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JwRosenthal
路This is before/after using mcgyvers bezel
Making replacement bezels/inserts, "bakelite"/acrylic & aluminium- Tissot PR516
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ghce
路I have had request for making a bezel/insert for the PR516 chronographs with tachy/pulsations scale before - but I never had an original at hand to se how it was made. @TrboDieselPwrd kindly sent me a case with a worn bezel/insert to disect!
I have allways taught it was a rather thick acrylic insert, but it turns out to be 0.5mm and held in place by a piece of black plastic that is press fitted to the case.
I took measurements and produced a new "bezel" from fresh POM plastic.
The insert was made from 0.5mm acrylic sheet. Numbers/scale are made with a special method of painting and etching (muuuuuuuuuch experimentation to get it to work) and finally the backside is painted white.
The insert is then glued to the bezel and gets a final polish - done.
Have you had any experience with the red bezel chronographs, my new to me project watch's bezel looks a little tired and I do worry about its fragility if I have to remove it in the restoration.
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mcgyver
路Have you had any experience with the red bezel chronographs, my new to me project watch's bezel looks a little tired and I do worry about its fragility if I have to remove it in the restoration.
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ghce
路The problem is the process of making them has a hard time with the color red! I can do another testrun, but I do not think it is going to work! 馃檨
From your earlier description you are doing a different method, etch then dye?
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mcgyver
路This is a 0.5mm thick acrylic insert - so it needs to be painted and "printed" ! :/
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mcgyver
路After many years of hunting for a small press (that did not cost an arm and leg) I finally found a used one for a price I could accept!
Stripped parts previously used to pad print using my small mill and made this new tool.
For long I have wanted to be able to make the red/white bezel showed above for PR516's, so decided that it would be a good project for me to learn and tune my printing skills on.
Clich茅 etched in 0.3mm stainless spring steel. I think I have made ~30 different clich茅s before I got the settings worked out and I now get pretty consitent results.
Blanks where milled from 3mm acrylic thinned down to the 0.5mm. Tried different acrylic sheets, but cast seems to work best and 3mm was the thinnest I had in stock.
Insert blank held in place by two small strips of double sided tape - worked, but will make a better jig later.
Shown above with the white print in place.
Next was to get the black part printed.
To align the print I first print on a piece of overhead paper placed above the piece to be printed - get it dialed in - remove the "paper" and then print.
I will ad a moore stable construction to get better precision - but it works fairly good!
After printing I mask of the 12 to 3-portion, paint the back red - remove masking and finally paint white.
End result
The masking tape messed up the print on two inserts, so only two survived -will have to use tape with not so strong glue the next time! 馃榾
Stripped parts previously used to pad print using my small mill and made this new tool.
For long I have wanted to be able to make the red/white bezel showed above for PR516's, so decided that it would be a good project for me to learn and tune my printing skills on.
Clich茅 etched in 0.3mm stainless spring steel. I think I have made ~30 different clich茅s before I got the settings worked out and I now get pretty consitent results.
Blanks where milled from 3mm acrylic thinned down to the 0.5mm. Tried different acrylic sheets, but cast seems to work best and 3mm was the thinnest I had in stock.
Insert blank held in place by two small strips of double sided tape - worked, but will make a better jig later.
Shown above with the white print in place.
Next was to get the black part printed.
To align the print I first print on a piece of overhead paper placed above the piece to be printed - get it dialed in - remove the "paper" and then print.
I will ad a moore stable construction to get better precision - but it works fairly good!
After printing I mask of the 12 to 3-portion, paint the back red - remove masking and finally paint white.
End result
The masking tape messed up the print on two inserts, so only two survived -will have to use tape with not so strong glue the next time! 馃榾
Edited:
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ghce
路Absolutely amazing work! and first class results.
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marco
路I congratulate you on your skill and perseverance, a resounding "Well done" from me .
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eds_pen@outlook.
路Yes, basically! Ad paint with oiler(or equivalent) let dry, clean edges, seal (if necessary) and finally paint the backside black. It helps using paints with different solvents so they do not mix! 馃槈
Do you still sell your bezels? If so, how can I purchase one from you?
Any help will be greatly appreciated, thanks.
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TrboDieselPwrd
路I have had request for making a bezel/insert for the PR516 chronographs with tachy/pulsations scale [...]
As @mcgyver mentioned before, the clear bezel is mounted to the case by a black plastic part that hugs the metal flange/groove of the case on the left. It was a perfect fit! The new bezel gently snaps in place and a tiny bit of contact adhesive (my approach) keeps it from rotating.
I just want to give a big thanks to @mcgyver; you are a credit to the watch hobby particularly when it comes to making these delicate, unobtainium parts. Thanks again for taking this project on and for letting me be a part of it!