I just bought a 992 on eBay with a virtually NOS Keystone JBoss gold filled case. When I got the watch I noticed that the front bezel would have a gap between it and the the center frame after screwing it down. After foolishly trying to clamp down on it and nearly damaging the dial I removed the movement and saw that it screws snugly in place. There is a little shelf on the inside of the front side threads that the movement sits on. From what I can tell this shelf is about .5 mm too high. Does anybody know how to fix this? Or is this case designed for a particular movement? It is a sweetheart case and belongs on one nice railroad grade watch.

Thanks for the info Lindell. I am getting my money's worth here that's for sure. I will get the case back from my watch repairman this week and post a similar picture of the 992 movement in the case to illustrate the problem. Expect to hear back from me. Thanks a lot, John

Hi again. I got my watch case back from the jeweler and took 4 pictures that are posted below. I tried to take pictures of the inside of the front to show the little shelf that I think is supposed to be machined flush with the center frame. Please look them over and let me know what you think. If you agree it needs to be cut deeper then I would appreciate it if anybody could refer me to a repairman with the tools and machinery to do this work. Thanks, John

Another shot

Yet another shot...

Last one ...

John

Would it be possible to show a photo of the movement in the case from the back? Does it sit correctly in the back?

Tom

Can you show pictures of the bezel on the watch showing the problem? If the bezel screws down flush without the movement in it, then the bezel must be coming in contact with the dial. Are you sure the bezel belongs to that case? Usually there are numbers on all three parts that should match. It certainly looks from your pictures that the movement is sitting properly in the case.

Roger

I think Tom’s on the right track it needs a tiny bit turning out of the case back to allow it to seat, if you want me to take a look email me.

Hi Guys, thanks for all the support on this. I am post three more pictures in response to Tom and Roger's post. The movement is unobstructed from slipping through the back of the case and it is clearly not seating properly. The front bezel does indeed sit perfectly flush with the center frame without a movement in it. WIth the movement it hits the dial. Here they come.

Movement side shot ...

Front bezel with movement inside ...

One problem you have is the movement case screws have been replaced with oversize ones and do not sit inside the plate recess drawing the movement in to position, and dial is also thicker aftermarket but may still work. Putting the correct case screws in or turning down the heads to size may answer a lot of the problems

John,
It looks like there's two problems here. First that case may have been made for a different movement. If you notice there is another set of screw marks from a previous movement. Look at how high the step is where the movement rests. On the case that Lindell shows the movement rests almost flush with the lever cut out and the case surface that the bezel tightens to. I confirmed this on a case that I have. Second it looks like your dial isn't quite seated all the way flush with the movement like it's outside diameter is too big and or ,like Chris noticed, it's too thick. There is a big gap betwwen the lever and the back of the dial. If you can't get your case to work I have a Keystone case that's this style in very nice condition that I don't need. I know your movement will fit properly in it. If you're interested send me an E-mail.
RR

The problem is becoming clearer with the picture of those case screws. In addition to what Chris said about the screw head diameter, make sure those screws aren't too long. If you put the movement in the case without the case screws, then screw the front bezel on, will the bezel turn down flush? If so, you will know for sure that the problem is entirely with the case screws. If it still doesn't go down flush, then you know the problem lies elsewhere. Pictures are worth a thousand words.

Roger

I always thought these cases were universal and almost any size 16 movement would fit in. Very strange.
RR

Notice how the dial sits in this case, it's almost level with the top of the case. Both Lindells' case and Johns have two lever cut outs. I wonder if Johns is exactly like Lindells or if the step where the movement sits is different? RR

John,
If you can't get this watch correct I would ask the seller for a refund if they didn't mention the bezel wouldn't seat in their description. Once I bought a Bunn Special and the case back wouldn't seat properly because it was recased and the seller refunded my money. If you need another case, dial, and case screws I dought this watch is worth what it cost. RR

Richard, thanks for looking this over good and hard. I have tried everybody's suggestions. I have tried several movements (Waltham Vanguard, 992, 992B) and none of them fit. The case screws on the 992 I currently am trying are the correct diameter head and screw flush inside the holes in the back of the movement. I am glad you see the step where the movement rests too, it looks to be way too high. If this were lower I think everything would fit. Can't help but feel like this is a manufacturing defect. I am throwing my hands up in the air on this one and sending the case and a 992 movement to Lindell who has diligently and patiently tried to walk me through this over the phone. If he can make it work I will be quite impressed. Expect to see a post from Lindell in about 1-2 weeks after he works his magic with it. John

Well that looks pretty definitive. It looks like it should be a fairly easy matter of placing the case it a lathe and trimming it down.

Just as I was typing this we experienced a fairly significant earthquake and went outside. Shaking occurred for about 30 seconds. Pretty eerie feeling when the ground shakes beneath your feet. Sorry to add this hijack stuff to the thread.

Roger

Thanks for helping me out with this Lin. I am looking forward to it. If this case is a very late model restrike then I may be happy with the 992 movement I sent along with the case to be the final movement I use in it. I liked the idea of fitting a higher grade RR movement from the 30's into it, but if is isn't correct it doesn't make much sense.

Thanks again, John

Wow! I'm impressed with the cooperation and spirit of helpfulness this thread. I also learned a lot. This is a great place to hang out.

Thanks John for the post. Nice job Lindell and Don on getting that case fixed up proper.

Hi Everybody, I got the watch back from Lin in the mail today. It is perfect. Very sharp looking 992. Not sure I could find a better example if I spent 20 years searching. Looks like this one is a keeper and may get passed on to my kids when ... well, you know when. I will post a picture this weekend.

Thanks again Lin ... you are a first rate, professional, classy guy.