FxrAndy Posted November 18, 2009 Report Share Posted November 18, 2009 There was a post but i cant find it, (think it was hackr), about a custom strap with an ocean racer buckle and it looked great, so great i wanted to to do it mt self. Edit i have been pointed in the right direction thanks Guys it was JohnG hereEdit end So i got in touch with the same person vie this email watchgallery88@gmail.com so the transaction went smooth as silk absolutely no problems So how do we fit this to a Breitling deployant strap. well both sides need modding and shortening dependant on your wrist as there is only 1cm of adjustment max First then i did was use a crap strap to to make sure i got it right and see which end should be what length and get the process right. So the process Once you have worked out what side to use on which side of the buckle mark where the end has to be, then about 4mm back from that make a cut at 45 deg half way throught the strap towards the end you are going to cut off. Try not to cut through the thick stitching on the front of the strap as we will need this later. You will find that you have cut through the thinner stiching at the back, not a problem, use some super glue to hold this stitching in place, now pick the loose stiching away on the end that you are going to be cutting off so that you have a good coupel of CM of thick thread loose, Now you can thin the leather down so that it is about a mm thick if not less so that it can be folded back to create a loop for the spring bar 20mm, Then push the loose thick thread through to the back This can now be secured with super glue again, i find that super glue bonds the nylon really well and stops it all unraveling later. Now the flap you have left over needs thinning again to be able to fold over so that it will fit into the buckle with a spring bar in it. Once you are happy then it can be glued, for this i use UHU craft glue as it always stuck leather well and it is flexible. I use a small cheep vise to hold it together while the glue sets and a steel bar to ensure that the hole for the spring bar remains Once you have dont this and tidied up any glue that squesed out you can fit it up. But for my project i need to do a bit more because this is for a Blackbird, Not a bling watch at all I need to make this match. BB are brushed/satin on top and polished on the side, so with some masking tape, a dremmil brushing wheel and a scotch brite pad i got a bit of treatment The wings got a re-polish And that was that! One last word or warning, measure twice, you don't have a lot of play on this, mine is a touch looser than i would prefer on a cold day but a warm day it will be fine, i may need to let it out a mm in the adjuster but i am on the smallest setting right now. Who ever did this first thanks for the inspriation and can you send me a link so i can add it in. Thanks for reading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
specialvat Posted November 18, 2009 Report Share Posted November 18, 2009 Great write up Andy, looks very nice. I love the brushed finish and polished wings, bravo good sir. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FxrAndy Posted November 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 18, 2009 Thank you very much Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toadtorrent Posted November 18, 2009 Report Share Posted November 18, 2009 That looks great. The OR buckle is indeed a great addition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FxrAndy Posted November 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 18, 2009 Thanks mate, it really is a lot more comfortable than the standard deployant Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronin Posted November 18, 2009 Report Share Posted November 18, 2009 Thanks I was curious about how this was pulled off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hackR Posted November 18, 2009 Report Share Posted November 18, 2009 hey Andy!... well done... it's on my list... R- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FxrAndy Posted November 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 18, 2009 So it wasnt you then Hackr, who the hell was it???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteM Posted November 18, 2009 Report Share Posted November 18, 2009 So it wasnt you then Hackr, who the hell was it???? JohnG Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hackR Posted November 18, 2009 Report Share Posted November 18, 2009 nope, not me... here's the link: JohnG's gorilla strap w/ OR clasp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bike Mike Posted November 18, 2009 Report Share Posted November 18, 2009 Nice write up! Thinking I need to do this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnG Posted November 20, 2009 Report Share Posted November 20, 2009 Looks great - I love the brushed clasp, looks perfect on the Blackbird, congrats!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FxrAndy Posted November 20, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 20, 2009 Nice write up! Thinking I need to do this. Just use an old strap to practice on or at least a cheep on JohnG thanks for the idea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dluddy Posted November 20, 2009 Report Share Posted November 20, 2009 Nicely done Andy. Thanks for the tutorial Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andreww Posted November 20, 2009 Report Share Posted November 20, 2009 Great idea A! That looks awesome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toadtorrent Posted November 20, 2009 Report Share Posted November 20, 2009 BTW...how did you thin the leather down after you cut it? Can you sand it or does it have to be sliced with a sharp knife so it doesn't "fuzz" at the edges? Very interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FxrAndy Posted December 4, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2009 Hi toad, sorry about the late reply, i thin it with a sharpe knife, i have used a dremil and a flap wheel in the past as well, then you just have to trim the furry edges Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FxrAndy Posted January 31, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2010 Guys i have a question what thickeness is the BCE bracelet where it meets the buckle???? if it is 20mm i think that a BCE bracelet can be added to one of these and make a great bracelet combo Any one have a spare, old one scratched up one laying round? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wimpie007 Posted January 17, 2011 Report Share Posted January 17, 2011 Hi Andy, Yes it fits, only once in you cant get the push pin out so beware ;-) Also didn't like the look of it, QUestion though: Did you have to do both sides of your leather strap? In my case otherwise one is 8.8cm long and the other 5,2 in order to fit snug (my rubber Ocean racer is 7 mm on each side) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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