The Wacky Misadventures of Shultzie

[shultzie]

Picked up my new Inge AMG at the post office today. Returned home with visions of that black "kevlar" (read "rubbery") strap wrapped around my wrist and surprisingly excited to put away my Pams for awhile, I set about to transform this sleek Titanium timepiece into a sporty casual charmer. Using the conveniently supplied push pin tool I pressed the release button, inserted the companion tool into the pin hole and out came the bracelet pin...no muss no fuss. Other side - no problem. "this is easy" I forebodingly think to myself.

I noticed the rubbery strap holes were a bit tight so I used a common paper clip to try to open it up abit. It seemed to give with no problem, stretched abit and so I figured I was ready for pin insertion. As I said the fit was tight (thats what she said! wacka wacka) and gave quite a bit of resistance. So i pushed gently with the flat side of a screwdriver head...no go. pushed a little harder, still no go (all this time fairly certain I have centered correctly)

As you well know the bracelet pin for the Inge is tapered in the middle to lock into the watch case...anyone want to guess what happens next?

*Snap!!* the pin snaps in half.

"MUTHER*&^%"

I am surprised at how well I actually handled this development (after my initial outburst). I had immediately resigned myself to the fact that the Ti bracelet was now a paper weight.

But i still got a rubbery strap!

Half a bracelet pin being easier to insert than a whole pin - I proceed to gather the two halves of my once whole bracelet pin from the remote locations around the house they had flown off to. but I'm not going to be fooled again, I grab the push pin tool...(remember the push pin tool?) in hopes of opening the strap hole a bit. I stick it in and turn it a bit and *Snap* goes the push pin tool. Now i have a dowel..

"Oy" - now I am determined. Using my needlenose pliers i really bully the bracelet pin halves into the strap and they catch the case holes and quicker than expected, watch is now half strapped and holding on pretty tight. Optimism sets in.

Of course in the process of putting the other side of the strap on - the second bracelet pin broke in half also (I go to the gym, lift weights..but I DO know my own strength) Meh - at this point i'm jaded. I apply the same bully tactics to the other side knowing full well once they are in, they may never come out again.

When both pin halves are properly flush, I breathe in deeply with satisfaction. Then I notice that buckle side of the strap is on upside down.

Don't ask me how I corrected this cuz trust me - two halves of a bracelet pin may be easier to get in - but they are much harder to take out. Sufficeth to say it took unorthodox methods. That "rubber" is really a b*&^h to move a thin piece of metal through - I'm counting on that misfortune to work to my advantage, cuz it's holding the strap on like a vice

Watch is great - gorgeous, held up fine to the beating it took with no scratches. Now any similar experiences? are there actually bracelet pin replacements? (assuming I could ever get the pin out)

Thanks for your time

[Pugwash]

Then I notice that buckle side of the strap is on upside down.

Damn!

[richard_uk]

Great story thanks for sharing.

[deltatahoe]

sorry to hear about your trevails shultzie.....however, that was some great writing.

i'm wondering....were you pressing in on the....let's call it a button...in the middle of the watch (see picture below) as you were putting in the pin? if not, i wonder if this was partially the source of your troubles....but now that i think about it, how could that little button engage with the pin unless the strap has some sort of notch in the middle of it (speaking of, does the strap have a notch in it?)? and if the button doesn't engage with the pin that's going through the rubber strap, how does the pin keep from falling out? i'm confused

i ask because i'm trying to get an idea of what to expect when i get my nylon strap (king didn't include it in the original shipment, so i'm left to wait for it to come via airmail )...

also, any pics of the ti chrono on the black strap? how does it look?

thanks,

deltatahoe

[shultzie]

Thanks DH - i did find it rather amusing

I was pressing the button - problem was not that (pin never made it that far!) - it was the vinyl strap itself - the part of the strap that you (maybe not you per se but me) insert the pin into is weird - almost working the pin through a thick epoxy, or somefin'. I've had resistance getting pins through my rubber pam straps but this was different. it just stuck like tar. removing a broken piece was even harder...

To answer your question - no notch on the strap - where you are pointing, far as I can tell, is part of the watch case and the strap (or bracelet) is attached to the sides. (kinda opposite the way a pam is) there is a locking mechanism where the button is. The pin is tapered in the middle so the locking mechanism can hold it. The strap is holding in place because the pin parts are partially through the case and the strap holes are so tight the pin parts can't move. This may not last but for long its pretty damn effective in the meantime.

remorsefully the Ti bracelet has been rendered useless because it needs a whole pin and I'm guessing there's not a plethora of spare pins around for the ingy like there are for pams...

but i could be wrong. anyone know of any?

anyway its a rep...and I can always get another one someday. maybe macguyver me a way to use the bracelet.

sorry to hear about your trevails shultzie.....however, that was some great writing.

i'm wondering....were you pressing in on the....let's call it a button...in the middle of the watch

also, any pics of the ti chrono on the black strap?

thanks,

deltatahoe

PS I don't have the chrono and i have awful photo capability, but it does indeed look sharp on the strap.

[deltatahoe]

ahhh....i kinda forgot the notched effect of the case (the strap goes on either side) -- the pin is going through the watch case where the notch is.... duh!!!

i wonder if you could put tubes (found inside pam straps) inside the rubber strap while inserting the pin in order for it to go in smoother (that sounded xxx-rated). what do you think -- would that work/help?

deltatahoe

[shultzie]

i wonder if you could put tubes (found inside pam straps) inside the rubber strap while inserting the pin in order for it to go in smoother (that sounded xxx-rated). what do you think -- would that work/help?

i thought about that - but two things:

1) where do you get a tube (four actually - one for each side) that small? this isn't standard by any means

2) Cut a plastic tube? I couldn't get a metal cylinder up in - plastic would just fold.

[deltatahoe]

i was thinking of using standard pam tubes, just putting the tubes in while inserting the pin (would be a little tricky, but from the sound of it, might be easier than the struggle you described getting it through the rubber), then pulling the tubes out after the pin is in the watch....

[shultzie]

i was thinking of using standard pam tubes, just putting the tubes in while inserting the pin (would be a little tricky, but from the sound of it, might be easier than the struggle you described getting it through the rubber), then pulling the tubes out after the pin is in the watch....

not sure a tube would fit through the case portion

but two tubes? one in each side of the strap placed might just work...

of course i could've just frakked the whole thing up somehow. but really how hard should it be?