help resizing planet ocean bracelet please

[plymman]

can anyone help me resize a PO bracelet? I've pushed one pin from one of the links about a quater way out but I can't seem to do anything else with it, its stuck and wont pull any further but neither can i push it back in! How can I remove the pin or remove the ink without any damage? In fact the pin is slightly bent so i dont think it can be saved....

There are no arrows on the strap so i did it in the same direction as a standard seamaster. If I have done this in the wrong direction how can I fix it?

Thanks

 

[Wiz]

There is a thread about that in the tutorial section. I think it's a sticky so it shouldn't be too difficult to find.

 

[plymman]

yeah, i read the sticky but i've screwed up, I need to find out how to fix it from here, pretty sure I must have pushed the pin out in the wrong direction ut i cant push it back in...

 

[Wiz]

You don't have much choices, you need to find a way to push it back in.

You can try flat nose pliers to get it straight again and a watchmaker's hammer to put it back in.

 

[plymman]

I have it straight but cant for the life of me get it back in....the worst thing is I didn't even need to remove this one!

 

[plymman]

OK, I've sorted out most of the mess, I now have to rejoin it together (and then start again on the other side :facepalm.

I'm left with this:

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Reading the 'how to' suggests there's a pin and a tube, but I just seem to have a notched, uneven, pin and I have no idea how to fix it back, the fattest part passes through the middle but its then too long to get the ends in. I assume this is actually the tube and pin both stuck together?

Any ideas anyone?

Forget that, I've just snapped the pin..............

 

[Wiz]

Hold it straight with the pliers so it doesn't bend again and hit the tip with a hammer. Be carefull to hammer it down straight, but there is no reason why it shouldn't get back in.

You can also use a press vice as an alternative.

EDIT: oups, too late. I think you can find paper clips that are the same diameters that this pin, so keep the original one as reference and go hunt some paper clips

 

[plymman]

paper clip si an interesting idea and probably my only hope! If I find one the same width do I just cut it to size and push it through?

 

[Wiz]

That's pretty much the idea

Start by cutting the paper clip about 1 millimeter longer than the old pin, and then sand the tips untill they become flat and the size is right.

 

[SilverEdge]

if you are taking out multiple links just forget this one and use another set. bracelet pin pusher is a must. I bent two of mine but had to take out four links so I just used the other two.

 

[plymman]

Well I've snapped two and daren't take any more out, I can't figure out what direction they're meant to go but I've never made such a balls up of a bracelet before! It doesn't seem like mine are separate pins/tubes either and they are impossible to put back.... its a shame that I'm an hour and a ferry ride away from the nearest jewellers/watchsmith who can put right my mess...

Anyone know where I can get a few more pins/tubes (or even a new cheap bracelet)?

 

[Daniel]

A word of advice to those of you who are thinking of sizing a PO bracelet: ABSOLUTELY DO NOT TRY TO DO IT YOURSELF! I took mine to an old-timer watch smith, and there were many times during a laborious 30 minutes ordeal where he just wanted to quit !

 

[Wiz]

A word of advice to those of you who are thinking of sizing a PO bracelet: ABSOLUTELY DO NOT TRY TO DO IT YOURSELF! I took mine to an old-timer watch smith, and there were many times during a laborious 30 minutes ordeal where he just wanted to quit !

If you've got a bracelet holder, a pin punch the right size, and a jweller hammer, it's really not that hard. Ply just got himself into troubles by pushing the pin the wrong way.

 

[Spiccato]

Try replacing the damnable pin with friction pins from another bracelet. Works.

 

[tommy_boy]

Wiz said it: the right tools are all you need once you understand how the pins are oriented.

And that those roller sleeves (or whatever Omega calls them) have to be in the mid link for the pin to stay in place.

I learned it the hard way.

 

[slimslim]

yea its a real bear, i did mine with a hard pin ( potters tool; not the correct name ) and a leatherman. i said during the 2 hour ordeal that i was going to find the SOB that made this and break him, in fu@!^#g half. good luck, it was by the grace of god that i was able to do it (im not really in to religion but for this bracelet it seems to fit). I wish you the best of luck. im sure with the right tools its much easier.

 

[Wiz]

im sure with the right tools its much easier.

The total cost for a decent pin punch, a bracelet stand and a hammer is around $10-12, so it's really not worth struggling without them.

 

[slimslim]

hey wiz can you recommend a good place to buy tools from? someone who ships? i would like to buy some. and there is no one around here that sells watch tools.

 

[QinetiQ]

slimslim, why don't you try http://www.watchbitz.com.au/store/ He's a trusted dealer here and he sells high quality tools for cheap. Cheapest you can go if you ask me and everything it top quality

 

[Wiz]

high quality tools

High quality, maybe not, but definitely good enough to start with

Watchbitz is very good at finiding stuffs that are very good value for the money. He does have a few high quality stuffs, but most are average.

But it's really not necessary to buy high quality stuffs if you're just starting. Let's take a simple pair of tweezers: you can get a decent pair at WB for about $5. A high quality pair of tweezers costs between $30 and $60