Laser welding watch repair AUSTRALIA

[midnightblue]

Hi, first time posting here.

I am based in Sydney, Australia and require some laser welding service to repair inner lugs of my pre-owned Rolex. From wear and polishing, the inner lugs appear deficient and quite rounded and I am wanting to laser weld these deficient areas with 904L stainless steel.

Seems like there are couple guys in the US who are capable of doing a phenomenal job (at least from their before/after photos and customers' reviews) e.g. Rolliworks. However, I cannot seem to find a single person or shop in Australia that might be capable of doing the job for me.

One might suggest sending the watch to the US to get the watch laser welded. But, preferably, I would like to deal with someone local.

Any Aussies here? I kindly ask for your recommendations.

Cheers!

[heuermonaco]

Try Adam at Lewis Watch Co Perth

[midnightblue]

Originally Posted by heuermonaco

Try Adam at Lewis Watch Co Perth

Hi, it's nice to see another fellow Aussie here!
I just checked out their website and read the following:

Q. My watch case has been over polished previously, can you build it back up by welding metal back onto the edges of the case?

A. Currently this is not possible with the micro welding equipment that LWC uses.

What a shame. I wish I was in US when it comes to watch related things such as this one.

Thanks anyways

[padi56]

Originally Posted by midnightblue

Hi, first time posting here.

I am based in Sydney, Australia and require some laser welding service to repair inner lugs of my pre-owned Rolex. From wear and polishing, the inner lugs appear deficient and quite rounded and I am wanting to laser weld these deficient areas with 904L stainless steel.

Seems like there are couple guys in the US who are capable of doing a phenomenal job (at least from their before/after photos and customers' reviews) e.g. Rolliworks. However, I cannot seem to find a single person or shop in Australia that might be capable of doing the job for me.

One might suggest sending the watch to the US to get the watch laser welded. But, preferably, I would like to deal with someone local.

Any Aussies here? I kindly ask for your recommendations.

Cheers!

Please post a picture of your inner lugs of your watch.

[93 Turbo]

Hi mate, try Karl at Master Watchmaking. Just search him, Karl is AP's service centre in Syd. Good luck.

[Dirt]

Originally Posted by midnightblue

Hi, first time posting here.

I am based in Sydney, Australia and require some laser welding service to repair inner lugs of my pre-owned Rolex. From wear and polishing, the inner lugs appear deficient and quite rounded and I am wanting to laser weld these deficient areas with 904L stainless steel.

Seems like there are couple guys in the US who are capable of doing a phenomenal job (at least from their before/after photos and customers' reviews) e.g. Rolliworks. However, I cannot seem to find a single person or shop in Australia that might be capable of doing the job for me.

One might suggest sending the watch to the US to get the watch laser welded. But, preferably, I would like to deal with someone local.

Any Aussies here? I kindly ask for your recommendations.

Cheers!

Welcome to the forum

There is someone around the place.
I've heard mention of them but I don't know who or where they are located.

Good luck with the quest

[amanbra]

I think there's folk in Melbourne that advertise laser welding, i can't voucher for their work though.

[Tools]

Almost anything can be done, given enough time and money.

Welding is not pretty, nor particularly efficient, especially for extensive work such as you are suggesting. It is not for the faint of heart, nor is it the panacea that Forum members seem to think it is.

Here is a picture of some edge welding that still needs to be properly ground down and finished satisfactorily.

I would say that in the case of this example, this extensive, but simple, repair is a long way from what this watch really needs. You need to ask if welding is appropriate, or is the case really too far gone for this approach.

[midnightblue]

For some peculiar reason, when I try to attach some photos, it says they are too 'big'. I've seen some crazy watch reviving work on IG e.g rolliworks, the_watch_polisher. And the work I require is far far less technically demanding than what these champs offer. All I'm after is to simple laser welding on the inner corners of the lugs with 904L stainless which have become quite round over the years of wear and what I think may have been overpolished.

I thought about sending the watch in for RSC but right now the watch does not require servicing and from my research, they don't offer laser welding. This probably means they will try to make it look 'new' by polishing which I'm not very keen on especially when there's slight deficiencies in the inner corners of the lugs.

I have reached out to Karl's shop as another user suggested and they did confirm that they can do laser welding but when I asked them about 904L they just laughed and said it's all steel and it comes down to polishing after welding. I visited their website to see if they have any before and after photos of the work they do however, I could not find anything of relevance to my case.

So at this stage, I continue to wonder if there's someone in Australia who's capable and competent of providing laser welding to minor case repair? Or should I just stop being OCD and wear it or just flip it and move on?

I'm sure some watch enthusiasts can relate to my dilemma of noticing something and becoming quite bothered by it.

Thanks everyone for your input. What a great community that I've been missing out on.

[Andad]

There are rolls of fine laser wire for laser welding available in many stainless steel grades including 904L.

I'm not sure why Karl would laugh?

JIS Grade 304, 304L, 310S, 316, 316L, steel coil 321, 430, 904L Laser film Wire Drawing of All stainless steel coil
FOB Reference Price:
1 - 99 Kilograms
$2.50
100 - 999 Kilograms
$2.20
1000 - 9999 Kilograms
$2.00
>=10000 Kilograms
$1.50

[midnightblue]

Originally Posted by Andad

There are rolls of fine laser wire for laser welding available in many stainless steel grades including 904L.

I'm not sure why Karl would laugh?

JIS Grade 304, 304L, 310S, 316, 316L, steel coil 321, 430, 904L Laser film Wire Drawing of All stainless steel coil
FOB Reference Price:
1 - 99 Kilograms
$2.50
100 - 999 Kilograms
$2.20
1000 - 9999 Kilograms
$2.00
>=10000 Kilograms
$1.50

Hi, I spoke to the reception lady and upon asking her whether they can laser weld with 904L, she laughed and responded by saying they are all the same, it just comes down to polishing at the very end. I wanted to confirm if they could use 904L for the sake of keeping it to one type of metal but she said it gets too technical so just bring the watch in for a quote. Fair enough. Although, my simple question of whether or not they can use 904L stainless steel was not really addressed.

Thought I'd explain this so no one is misled. I have never dealt with Karl so I have no idea what he can offer and what kind of person he is. Cheers

[midnightblue]

Just to clarify one thing as I don't want to mislead anyone.

I never dealt with Karl before and I only spoke to his receptionist over the phone.
I asked about the 904L steel and was told that it's all the same stainless steel and what's more important is the polishing at the end. I've never had any of my watches laser welded before so I asked once again in regard to what stainless steel they would use and the lady 'laughed' (not in a rude way) and told me it is too technical. Suggested I bring the watch in for a quote. Fair enough. But I still felt like my query wasn't addressed. I imagined the answer would be either yes we can use it or not. Again, I could've been asking a newbie question. I don't know.

Thought I'd just explain this because I don't want to mislead anyone about Karl and the services he provides.

Cheers!

[Dirt]

Originally Posted by Tools

Almost anything can be done, given enough time and money.

Welding is not pretty, nor particularly efficient, especially for extensive work such as you are suggesting. It is not for the faint of heart, nor is it the panacea that Forum members seem to think it is.

Here is a picture of some edge welding that still needs to be properly ground down and finished satisfactorily.

I would say that in the case of this example, this extensive, but simple, repair is a long way from what this watch really needs. You need to ask if welding is appropriate, or is the case really too far gone for this approach.

Attachment 1270738

Agreed.
Obviously the watch has had a rather full life, but by the looks of the Nunga chunga on the edge of the bezel it's copped a hard scrape across that area and a judicious spot repair will keep it looking respectable

[amanbra]

Originally Posted by midnightblue

Hi, I spoke to the reception lady and upon asking her whether they can laser weld with 904L, she laughed and responded by saying they are all the same, it just comes down to polishing at the very end. I wanted to confirm if they could use 904L for the sake of keeping it to one type of metal but she said it gets too technical so just bring the watch in for a quote. Fair enough. Although, my simple question of whether or not they can use 904L stainless steel was not really addressed.

Thought I'd explain this so no one is misled. I have never dealt with Karl so I have no idea what he can offer and what kind of person he is. Cheers

Karl is a good guy, i purchased two nomoses off him, his reception staff can be hit and miss and have 1/100 of the knowledge that he does.

[Dirt]

Originally Posted by midnightblue

Just to clarify one thing as I don't want to mislead anyone.

I never dealt with Karl before and I only spoke to his receptionist over the phone.
I asked about the 904L steel and was told that it's all the same stainless steel and what's more important is the polishing at the end. I've never had any of my watches laser welded before so I asked once again in regard to what stainless steel they would use and the lady 'laughed' (not in a rude way) and told me it is too technical. Suggested I bring the watch in for a quote. Fair enough. But I still felt like my query wasn't addressed. I imagined the answer would be either yes we can use it or not. Again, I could've been asking a newbie question. I don't know.

Thought I'd just explain this because I don't want to mislead anyone about Karl and the services he provides.

Cheers!

It's all the same steel.
I like that, and from the mouth of the Sheila that'll be doing the welding, profiling and polishing
I wonder if she orders the filler material to do the job as well
It's too technical as well

At the end of the day, they may well be welding it with 904 right across the board.
It's not unusual to use the higher spec filler material if in doubt, so 904 substituted for 316 is entirely plausible in this application and satisfactory as there's a very high degree of compatibility.
Substituting 316 for 904 where the parent material is 904 is another matter and a retrograde step in some respects

Do your due diligence just as you have been doing and give it a swerve if it doesn't gell with you.
Personally I would happily pass on them given the conversation with the block. It's always better to be talking with the butcher rather than the block

[amanbra]

here are the melbourne crew, you did google right?

https://watchandglassesrepair.com.au...refurbishment/

https://www.migitech.com.au/watch-refurbishment

[Dirt]

Originally Posted by amanbra

here are the melbourne crew, you did google right?

https://watchandglassesrepair.com.au...refurbishment/

https://www.migitech.com.au/watch-refurbishment

Migitech.
Now that rings a bell. I think that may be the mob I've heard of before as the go to people and it was mentioned in conversation they also do spectacle repairs.
I've never heard of the others.
Thanks

[midnightblue]

Of course. I've been googling to see if anyone would be able to provide the service I'm after.

In regard to migitech, they got back to me with:

"Unfortunately we are not able to do the finish for the over polish as we do not have the tool for this.

Apologies to not be of help."

In regard to watchandglassrepair, I might pop in next time I'm on a trip to Melbourne. I wonder if there's anyone here who can vouch for their service. Again, I wonder if there's anyone like the_watch_polisher or rolliworks in Australia? Or does this country not have enough volume of clientele to create a niche market that I'm after?

Search continues.

[amanbra]

Originally Posted by midnightblue

Of course. I've been googling to see if anyone would be able to provide the service I'm after.

In regard to migitech, they got back to me with:

"Unfortunately we are not able to do the finish for the over polish as we do not have the tool for this.

Apologies to not be of help."

In regard to watchandglassrepair, I might pop in next time I'm on a trip to Melbourne. I wonder if there's anyone here who can vouch for their service. Again, I wonder if there's anyone like the_watch_polisher or rolliworks in Australia? Or does this country not have enough volume of clientele to create a niche market that I'm after?

Search continues.

Do RSC do laser welding?

[RolexSimon]

Try Richard McMahon (https://www.facebook.com/RMcMahonWatchmakers/) in Adelaide. He did a fantastic job laser welding on my SS Patek 5726 recently - looked perfect after.
p.s. if your photos are too "big" you need to resize the JPEGs to <293kB and 1250 x 1250 pixels.

[midnightblue]

Originally Posted by amanbra

Do RSC do laser welding?

:) Called RSC Sydney yesterday and asked, 'do your technicians provide laser welding as part of the service if requested?' and the lady who picked up the phone said 'in my 12 years of working here, I've never heard of that'.

I kid you not. She couldn't believe what she just heard, she put me on hold to go ask the technicians and came back to tell me that no they do not offer it.

The reason for calling was, in some posts here I read that some RSCs provide such thing. Again, the sort of work I'm after is not even a full restorative work. Just adding 904L stainless steel on the inner corners of the lugs. I'm starting to convince myself that I can just live with it.

Anyways, there I checked for y'all. For those of you wondering, RSC Sydney does not offer laser welding service.

Cheers

[Blue Fin]

Migitech in Melbourne, top notch.
Living with the problem is another option as you’ve eluded to, if that’s possible.

I’ll qualify my first statement with my repair being performed on a modern Omega that I’d worn to death, and not a vintage Rolex which I’d feel different about laser welding.

Post some pics, and good luck

[MoreThanaWatch]

Maybe worthwhile to get in touch with Michael at the Watch Collector Company based in Melbourne.
https://www.watchcollector.com.au/watch-restoration

[midnightblue]

Originally Posted by MoreThanaWatch

Maybe worthwhile to get in touch with Michael at the Watch Collector Company based in Melbourne.

Thanks for the recommendation! I will reach out to see what can be done.

I've been checking out their website. Feeling hopeful. However, what's with their google reviews? It's not what I expected to see haha (2.5/5, 8 reviews).

Have you had any work done by that gentleman named 'Michael'? If you were happy and wouldn't mind sharing pics or giving me a quick PM, I'd appreciate it.

[Hoody_s13]

Originally Posted by midnightblue

Thanks for the recommendation! I will reach out to see what can be done.

I've been checking out their website. Feeling hopeful. However, what's with their google reviews? It's not what I expected to see haha (2.5/5, 8 reviews).

Have you had any work done by that gentleman named 'Michael'? If you were happy and wouldn't mind sharing pics or giving me a quick PM, I'd appreciate it.

How did you go with laser welding? Good result? Can you recommend anyone in particular?

I am also located in Sydney and looking for someone to assist tidy up my sub.

[996marty]

Originally Posted by Hoody_s13

How did you go with laser welding? Good result? Can you recommend anyone in particular?

I am also located in Sydney and looking for someone to assist tidy up my sub.

Michael Woods in Colac Vic has a really good reputation obviously it depends on what you need doing to yours