Aquatimer drilled springbar holes

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nweash
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Aquatimer drilled springbar holes

Post by nweash » Sun Dec 03, 2017 2:16 pm

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:

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1.25mm diameter holes ideal for some seiko bars.


Image


I’ll post some wrist shots when I finally get it back in hand.


And everyone else said it couldn’t be done!

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Re: Steve Horn is TMF man. (Aquatimer content)

Post by hoppyjr » Sun Dec 03, 2017 2:28 pm

Wow!!!! Now I want another Aquatimer.

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hoppyjr
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Re: Steve Horn is TMF man. (Aquatimer content)

Post by hoppyjr » Sun Dec 03, 2017 2:29 pm

Wow!!!! Now I want another Aquatimer.

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Re: Steve Horn is TMF man. (Aquatimer content)

Post by Chocodove » Sun Dec 03, 2017 2:46 pm

Excellent work. I’d love another AT if they took regular straps.
- Todd

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Re: Steve Horn is TMF man. (Aquatimer content)

Post by rockmastermike » Sun Dec 03, 2017 2:49 pm

would so be onboard the AT train if this was an everyday mod

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Re: Steve Horn is TMF man. (Aquatimer content)

Post by mellonb1 » Sun Dec 03, 2017 2:54 pm

Steve's first class all the way. He drilled lug holes on my SKX. Quick turnaround and awesome communication.

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Re: Steve Horn is TMF man. (Aquatimer content)

Post by raf42 » Sun Dec 03, 2017 3:42 pm

Looks absolutely amazing Nick! AT on Art's canvas would be a dream come true combo.

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Re: Steve Horn is TMF man. (Aquatimer content)

Post by Nellipj » Sun Dec 03, 2017 3:51 pm

Hot damn, well done :clap: :clap: :clap:

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Re: Steve Horn is TMF man. (Aquatimer content)

Post by Panerai7 » Sun Dec 03, 2017 3:54 pm

Finally! Let me know how Seiko bars work out.
I'm gonna do this to the white one

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nweash
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Re: Steve Horn is TMF man. (Aquatimer content)

Post by nweash » Sun Dec 03, 2017 3:58 pm

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.

Image

1.1mm tips. Sounds about rightImage

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streetracer101
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Re: Steve Horn is TMF man. (Aquatimer content)

Post by streetracer101 » Sun Dec 03, 2017 4:09 pm

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.

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nweash
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Re: Steve Horn is TMF man. (Aquatimer content)

Post by nweash » Sun Dec 03, 2017 4:14 pm

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.

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streetracer101
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Re: Steve Horn is TMF man. (Aquatimer content)

Post by streetracer101 » Sun Dec 03, 2017 4:17 pm

nweash wrote:
Sun Dec 03, 2017 4:14 pm
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.
Awesome. Now I want my AT back. Hopefully he'll do this again.

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Re: Steve Horn is TMF man. (Aquatimer content)

Post by matt.wu » Sun Dec 03, 2017 4:27 pm

BALLS. Nice work man.
:htfu:

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Re: Steve Horn is TMF man. (Aquatimer content)

Post by Joeprez » Sun Dec 03, 2017 4:44 pm

Thats really awesome, as others has said, now I could grab an AT for sure.
Image

Omega / Tudor / Rolex / Sinn / Doxa / Seiko

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Re: Steve Horn is TMF man. (Aquatimer content)

Post by ericf4 » Sun Dec 03, 2017 7:12 pm

No way. Awesome

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toxicavenger
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Re: Steve Horn is TMF man. (Aquatimer content)

Post by toxicavenger » Sun Dec 03, 2017 7:17 pm

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.

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Re: Steve Horn is TMF man. (Aquatimer content)

Post by Danny_T » Sun Dec 03, 2017 7:21 pm

Holy shit this is epic. The AT with Arts canvas = orgasm

Balls move and now you get to reap the reward big time
Image

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Re: Steve Horn is TMF man. (Aquatimer content)

Post by dinexus » Sun Dec 03, 2017 9:05 pm

Ballsy indeed. Can’t wait to see this on a few straps.


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Re: Steve Horn is TMF man. (Aquatimer content)

Post by greenlightning » Mon Dec 04, 2017 9:04 am

bad ass, Nick. Love to see your courage rewarded. ready to hear your thoughts after getting and wearing.

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Re: Steve Horn is TMF man. (Aquatimer content)

Post by dukerules » Mon Dec 04, 2017 10:15 am

That is awesome, and took some guts.

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Re: Steve Horn is TMF man. (Aquatimer content)

Post by zepp21 » Mon Dec 04, 2017 12:01 pm

That takes some serious balls...

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Re: Steve Horn is TMF man. (Aquatimer content)

Post by ericf4 » Mon Dec 04, 2017 12:02 pm

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.
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nweash
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Re: Steve Horn is TMF man. (Aquatimer content)

Post by nweash » Mon Dec 04, 2017 12:21 pm

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.
Yeah I didn’t see a huge downside to the attempt.

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.

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Re: Steve Horn is TMF man. (Aquatimer content)

Post by ericf4 » Mon Dec 04, 2017 12:23 pm

are you ok to share how much it cost to have that done?
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