u/TheTurtleVirus

Hi 3D printeurs!

I am on a mission to design the best 3D printable bracelets on the internet. Here is my first submission. I would love your opinions! My design criteria were:

1. Print-in-place.

2. No supports required.

3. Easy to attach/detach.

4. Reasonably strong.

5. Yank-to-detach in case of emergency.

6. Looks good.

7. Not bulky.

If you find this model pleasing please let me know. Also, if you disagree with my design criteria I would love to hear your thoughts.

I designed this model using a 0.2mm nozzle and I doubt that a 0.4mm nozzle will print well. My model was printed in PLA. The 19-link model fits my 6.75" wrist comfortably, I can't yet suggest which size will fit other wrist sizes. This print took 2 hours and used <10 grams of filament! Download it under Creative Commons-Public Domain here: https://www.printables.com/model/1812212-bracelet-print-in-place-snap-fit

I'm not sure what these are actually called. Button blanks? Anyway, my Suzuki Sidekick had broken/ugly plugs. So I modeled some new ones and printed them from ASA. 👍🏻 The model is here if you want it https://www.printables.com/model/1801313-suzuki-sidekickgeo-tracker-button-blank

I've dabbled in watches for a couple years, mostly cheapish vintage Seikos. A couple months ago I decided to go big and build a three watch core collection. My goal was to spend less than $5k total. I ended up spending $5.2k before taxes/shipping. Here's the breakdown.

Dress/Work watch: Longines Master Collection Chrono Moonphase. I adore this watch. It's so complicated but fits everything into such a tight package. It feels very classy without being in your face about it. I got this one on Ebay for $1850. The original asking price was over $2k so I still got the verification service with it. It was a little grimy and dull when it arrived so I spent a couple hours cleaning and polishing the case and now it looks close to new. I put a black Veblenist cowhide strap on it and kept the original clasp.

Evening watch: Seiko SPB513. The first watches I fell in love with were Seikos so this one is special to me. It keeps that vintage vibe but still feels modern. I actually love the inner countdown timer ring, it comes in handy occasionally. I bought this one here on Reddit for $700 and the transaction was very smooth.

Weekend watch: Tudor Black Bay Bronze. I have been fixated on this watch since I first saw it. Yes, it's enormous, but I'm not as sensitive to its size as most reviewers seem to be. I can't stop staring at it's dial. I bought this used on Chrono24 for $2650. It maintains the OEM strap, which I think pairs nicely with it, although I might take the Nato off considering it's already pretty tall.

Bonus: The watch chest I got on eBay for $195.

All in all I'm super happy with the value I have been able to obtain for ~$5k. These are my core watches that I don't intend to part with. I have some other watches, mostly vintage, that I like to practice restoring. Once I build that collection out I'll share it here too, but that'll take years I think. Each platform I purchased from went very smoothly. I like that Ebay makes it so easy to purchase from, but I also like that the watch profile on Chrono24 digitally transferred to "my collection". That's just a small thing, but kinda fun. Thanks for looking!

For the past week I've been wearing my Fitbit Air under a Nato strap using a 3D printed adapter https://www.printables.com/model/1769489-fitbit-air-nato-strap-adapter-v2-slimmer-support-f

I like wearing a traditional watch but I also like the Fitbit and I've been looking for the best way to wear both without looking like I'm wearing two watches. I've paired the Nato with a couple of cheap bracelets for a little stack. This approach allows me to take my watch off at night and still wear the Fitbit, as opposed to the method of attaching the Fitbit to the clasp of the watch itself.

The only problem I find with a Nato strap is the adapter doesn't fit under the central part of the strap, so when wearing it with the Fitbit centered, the buckle is not exactly under the center of my wrist. This would only apply to Natos with the extra fabric/buckle underneath.

What do you think of this approach? For watch-wearers, have you come up with other ways to wear the Fitbit Air? Thanks for reading.

This was just a fun photo of West Mountain in Utah County I took with my phone and tweaked a little. The lighting from the sun through the smoke of the fire was crazy.

So I bought these really neat dials from https://dialstudio.us/ for a few watches I'm working on. They didn't come with dial feet. I've never attached dial feet before and I wanted to do it the right way so I bought a tool for drilling a spot for dial feet on Ali. I used the dimensions from NH35 blueprints to design a jig to tell me exactly where to drill. Honestly the jig works perfect for me. But I don't think I drilled deep enough. And I used GS Hypo Cement to secure the feet, which was super gooey. I know I used way too much. Does anyone have suggestions for other bonding agents for my future dials? Anyway, the hands I bought for this watch are garbage. They came dirty and I literally can't get the second hand on, I think the size is wrong. Any suggestions for high quality hands? I'm thinking of going with black hands for this watch.

I bought this hand painted dial with no dial feet so I made a jig to presicely place the feet according to dimensions in the NH35 spec sheet. Hopefully it works out! Just waiting on the feet to ship now.

I scored this super clean 6138 on Ebay. I'm no expert but as far as I can tell everything is original on this watch except the crystal that I just replaced and the bracelet (Uncle Straps). The amplitude is kinda low but it's running strong and the movement looks untouched. I'm very happy with this one. Thanks for looking!

These watches are gifts to my nephew and his wife in celebration of their new baby. I repaired the 6619 8110 on the left for my niece and purchased the SJE083 on the right pre-owned for my nephew. They both have straps from Veblenist. I think they both match in a handsome way but are both unique. Thanks for looking!

I'm still working on a watch band prototype, this time for an apple watch. The links require no hardware to put together, they are print-in-place. The clasp is held in to the band with typical watch band cotter pins. And the band is connected to the apple watch connectors with standard spring pins. It's not really adjustable but I did design some extender links if needed. Unfortunately the cotter pins don't jive with the plastic, when I insert them snugly the plastic cracks. That's ok because soon I'll order this printed in Titanium or Aluminum. Thanks for looking!