As a disclaimer, I'm not posting this as an accusation of who's right or wrong, I'm just trying to get advice on how to fix the problem. I don't want to make any waves right now and can possibly accept that I am at fault for the problem.
I just bought and received a 5218-201a Pre-V build yesterday with 111J case and WSO lugbars. I've owned a DSN build and currently have a Newborn DSN build.
It shipped with 1 keeper loose, and a massive sew-in buckle that it would never slip over in a million years. I wanted to put the keeper on right away before I even wore the watch.
I grabbed a screwdriver (1.6mm I believe) and went to unscrew the top right screw. It wouldn't turn at all. I didn't have a second screwdriver holding the top left screw and I wasn't pinching the strap at the lugs tight at all. I found this very strange. I applied a little more torque and it finally started turning counterclockwise. It came out about .5mm out from the lug and just spun freely at that point. I tried yanking it out with my fingernails and it wouldn't pull out at all, though I could hardly get a good grip with that little sticking out. I screwed it back in CW until there was a little bit of tightness again, but then it "skipped" a bit and then started spinning freely both ways. Keep in mind that I was looking at the top left screw and it hadn't budge at all.
I tried the top left screw, and it was also very tight but started to turn CCW with less tension. The top right screw was also turning with it, so I grabbed a second screwdriver to hold it. Nothing happened, but I assumed it was because the top right screw was probably fubar'd at that point. I pinched the strap at the lugs and started unscrewing the top left screw and it felt tight again, then started turning CCW but also only came out .5mm or so and stopped coming out. It just kept spinning until eternity, and screwing it back in had the exact same result as the other screw.
The seller said that it's possible I was pushing in too hard when unscrewing, but it's hard to say because these screws were uncharacteristically tight, like they were loctited or something.
I tried the bottom right screw after his reply and made sure to be very careful about pushing in too much when unscrewing, but the exact same result. Way too tight, then spun freely. The bottom left screw is practically untouched, but I tested it to confirm it was also tight as hell.
Any advice on how to get these screws out without damaging anything? Having a PAM that you can't change the straps on is pretty useless.
I just bought and received a 5218-201a Pre-V build yesterday with 111J case and WSO lugbars. I've owned a DSN build and currently have a Newborn DSN build.
It shipped with 1 keeper loose, and a massive sew-in buckle that it would never slip over in a million years. I wanted to put the keeper on right away before I even wore the watch.
I grabbed a screwdriver (1.6mm I believe) and went to unscrew the top right screw. It wouldn't turn at all. I didn't have a second screwdriver holding the top left screw and I wasn't pinching the strap at the lugs tight at all. I found this very strange. I applied a little more torque and it finally started turning counterclockwise. It came out about .5mm out from the lug and just spun freely at that point. I tried yanking it out with my fingernails and it wouldn't pull out at all, though I could hardly get a good grip with that little sticking out. I screwed it back in CW until there was a little bit of tightness again, but then it "skipped" a bit and then started spinning freely both ways. Keep in mind that I was looking at the top left screw and it hadn't budge at all.
I tried the top left screw, and it was also very tight but started to turn CCW with less tension. The top right screw was also turning with it, so I grabbed a second screwdriver to hold it. Nothing happened, but I assumed it was because the top right screw was probably fubar'd at that point. I pinched the strap at the lugs and started unscrewing the top left screw and it felt tight again, then started turning CCW but also only came out .5mm or so and stopped coming out. It just kept spinning until eternity, and screwing it back in had the exact same result as the other screw.
The seller said that it's possible I was pushing in too hard when unscrewing, but it's hard to say because these screws were uncharacteristically tight, like they were loctited or something.
I tried the bottom right screw after his reply and made sure to be very careful about pushing in too much when unscrewing, but the exact same result. Way too tight, then spun freely. The bottom left screw is practically untouched, but I tested it to confirm it was also tight as hell.
Any advice on how to get these screws out without damaging anything? Having a PAM that you can't change the straps on is pretty useless.
