# My First Mod - Seiko 7S26-0060



## amh82 (Dec 5, 2011)

Well, I'm a tinkerer by trade (electrical engineer) and it seems that whatever I get into, I end up taking things apart, so it followed that it wouldn't be long before I started to try a bit of modding.

I originally bought a Seiko SKX013 (mid size 007) in bits with Yobokies dial, beads of rice bracelet and a few spares to tidy it up, this was going to be a watch for my other half. Along with this the seller included a donor movement, which was actually a Seiko 7S26-0060 head (Thanks Retronaut  ). A fairly basic Seiko 5 watch, but I thought, why not fix them both up. And so I started with the 5.

Here's what I was starting with, well, same as this but with a white face:










Decided it would be nice to go explorer style with it, but couldn't find a suitable dial, so my other half picked out a nice blue sunburst dial from Jake B at 10watches. Sadly it has turned up with some scratches on the dial which is annoying, but I just don't think it's worth the hassle in returning it.



IMG_1774 by Hallsy01, on Flickr

Anyway, back to the case. This wasn't in too bad a shape, a bit scratched but nothing major. I stripped it down and decided I wasn't keen on the bezel lines. It was a little fat looking as it didn't have much of a chamfer. Decided I wanted it to flow into the case better, so a colleague made up a mandrel and we machined the chamfer a little further:



2012-04-04 18.18.12 by Hallsy01, on Flickr

I then flatted out the machining marks and polished.

I then went back to the case, flatted it off until the worst of the marks were gone, repolished the sides and back, then tried my hand at brushing the face. I tried to get a circular brushed finish by hand using scotchbrite and sanding blocks, it looked OK, but I decided I would re-do it on the lathe using scotchbrite.

Not perfect by a long shot, but pretty good for a first timer I'd say!! Here are a few shots of the case, not great as I was trying to shoot macro, handheld, manual focus, etc - sorry!!



IMG_1743 by Hallsy01, on Flickr



IMG_1744 by Hallsy01, on Flickr



IMG_1745 by Hallsy01, on Flickr


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## amh82 (Dec 5, 2011)

IMG_1746 by Hallsy01, on Flickr



IMG_1747 by Hallsy01, on Flickr



IMG_1751 by Hallsy01, on Flickr

Imo, the bezel profile looks much better now.


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## amh82 (Dec 5, 2011)

The standard crystal looked OK, but was a little boring I guess!! Thought I'd try a high dome, went with acrylic as they are easilly polished and didn't think it really merited a sapphire.

I'll see which the other half prefers between the standard flat crystal, and the domed acrylic, but I think it looks pretty good:



IMG_1769 by Hallsy01, on Flickr



IMG_1773 by Hallsy01, on Flickr

I'm not at the stage where the 7S26 is fully stripped, I just need to clean it up and put it back together. Hopefully I'll get chance to wash the parts at work later using our ultrasonic cleaner.

As for the hands, I've gone for some Mercedes ones, again from Jake B. They were cheap at $15 for 3 sets, and generally the quality is pretty good, but the lume is poor. The minute hands are loose (I hear ETA hands are .01 larger, so this can sometimes be the case fitting to Seiko movements), so I will have to try nipping up the opening a little.

Bracelet, I think Super Oyster will be the way forward, William Jean's offerings look great for the price.

Sadly that's it for now, but hopefully I'll have it all back together sooner or later


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## Phillionaire (Jan 23, 2010)

Fantastic work so far :thumbsup:

The bezel looks good. Seikos are so popular for projects and I can see why. Great price, heaps of replacement parts both OEM and afm.

Keen to see the finished product.


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## SNAKEBITE (Feb 13, 2012)

Fantastic.

I just don't have the nerve to do work like that, well not on the watches I have now.


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## fatboyflyer (Mar 2, 2010)

Excellent work, it must be so satisfying to do a mod like this, where you are modifying parts yourself. Look forward to seeing the finished watch.


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## amh82 (Dec 5, 2011)

Thanks for the kind words 

It's not perfect, but I'm quite happy so far for my first little project. Should give me some experience/tips ready for the next one!!

In the process of trying to finalise a worthwhile cleaning process at home, then I should be ready for re-assembly of the movement, then into the case


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## new2horology (Jun 28, 2010)

IMG_1769 by Hallsy01, on Flickr

BOOOOOOOOOOOKKKKKKKKEEEEEEEHHH!!!!

You have done the bookeh justice here mate! very well done

I don't care about the watch  I just love your bookeh

50mm lens by any chance?

superb


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## amh82 (Dec 5, 2011)

Hahaha - I wish it was pure Bokeh! 55-250mm IS, but the 'bokeh' is actually a pearl necklace (hmmm) laying on the table, I thought it would add to the shot so left it there!


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## amh82 (Dec 5, 2011)

Well, it's been a while, but I finally found the time to get this built back up. I know I haven't posted on here much, but I did buy this from an established member on here, so thought I'd post it up.

Here we go, a few pics:

From this (not my actual watchhead, just a pic I found on the net of same model):










To this..



Seiko 5 mod by Hallsy01, on Flickr



Seiko 5 mod by Hallsy01, on Flickr



Seiko 5 mod by Hallsy01, on Flickr



Seiko 5 mod by Hallsy01, on Flickr

And the missus seems happy with it, so that's good







She'd been on at me to finish it so she had something to rotate with her Oris Big Crown!!

I really wanted a blue sunburst explorer type dial for this, but couldn't find one at the time, so went with this one for now. I like it, although I'd prefer it without the '5' branding. The WJean Super Oyster is great quality for the money, unfortunately I suspect the end links are designed for diver cases as I had to file them a bit to get them to fit into the 19mm lugs, but also from a side profile they sit a little proud. I could try bending them down a little, but I think that might just cause them to stick out somewhere else, so will probably just leave them rather than risk making them fit worse.

Sadly I had trouble pressing the bezel in, it has a plastic gasket with no lead in at all, so it wants to rock as you press it. The first time I had it in & out it was fine, but since then I've ruined one gasket, and even this time carefully checking it was square whilst pressing (with a headset press no less!!) it has kicked up a tiny bit on one side, but not enough to worry about!!

So, bit of a learning experience, now I'm moving onto restoring a tired but original 6309-7040 for me, and an SKX013 mod for the other half again!!


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## no8yogi (Oct 1, 2012)

nice work I really like the finished article! super watch

what you planning next?


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## carlgulliver (Apr 6, 2008)

Thats stunning buddy, only dislike about it is the mercedes hour hand but apart from that superb


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## amh82 (Dec 5, 2011)

Thanks for the nice comments 

I do like the Mercedes hands but I must admit, when I put it together I did consider putting the orignal sword style hands back in there. I'm going to have a look around to see if I can find a set I'd prefer - although the other half said she likes it with the MB hands. I picked those because I wanted an Explorer look to the watch, but in the end I couldn't find an explorer style dial with blue sunburst.

As for next, I have a 6309-7040, all original, that is need of some TLC, so I'm planning to restore that but next up is the SKX013 that I bought alongside the watch head for the mod above. Going for a bit more of a vintage look for that, I've already started with the case and have a few bits on order, so will get some pics up soon!


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