Watch modding knowledge

I would start by googling “Seiko mod”, that should keep you busy for a few weeks. 

If you find it please post it as a lot of us would be interested. Or at least I would. 

Kris, I think you miss the point. Yes, obviously we could all Google and learn separately, "for a few weeks" as you say.  Collectively, since we're all here, wouldn't it be great if we could all learn together, share knowledge and help each other?  Just spit-ballin' here but I kind of think that may be better than just Googling and trying to learn on your own, not sure what info is good and what is bogus?  Even posting some links to other known good modding Sites, parts Vendors, or builds showing what parts fit with what other parts may be better than anyone just going out solo, trail and error, etc.  Thought that WatchCrunch was supposed to be a "community" but I may have been mistaken.  Maybe you can tell us all about how you started and where you found parts?

I would look for something like the TimeZone watch school for basic instruction in watch tinkering. Not you tube videos.  Watch repair/modding isn't like replacing a garbage disposal. Little room for error if you want to do it right.

IMO

I'm old school

Thanks foghorn. Yes, the watch modding skill set is very detailed and exacting and the videos I have seen on Youtube seem to vary greatly with some of the editing very challenging, like they skip a few steps.  I will go "Google" TimeZone watch school.  Thank you.

I started moddin Orient Mako's and Ray's when the pandemic drama started. Did 5 of them before I got myself under control. Got my parts from CrystalTimes and Namoki. Now to be honest, my first one was a disaster in the attention to detail department. Had to do some case buffing and repress the crystal few times. No one told me you can push in to far. Well, she did but that's a different story. Anyhoo I learned on the fly to the basics and I enjoy it.👍 This is my favorite, the 3 lives of the UnoMako. The second pic is what it is today, got um out of order, but that it out of the box with the plastic still on. It looked terrible!!

By modding I assume you mean modifying everything except the movement. Doing movement work is a much more advanced skill, which you can also learn, but takes alot more commitment than say learning how to change a bezel insert.

Generally mod parts websites are designed to make things easy for you. Everything is already organized by model and brand so you can be confident parts will fit. Japanese brands like Seiko, Citizen and Orient lend themselves best to modding, youll notice that quickly. Popular websites are Namoki Mods, Crystal Times, DLW and Islander Watches.

Islander Watches also has a youtube channel and series called watch and learn which are very helpful and mostly Seiko oriented. Once you feel braver you can also go on AliExpress and build a watch from scratch with parts. This opens you up to modding more quartz watches like GShocks and being able to build homages with a twist if youd like.

Modding is ultimately a DIY thing which assumes its a "do at your own risk" thing but also can be lots of fun to learn. The DIY aspect however also means you wont find the answers in one single place. The hundreds of ways to skin the same cat are scattered all about but you can still find friendly advice (hopefully mine helps) on places like WC to point you in the right direction.

If you have some specific topics or questions in mind let me know. I don’t mind writing about what I’ve learnt when time permits, if there’s interest.

Modding is fun, and it's not as hard as it seems! I've done a few mods for myself. 

I usually start with picking out a dial, then picking out the rest from there. Lucius Atelier and Komo Works have the best dials imo, and DLW also has good options. For cases, I really like the ones I've gotten from NamokiMods. Feel free to message me if you have any more questions! 

I think you may be overthinking it a little bit. Conceptually, assembling a watch is actually very simple. It's more a question of experience than knowledge. I agree with the other crunchers about quality sources, but I personally would keep it simple at the very beginning. Buy an inexpensive watch on AliExpress with an NH35 movement. Then replace dial and hands to your liking. As you start with a working watch you have all the parts you need, and you don't need to cut the watch stem. Save the nice artisian dial for your 2nd or 3rd build. (You will most likely re-mod those watches, anyhow.)

I used to watch videos on replacing a crystal, thinking about what to do right or wrong. When I actually did for the first time, it was a 10-minute affair and very anti-climatic.

Also, if you are unsure about tools, let us know. 

It helps if you have a clear plan of what exactly you want to mod on your watch. Set yourself one goal at a time, like: today I'm gonna change the dial. For simple stuff like changing hands, dial or crystal I actually do recommend Youtube videos - there are many detailed ones out there, and for many commonly modded watches. They helped me to no end when I was into modding. Like where you actually have to press to get the stem out on a NH35.

Start with an inexpensive, easy to mod watch, preferably used - Seiko 5, Vostok, anything with a NH, and get some decent tools. Most mods are doable with just a few screwdrivers, tweezers, a loupe, a toothpick, and a bit of Rodico. 

It's really not that hard - if you have enough mechanical knowledge to fix your bicycle, you can easily change parts on your watch. 

Oh, and: why don't you start a thread series here, about modding your ticker? That way we can help you right away. Like, part 1 - which watch, and what do you wanna mod? Part 2, getting the tools, part 3 getting the parts etc.

Should be fun!

Thanks all for the great and helpful info.  I have been looking at the Sites you all mentioned.  Getting ideas and will start out with "the basics".  I may do as ElTomstro suggests and start a thread here and take pics as I progress, post questions, etc.  Great idea!  

Seiko, Vostok. You tube

I watched a few youtube videos and thought - I can do that. Long history of mechanics though.

And I bought the tools for nix on eBay.

Start with a junk watch that is running and start messing with it. It should be running so you'll know if you went wrong somewhere. But dont use a DG2813 movement for practice. It has some diabolical designs due to cost cutting.

I recommend old Soviet Slava 2427 twin spring movements for practice. Robust, tough, interesting engineering, cheap.

I learnt on a Slava 2427 twin barrel.

Someone sent me this very useful links on docs for moding parts. I did checked all of those websites and most of them are very interesting. As many members above already mentioned the good practice is to start on something cheap in case you broke some parts so you wouldn't lose a lot. My recommendation would be although slightly different in the meaning that I would recommend to start from scratch instead of moding a working watch. This way you learn about each watch part at the same time. I don't know if you like to read a lot but I'm gonna try to keep it as short as possible. Your watch needs the following parts:

• movement

• watch case

• crystal

• dial

• hands

• bracelet

I always start with movements as I have interest about the various manufacturers, history, reliability and basically all the interesting and unique facts about movements whatsoever. So let's start with one of the most popular one which without doubt imo is NH series from seiko. So whether you pick NH34 or NH35 or NH36 learn the difference between them and pick one. Next step is to find a case for that movement. When you choose a case make sure it will have the caseback. Most of them have anyway but if it doesn't then it will be more difficult to find the correct one. Besides that you can choose whether you like the solid caseback or with the crystal so you could have a nice view of your movement. In that case I recommend to choose also an upgraded oscillating rotor for nicer results. All it takes is only one screw in the middle of the movement to exchange it. With watchcase make sure that the crown is included as well especially when its a screwdown crown. Stem is most of the time included in the movement and attaching a crown to stem is easy but definitely learn on YT how to do it properly. Also make sure you pick the correct crystal size whether it's a sapphire or mineral if it's not installed in the case already. In some cases you need to pick a chapter ring as well but this mostly depends on the watch you assemble.

Next on is dial. Now its time to be creative with colors, indices, perhaps if you skilled then you can apply your own logo, name and so on. Very importantly make sure it fits your case. Most of the watch cases have those information includes. Look for information such as "this case fits 28 to 29 mm" for instance. This way you can determine whether your choosen dial would fit. The best practice is to choose dial to fit the movement as well although here you can be creative as well because I seen a watch building process where they stick the dial to the movement with double sided tape. Usually if you got the correct dial to fit a specufic movement then it does have its own pins which fot in the hole in the movement. On the dial make sure you have the date window if you choose the movement with dates. Next is the hands. Lot of useful information is available on YT such as how to properly install them and so on. You just have to make sure to purchase hands for choosen movement to fit. Also be careful with choosing the colors of the hand so they will be visible on the dial. Obviously you don't want a white hands on white dial but as you commented my seikonaut I think you know what I mean 😉

And basically this is it. Choose a bracelet, strap and your own designed waych is born 😁 don't forget to post some pictures, here is that link

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kEFrtm9CbNTfY9nTKXkrS8GZU3W8xMfgp4K4EgmKkGQ/mobilebasic

ps: sorry for my english if you happen to find some grammars mistakes 😊