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Avatar Update on the Caveman Alpha Submariner Mark II Post contains photos Post contains linked URLs
Ricky Lee
February 19, 2009 08:16PM		 Registered: April 2005
Posts: 1,973 (2009-03)

This one may not make a lot of sense if you missed my Is Happy Day! post on the watch. It's located HERE if you'd like a refresher.

Executive Summary - It worked;

Caveman Alpha Submariner Mk2

Click HERE for larger photo

What I needed was an O-ring with a 35 mm I.D. and a .75 mm cross-section. Closest thing I could find, though, was an English size O-ring, 1-3/8" X 1/8". Basically right on the money in diameter, but too thick by more than 200%. Scary!

Still, when the PN came up 'Discontinued' at NAPA and the fellow said "Can't charge ya' for it if it ain't in the computer.. this one's on the house." I knew it was fate, and that I'd figure out some way to make it work. I am smiling... Hey, if it's all you got it's all you got. Necessity is the mother, etc. I am smiling...

Caveman Alpha Submariner Mk2

Click HERE for larger photo

But, dang. I gotta say that modding an O-ring turned out to be a helluva lot harder than it sounded on paper. I am confused... I am smiling...

What I did was turn a flanged fixture on me lathe (OK, "fixture" is too high-falutin' 'twas a chunk off an old hoe handle Laughing!), stretch the O-ring over the diameter and butt it up against the shoulder, then rig up an X-acto blade in the universal tool holder. Worked a treat, and I got a nice accurate cut, right down the middle. Yippee!

Trouble is, I should not have gone "right down the middle". I am sad... Sure, I knew splitting the thing exactly in half would leave me with a D-ring (half an 'O'-ring, right? Wink, wink ...) that was a little thicker than nominal. But I figured, no problem. It's rubber, I'll just cram it in there. Bzzzzzzt! Wrong! No way would it go. I am crying!

Caveman Alpha Submariner Mk2

Click HERE for larger photo

So I put one of the D-rings back in the lathe, and set out to trim a half-millimeter off. What actually happened is that the blade snagged, spun the ring, twisted it off the 'fixture', and generally wreaked havoc. Scary! And, yeah, it was destroyed in the process. I am sad...

OK, but I've still got another one. I hated to try the lathe again, so I set down to have me a smoke and a think. I was pettin' me hound dawg as I did so, and I told her "You're gettin' powerful shaggy, mutt. Soon as it warms up just a little more, I'm gonna shave your ass again." Ding ding ding! Eureka!

Caveman Alpha Submariner Mk2

Click HERE for larger photo

Yep, I went and got an old disposable razor, and shaved the last half mm off that sucker. Laughing!

No, it didn't leave as uniform and pretty a surface as did the lathe, but 'tis not visible once it's on the watch. And I figured there was no way I could manage to destroy the remaining D-ring with a disposable safety razor. Laughing! Anyway, don't forget this is Caveman Watchmaking. Wink, wink ...

I'll leave ye wi' one last photo;

Caveman Alpha Submariner Mk2

Click HERE for larger photo

T'anks for lookin' y'all!

 -Ricky
Messages In This Thread

Update on the Caveman Alpha Submariner Mark II Post contains photos Post contains linked URLs (views: 101)
Ricky Lee -- February 19, 2009 08:16PM
Nice work Ricky, looks great.Thumbs UP! (n/t) (views: 5)
Mark C. -- February 19, 2009 10:54PM
Thank You! Mark. You're too kind. It looks OK, at best. But it's a functional watch, and it came to me as a pile o' parts. Wink, wink ... That's enough for me. Rolling on the floor laughing my a$$ off! (n/t) (views: 5)
Ricky Lee -- February 20, 2009 02:19AM
A real caveman would have used a thin bead of silicone caulk! Laughing! Wonder if your local plumbing store would have something close? I,ve used something... (views: 8)
JohnnyT -- February 19, 2009 10:04PM
like that to stop a leaking kitchen faucet. With your new found use of the razor and Bro. Dave's tip on freezing it, you can pretty much start with anything close.

You're my hero even if you're still learning. Laughing!

You know, I considered that! Well, actually.. (views: 8)
Ricky Lee -- February 20, 2009 01:01AM
..I was thinkin' black RTV silicone automotive goo. Same principle, though! Wink, wink ...

Only reason I didn't is that it's tough to get an absolutely perfect bead, cosmetically. I just knew that if I tried I'd be unhappy with the result, and end up diggin' it back out and doing it over. Scary! Not a fun prospect.. Laughing!

    Quote
    JohnnyT
    You're my hero even if you're still learning. Laughing!!

Little ol' me? Boy, am I embarrassed! {looks at toes, kicks dirt} Well thanks, mate.

I fancy I am learnin' a little. Just finished a pretty major overhaul tonight, and it turned out so good that {Gasp!} I think I'll actually have to invent a new category of watchmaking, something a step up from Caveman. Stone Age Watchmaking? Shoot, maybe even Medieval Watchmaking. Laughing!

I won't give it away - pics and writeup in a few days, rest assured - but I will say that Allan Zirlin and greg honeycutt will most likely get a big kick out of it, since the watch in question has passed through both their hands. I am smiling...

-Ricky

Awesome story! (n/t) (views: 5)
ldater    5 -- February 19, 2009 09:22PM
Thank You! It keeps me off the streets, Caveman Watchmaking. Wink, wink ... And since I kissed that durned Blarney Stone, I can't seem to shut up about it. Rolling on the floor laughing my a$$ off! (n/t) (views: 4)
Ricky Lee -- February 20, 2009 01:27AM
Thumbs UP! looks better! Next time, try putting >> (views: 8)
Dave Murphy -- February 19, 2009 09:20PM
>> the "fixture" and o-ring in the freezer overnight. Especially if you can get one of those synthetic rubber o-rings like EDPM. I have heard reports that the material begins to machine like plastic at low temperature.

Come to think of it, might as well moisten the seal before going into the deep-freeze. Nothing like some ice to hold things in place for a while.

Dave
Ontario NY, USA

Doh! I've heard similar reports about low-temp machining. Just never.. (views: 9)
Ricky Lee -- February 20, 2009 01:22AM
..occurred to me to try it in this application. Dang. I've mentioned it before, but I'll say it again. 'tis a cryin' shame we're not neighbors, 'cause I surely would love the chance to work with you. Shoot, with you on the lathes and me on the mills, grinders, lasers and wire EDM machines, we'd probably end up Ruling The Universe. Laughing! Or at the very least make so much money that we'd have to use a wheelbarrow to load it in the trunk of the Bugatti. Wink, wink ...

-Ricky

Laughing! Rolling on the floor laughing my a$$ off! Laughing! (n/t) (views: 3)
Dave Murphy -- February 20, 2009 02:14AM



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