Shrikage Anyone?

[buster1]

Hi All,

I've been testing out an idea to prevent "Strap Shrinkage" on my 24mm PAM leather straps. What 'shrinkage' am I talking about? I'm refering to the area of the strap between the lugs of the watch. 24mm straps often start of fitting snugly between the lugs, but after awhile, they begin to shrink (the leather..not the lugs ). What this results in, is a gap between the leather and the lugs.

I hate this.

What to do???

Remove the strap from the watch. Remove the tube from the strap. Use my fingers to stretch the leather back to its original width (its not very hard to do). Problem is that this never 'holds'. Inevitably, given time, it shrinks again.

Here's my solution...(sorry...no pics right now cause my camera is at home).

NOTE....I cannot take any responsiblilty for damage to your straps, etc. Do this at your own risk. It worked for me.

1. Remove the tubes from the strap, and stretch the strap back to its original width.

2. Carefully apply some rubber cement on the INSIDE of the leather where the tube goes.

3 . Rough up the tube with sandpaper and apply rubber cement to the areas of the tube on outer ends (no need for the middle of the tube to be glued).

4. Wait for everything to dry (15-20 min).

5. Carefully and quickly insert the tube back into the strap. Making sure everything lines up, apply some pressure to bond the surfaces.

Voila....the tube now provides enough support to prevent the leather from shrinking.

NOTE.....Its still possible to remove the tube from the strap without damaging the leather. From what I've found, all it takes is a good push to break the bond between the metal and the leather.

When I get home, I'll try to find another strap which has the problem and see if I can add some pics to the instructions above.

B.

[hrosemd]

Nice. I've had this kind of "shrinkage" myself on more than one occasion. May give it a try.