a couple new mods

Finally got my hands and dial yesterday from HK, I jumped right in and swapped them.
love the look of it although the orange dial was pretty cool too.

before..


after..




the lume is excellent and long lasting..



Second is this Zodiac quartz to auto swap. This was a bit more difficult and would recomend a different movement then what I used.
First, the ETA movements with date and day are about 1mm thicker from the day wheel to the stem then a 2824-2 which also is about the same as the quartz used in the watch, I used an ETA 2878 so the stem alignment from the case to movement was off by 1mm. Eta movements will mount perfect to the original dial feet from the on the Deep Reef, made that easy. A few more small modifications to the stem and back together.
I would use a 2824-2 and cover the day window permanently if I was to do this again.
a few pics..

got this 1/8 foam pad for working on does a good job of keeping things from scratching.
the Zodiac quartz and 2878 comparison




got these hands from Jay at MCWW

Dude you TOTALLY ROCK!

Both watches look great but I REALLY am DIGGIN' the Zodiac mod!!!!!!!!!

Took a great watch and just gave it a "better engine and rims!"

AWESOME!

Wonderful work. I really like the Z mod, they need to stop doing all that quartz stuff and do more Autos like you have with that watch!

Dude you are so awesome!! Hope the mods ive got going on look half as good! Glad to see the handset from Jay glowing like crazy, i've got a set on the way!

Oh boy..Now THIS is BEYOND cool Ron !
First the new Seiko dial looks top notch. It actually
seems to look bigger now as well. Very professional
looking sir and those numbers have a Panerai feel
about them too. Also like those hands alot, especially
the orange one !..Now with the Zodiac, this is just
INCREDIBLE !!! Turning that Deep Reef into an genuine
automatic..WOW ! I didn't even know this could be
done ! So I guess now we know !..TERRIFIC !!! Looks
like Alan's V-Sport can be changed to an automatic
after all..pretty cool IMHO. By the way, did that white
dial Deep Reef come with that bracelet Ron, or did you
put that one on sir ? ..Excellent stuff Ron, and thanks
for showing us this !

Fantastic Ron! I really appreciate the mod you had to do to the movement on the eta. Great job!

OH MY GOD!!! YOU ARE MY FREAKIN HERO RON!!! So tell me what you CAN'T DO Big Guy!!!! The Seiko looks awesome and changing to an auto movement in the Zodiac rocks. Now I have a something for you to think about. I have my Invicta Skelly which died last week. Swiss quartz but know sure which one. I'd love an auto movement in it. If I send you Old Skelly could you look at him and see if it can be done? If it can I'd be more than happy to pay for the movement and any work you do. I love that watch and a new battery didn't get her up and running again. Just a thought.

Ron looks amazing...Great Job...

Thanks guys!

Tom, the bracelet came from the black dial DR and switched them, gave the black away.

Duff, send it over and I will look at it, depending on the movement in it and a few other things but might work. finding the right hands and size can be a problem.

barnbuilder1 wrote:

Thanks guys!

Tom, the bracelet came from the black dial DR and switched them, gave the black away.

Duff, send it over and I will look at it, depending on the movement in it and a few other things but might work. finding the right hands and size can be a problem.

Will do Bro! Just throw it on the bench and whenever you get to it check it out! I love this watch.

Ron, I used to want to be Duff, now I wish I were you. Pretty friggin' impressive, man.

porschefan wrote:

Ron, I used to want to be Duff, now I wish I were you. Pretty friggin' impressive, man.

Glad to see you got your meds straightened out Tim!!!!

bodypeersur1 wrote:

porschefan wrote:

Ron, I used to want to be Duff, now I wish I were you. Pretty friggin' impressive, man.

Glad to see you got your meds straightened out Tim!!!!

whoooohoooooooooooo

They look great Ron. Is that Bergeon tool on the dial used to set the hands?

merichar wrote:

They look great Ron. Is that Bergeon tool on the dial used to set the hands?

I saw it too and just ordered a couple at ottofrei, setting hands are a pain in the butt without the right tools!

merichar wrote:

They look great Ron. Is that Bergeon tool on the dial used to set the hands?

yep, it's the 7404-2 hand setting tool. I was using a piece of crap and this right tool is much better

barnbuilder1 wrote:

merichar wrote:

They look great Ron. Is that Bergeon tool on the dial used to set the hands?

yep, it's the 7404-2 hand setting tool. I was using a piece of crap and this right tool is much better

Thanks, you're developing some pretty good watchmaking skills. Let me know when you start teaching classes.

congrats on 2 great mods. im realy liking the monster, the new dial and hands look awesome. steve

merichar wrote:

barnbuilder1 wrote:

merichar wrote:

They look great Ron. Is that Bergeon tool on the dial used to set the hands?

yep, it's the 7404-2 hand setting tool. I was using a piece of crap and this right tool is much better

Thanks, you're developing some pretty good watchmaking skills. Let me know when you start teaching classes.

all amateur and wanting to learn, sometimes costs more than I like, but fun

. . . . more great work Ron!!! I really like the monster dial, no day/date on a 3-hand is so clean. Envy your knowledge in putting together the parts that make it happen . . . Randy.

thanks!

wagon wrote:

. . . . more great work Ron!!! I really like the monster dial, no day/date on a 3-hand is so clean. Envy your knowledge in putting together the parts that make it happen . . . Randy.

RANDY!!! YOU CHANGED YOUR NAME!!!!

barnbuilder1 wrote:

Thanks guys!

Tom, the bracelet came from the black dial DR and switched them, gave the black away.

Duff, send it over and I will look at it, depending on the movement in it and a few other things but might work. finding the right hands and size can be a problem.

Thanks for the info sir ! Terrific job once again !!!!!!

Mad skillz! It surprises me, what talents we have among us, great job

Both look great...I would never even attempt a quartz to auto swap! Nice Job.....now I need to find a quartz worth destroying.

Pretty damn amazing! How did you know that the ETA would even fit into the Zodiac? friggin' inspirational; I'm really itching to get a new project started

cski wrote:

Pretty damn amazing! How did you know that the ETA would even fit into the Zodiac? friggin' inspirational; I'm really itching to get a new project started

I tried out a 2824 that I have then ordered the 2878 with the day and date, I didn't know it was taller from day wheels to stem and that gave me problems.