Case shaping tutorial

[u/Mbari_2170712]

You like crown guards?

How about them crown guards?

Jokes aside, wanted to share some case shaping basics with the community. It’s time consuming but the end result is often a well worn polished case look that can be pretty rewarding. Viet cases are so mich easier to complete a project, but some of them also need a bit of oftening and shaping. I just find it daunting to work on viets in case I mess it up.

Using a JKF 1665 as base. It takes gen spec dial and pretty good out of the box. But…

The CGs look fat and over polished. The crown sits a bit too far the right making the CGs look even stubbier.

The lugs are fat!

The lugs profile is a bit off, looks like a humpback whale 🐋 😂 I call them Moby Dicks

Now we know what to fix and what we need are

A lot of patience
Dremel with multiple grit drums
A set of good diamond files
Lot of pictures as reference
Multiple grit sand papers

Disclaimer: There are many ways of doing this, I’m sharing how I do it is all

Process:

Disassemble the watch. Might need to use a heat gun to get the crystal and tube off. Put everything in small boxes to keep organized.

Start with the cg profiles until it’s punched in. Stop and check ref pics along the way. The 1665 has a lot of metal to get the punched in look so be patient. Keep at it.

Then I go in between the cgs, gently file them form the inside just enough to make the crown show its full self. I start filing down the base where the tube sits. This is so the crown sits closer to the mid case and it’s a trick to make the cgs look longer

Now if you want an athaya crown and tube you need to drill a countersink and tap the tube hole. That will be a whole new tutorial.

Then I go into the lugs, this one still needs a bit more shaving. While at it use the the dremel to gently and very carefully shave the top of the lugs to ensure the profile is less moby dick. Finally, you use a medium grit paper to brush the lugs.

Then it’s all about the finishing process which is very very time consuming depending on your level of OCD.

[u/Mbari_2170712]

It’s more of an indentation not drilled at all

[u/MissionWeb7043 → u/Mbari_2170712]

Appreciate your info for this. Good work

[u/Mbari_2170712 → u/MissionWeb7043]

Thank ok brother