Homage Forum

A fellow member left me with a Rolex 666 in a 3646 build and the stem was a sad thing, soldered, glued, extended, completely out of reach.

The case tube protruded far longer than anything I have seen and the soldering was cold, it didn't grip the case at all. The case tube was that far out because the screw in crown couldn't go over the collar of the extender, a complete mess. I replaced the tube and tried to fix the stem mess, not very successful.

So, here it is, I made a new stem and threaded it to 1,4 mm, I had no 1,2 mm tools just then. Now I have to try to make it a 1,2 mm stem. This is a new area for me, to be continued...

I see your dilemma here, too bad.

Just speculating, would it be feasible to drill the tube a little bit larger to fit the extender or would the tube wall become too weak then.

It's the extender collar stopping the outer part of the crown..I will try to make it 1,2 mm.

Making a part and hardening it is one thing, but to heat it again and go back is another thing.
It may become brittle, it may crack, all sorts of things can go wrong in the process if you don't observe the colour of the heated part.
It's not just about heating it, letting it cool down in room temperature, or heating it and letting it cool down in water or oil, it's how it's done and when.
But, I have been reading a lot about this lately and I have rolled back the process now, next step will be to turn it down and cut 1,2 mm threads and harden the stem again. After that the next and final step must be done, to avoid the part to be brittle.
Fingers crossed.

If this is a successful project, then I will add this to my list.

Wow,that's some serious watchmakery there! Tuned in for the final result,fingers crossed!

Talked to an old friend of mine, he has tools to sell and I will pick up a threading set this week, nice to be able to cut threads from 0,05 mm to 1,5 mm. I had the drills already, but really good to have a complete threading set.

Heated and soft as butter now, taking it down to 1,2 mm as soon as I find the time.

Your skills once again amaze me oh Jedi Master.

Today I turned the stem down to 1,2 mm and started cutting threads.

It warped a little when I heated it and a little more when I cut the threads, to be corrected before hardening it again.

Here it is, I rarely do this and this was a special case as a stem fitting both movement and crown wasn't an option. The Rolex 666 is a Montilier calibre 68 and the original stem is 1,4 mm, so...

I know, there is a hair on the movement, my spouse can't keep away from my bench.

I may do it again, and I may not.

yes! well done.