[TIPS] Learn about fitting dials with four dial legs

Moving forward, our new and upcoming SEIKO Mod Dials will come in four legs instead of two legs. Objectively, this will help reduced our workload of manually removing two legs with each order. Secondly, it helps resolve the issue of customers purchasing the dial with wrong position of the dial legs. This article is written in order to help identify which dial legs to remove and how to cleanly remove it.

Here is a back view of The Great Wave off Kanagawa Dial (No Date). Circled in red are the dial legs that allow affixing to the SEIKO movements. Each of the two dial legs on opposite direction will be meant for either a 3 or 4 o'clock crown position.

In this article, we will cover which of the two dial legs on the base of the watch dial to remove in order to fit either a 3 or 4 o'clock crown position SEIKO movement. Plus, how to cleanly clip and shave off two of the dial legs to fit nicely onto the movements.

LOCATION OF DIAL LEGS

Using the minute marker on the dial face to estimate the location of the dial legs.

For 3 o'clock crown position, the two dial legs required are located beneath 8 and 38 minute markers.

For 4 o'clock crown position, the two dial legs required are located beneath 12 and 42 minute markers.

Shown here is a dial with 4 o'clock crown position. The first leg beneath the 12 minute marker.

The second leg beneath the 42 minute marker.

REMOVING UNWANTED DIAL LEGS

After identifying which dial legs is required for your SEIKO movement, next you would want to remove the unwanted dial legs.

In this example, we have The Great Wave off Kanagawa Dial (No Date) to fit into SEIKO 5 SNKL23 Watch Case. SNKL23 Watch Case has a 4 o'clock crown position, so the dial legs required that fit onto its movement are located at 12 and 42 minute markers. Hence, you would want to remove dial legs located 8 and 38 minute markers.

The dial legs can either be clipped off with a wire cutter or twisted off with a plier. Either way after removing the dial legs, there will be a little bit of it still protruding out (about 0.1mm to 0.2mm). It is imperative that this protruding portion be removed! Else the dial will NOT sit completely flat on the movement.

To cleanly and fully remove the protruding portion, the easiest approach would be to cut it off with a razor sharp penknife. Of course, if you fancy the more refined approach, you can also use a Dremel rotary tool to polish it off. Either way gets the job nicely done.

Thereafter, fitting the dial onto the movement would be an easy job.

Learn more on how to mod your SEIKO watch dial and hands 

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