of the glass.

Alter two weeks, the crown is free of the piece of the stem. In addition, the old stem shows this horrific aspect. Please check that one part of the stem is open.

4064994605_c002beb592_o.jpg


Now it is time to check whether the hole of the crown is truly free of small pieces from the stem, and if a new stem can be screwed. It seems so:

4065745292_1e2f707390_o.jpg


As next picture shows, there is no any problem to screw a new stem. Therefore, the crown has been repaired.

4065745414_ffc9ca2a44_o.jpg


Thanks for reading,
 
Hey thos e hands looks fantastic. I do think the stock bezel looks better but the new one is cool too...just my preference but still looks good. As far as the stem thats an easy fix as long as you can get it out of the crown. If not there are tons of crowns out there for you. Sour ending to a killer mod but you will be back in action soon ANDDD you learn you a lesson lol
 
You did a great job!! Hopefully the new parts come in soon. At least it'll have the correct time twice a day lol
 
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