Aquatimer drilled springbar holes
Aquatimer drilled springbar holes
Around Jan/Feb of this year I emailed Steve Horn about getting springbar holes for my Aquatimer. I found him on WUS when I stumbled on a thread about drilled lugs on Seikos.
He gave me many reservations he had taking on the project. Between work, travel, and his other Seiko projects he wouldn’t be able to even look at it for a few months.
Fast forward to October and few back and forth emails later. I send him the watch. He looks at it. Again he’s hesitant and tells me all the things that can go wrong. I basically released him of any liability because I knew he had it in him and at this point I was willing to risk it.
Today he sends me these photos....
Fixtures he drew and machined just for my watch:
1.25mm diameter holes ideal for some seiko bars.
I’ll post some wrist shots when I finally get it back in hand.
And everyone else said it couldn’t be done!
He gave me many reservations he had taking on the project. Between work, travel, and his other Seiko projects he wouldn’t be able to even look at it for a few months.
Fast forward to October and few back and forth emails later. I send him the watch. He looks at it. Again he’s hesitant and tells me all the things that can go wrong. I basically released him of any liability because I knew he had it in him and at this point I was willing to risk it.
Today he sends me these photos....
Fixtures he drew and machined just for my watch:
1.25mm diameter holes ideal for some seiko bars.
I’ll post some wrist shots when I finally get it back in hand.
And everyone else said it couldn’t be done!
Re: Steve Horn is TMF man. (Aquatimer content)
Wow!!!! Now I want another Aquatimer.
Re: Steve Horn is TMF man. (Aquatimer content)
Wow!!!! Now I want another Aquatimer.
Re: Steve Horn is TMF man. (Aquatimer content)
Excellent work. I’d love another AT if they took regular straps.
- Todd
- rockmastermike
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Re: Steve Horn is TMF man. (Aquatimer content)
would so be onboard the AT train if this was an everyday mod
Re: Steve Horn is TMF man. (Aquatimer content)
Steve's first class all the way. He drilled lug holes on my SKX. Quick turnaround and awesome communication.
Re: Steve Horn is TMF man. (Aquatimer content)
Looks absolutely amazing Nick! AT on Art's canvas would be a dream come true combo.
Re: Steve Horn is TMF man. (Aquatimer content)
Hot damn, well done
Re: Steve Horn is TMF man. (Aquatimer content)
Finally! Let me know how Seiko bars work out.
I'm gonna do this to the white one
I'm gonna do this to the white one
Re: Steve Horn is TMF man. (Aquatimer content)
Panerai7 wrote:Finally! Let me know how Seiko bars work out.
I'm gonna do this to the white one
First I’m gonna try Terry’s slim fatties.
1.1mm tips. Sounds about right
- streetracer101
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Re: Steve Horn is TMF man. (Aquatimer content)
That's terrific. Did he drill them all the way thru?
I suspect there will be surge in purchases of these if it works. That was the biggest reason for my sale.
I suspect there will be surge in purchases of these if it works. That was the biggest reason for my sale.
Re: Steve Horn is TMF man. (Aquatimer content)
Nah we decided against drilling through. He said it would be too hard to locate a clear path perfectly without potentially coming out too close to the lug end.
I didn’t want drilled lugs if avoidable also because IWC has a great finish on that watch and I didn’t think it would look as clean with holes.
So it’s drilled from the inside at a slight angle.
I didn’t want drilled lugs if avoidable also because IWC has a great finish on that watch and I didn’t think it would look as clean with holes.
So it’s drilled from the inside at a slight angle.
- streetracer101
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Re: Steve Horn is TMF man. (Aquatimer content)
Awesome. Now I want my AT back. Hopefully he'll do this again.nweash wrote: ↑Sun Dec 03, 2017 4:14 pmNah we decided against drilling through. He said it would be too hard to locate a clear path perfectly without potentially coming out too close to the lug end.
I didn’t want drilled lugs if avoidable also because IWC has a great finish on that watch and I didn’t think it would look as clean with holes.
So it’s drilled from the inside at a slight angle.
Re: Steve Horn is TMF man. (Aquatimer content)
BALLS. Nice work man.
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Re: Steve Horn is TMF man. (Aquatimer content)
Thats really awesome, as others has said, now I could grab an AT for sure.
Omega / Tudor / Rolex / Sinn / Doxa / Seiko
Re: Steve Horn is TMF man. (Aquatimer content)
No way. Awesome
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Re: Steve Horn is TMF man. (Aquatimer content)
Looks great! Steve did the drilled lugs on my SKX and he was going to do it on my Airking but the lugs are to close to the curve of the case to make a difference. He is a great dude.
Website: http://smallwhitestubbies.com/
Re: Steve Horn is TMF man. (Aquatimer content)
Holy shit this is epic. The AT with Arts canvas = orgasm
Balls move and now you get to reap the reward big time
Balls move and now you get to reap the reward big time
Re: Steve Horn is TMF man. (Aquatimer content)
Ballsy indeed. Can’t wait to see this on a few straps.
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Re: Steve Horn is TMF man. (Aquatimer content)
bad ass, Nick. Love to see your courage rewarded. ready to hear your thoughts after getting and wearing.
Re: Steve Horn is TMF man. (Aquatimer content)
That is awesome, and took some guts.
Re: Steve Horn is TMF man. (Aquatimer content)
That takes some serious balls...
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Re: Steve Horn is TMF man. (Aquatimer content)
i guess the good thing is that if he did screw up the holes, worse case you could just snap the bracelet back into the quick release and it would cover up the error... Cant wait to see this on a strap.
Re: Steve Horn is TMF man. (Aquatimer content)
Yeah I didn’t see a huge downside to the attempt.ericf4 wrote:i guess the good thing is that if he did screw up the holes, worse case you could just snap the bracelet back into the quick release and it would cover up the error... Cant wait to see this on a strap.
I thought worst case scenario is the drill bit slides and scratches the inner lug. Big deal, the OEM strap will cover that.
He kept saying the case could be ruined, but I couldn’t get a specific answer because apparently too many things could have gone wrong.
We had discussed whether or not to remove the bezel ( which he normally does for drilled lugs)
From Steve:
“I did end up leaving the bezel on. I really didn't want to force it trying to remove it so I approached it a different way. The aluminum fixtures shown are made to precisely fit the caseback and bezel, with some thin plastic film in between to protect the case finish from metal-to-metal contact. I knew that the clamping forces would be fairly low so I rolled the dice that it wouldn't harm the bezel or ratcheting mechanism. I got lucky, it worked out just fine.”
The whole time he said the setup for this job is the majority of the work.
Between making the fixtures and setting up the watch he spent a total of 8 hours for 4 tiny damn holes.
I should have the watch back tomorrow if he managed to drop it off a FedEx today.
I owe the guy some beer for sure. Now to figure out how to ship beer to PA legally.
Re: Steve Horn is TMF man. (Aquatimer content)
are you ok to share how much it cost to have that done?
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