Still takes me forever to change a strap. Can you help make it easier?

Good thing I’m not a surgeon because changing even the most basic of straps takes me forever…..

any tips? Tricks? 

no way I can do a bracelet with out screwing something up…pop off the bezel. 😂 

so jealous of you strap monsters out there that can change them on the daily….

have a good weekend. Chad

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Mostly it's practice & the right tool(s). 

I did have a bracelet I couldn't get off, but the jeweler I took it to popped it off quickly. So I just needed more practice. 

What tool are you using?

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First Tip: Grab car keys

2nd: Tell wife, “l’ll be back sweet cakes!!”

3rd: drive to your AD

4th: hand over watch to swap straps

5th: enjoy and try on new watches while waiting for the watch

6th: on the way home Stop by your wife’s favorite store or restaurant and buy her a gift from there.

7th: do not show her the new watch from window shopping just show her the watch you changed the straps ( only if she ask where you went, and if so tell her from her favorite place then present the gift!)

8th: enjoy new watch and other watch with new strap

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I wasn’t good at it the first time I tried now I swap out my straps all the time like @UnholiestJedi said it just takes practice and using the right tool. 
As far as bracelets are concerned I don’t think changing them out is much more difficult than a strap. Resizing can be a bit tricky if it’s not screwed links, keep an eye out for collars falling out. 
Good luck for tools Bergeon have been working well for me. And don’t forget about NATOs one change then it’s just threading the strap. 

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I agree with @Matt84  and @UnholiestJedi. Practice and tools. I bought a full kit from Amazon for $20 and I can switch most straps in minutes. Bracelets are more time intensive, but I’ve been able to remove and resize them in 15-20 minutes. Only exception is my Longines Moon Phase. I tried, but I couldn’t move the bracelet so I took it to an AD and the salesman removed the bracelet and installed a news strap in about 5 minutes.

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I feel your pain.

anybody tried those tweezer type strap tools?

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Quick release spring bars

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Bracelets are harder in my experience.  I've done it myself, but let the AD take them off for anything I was worried about scratching.     

A Bergeon spring bar.  I think it was $$20 or so dollars and was far better than the cheaper one I had in a watch repair kit.   And then for areas around the lug or that I'm worried about scratches, I use tape to give it some protection.  

But if you want no fuss ... just go with quick release straps.   They are becoming much more common and make it so much easier.    This one from Delugs arrived a few weeks ago.  Great quality and easy to take on and off.  

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There are two watch’s I change regularly. The bracelet is the most difficult. NATO straps (I wear a lot) are super easy. Practice over 5+ years has helped a lot. But there are days where it takes me way too long to put on a braclet! 

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I can launch a spring bar across the room better than anyone.

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Ichibunz

First Tip: Grab car keys

2nd: Tell wife, “l’ll be back sweet cakes!!”

3rd: drive to your AD

4th: hand over watch to swap straps

5th: enjoy and try on new watches while waiting for the watch

6th: on the way home Stop by your wife’s favorite store or restaurant and buy her a gift from there.

7th: do not show her the new watch from window shopping just show her the watch you changed the straps ( only if she ask where you went, and if so tell her from her favorite place then present the gift!)

8th: enjoy new watch and other watch with new strap

You forgot step 2.5: unsuccessfully try to fend off amorous wife, you know how she gets when you call her “sweet cakes”. 

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NathanWritesWatches

I can launch a spring bar across the room better than anyone.

Spring Bar Olympics 😂 

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thekris

You forgot step 2.5: unsuccessfully try to fend off amorous wife, you know how she gets when you call her “sweet cakes”. 

unsuccessfully...

what an implication!  LOL

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I change straps all the time. I only ever install quick release straps.

Some bracelets are harder than others. My Tudor requires you to pull back the spring on both sides at the same time. This is impossible without a pair of spring bar pliers. Even then was tricky.

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thekris

You forgot step 2.5: unsuccessfully try to fend off amorous wife, you know how she gets when you call her “sweet cakes”. 

You haven't been married for long, have you?  "Amorous wife" ---  HAH!  That's almost as funny as "jumbo shrimp" or "military intelligence."

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JBird7986

You haven't been married for long, have you?  "Amorous wife" ---  HAH!  That's almost as funny as "jumbo shrimp" or "military intelligence."

Muahahahahaa “Jumbo Shrimp!!!”

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Nice technique, but why are you using spring bar tool when you have drilled lugs?! Am I missing something? 

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dennisbible

Quick release spring bars

Yes, quick release spring bars are the key. If a strap doesn't have quick release spring bars, I move on and look for something else.

It's a good thing my Speedy is a strap monster because the amount of effort and stress in getting the bracelet off convinced me to leave it off. 

I'm toying with the idea of buying spring bar tweezers with the locking mechanism to ensure that they stay the proper width but hope that more brands adopt quick release mechanisms in their bracelets (like CW and others). 

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doolittle

I feel your pain.

anybody tried those tweezer type strap tools?

Bought some cheap options on Amazon and totally suck or it is user error…..

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Mind blown 🤯 

how did you do all that at the same time?

 Thanks for the explanation 

appreciate it…now can I do it… 😂 

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Dingus

most of my watches use the quick release bars but a few don’t and they’ve never been an issue until I got this used Longines I posted yesterday. I can’t get this bracelet off. it was making me crazy, as I ordered a NATO in 18mm specifically for this watch. The strap got here yesterday and it won’t fit any other watches I own aside from a $10 Casio. So just 1 minute before seeing this post I was fed up with trying and put the watch down and opened up watch crunch and this is what I see. Oh god damnit. Good thing this bracelet fits and looks nice… 

Good luck! 
 

take slow deep breaths and repeat before kicking the dog or yelling at the wife and kids… 😝 

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Best case scenario: the watchbands to be swapped in/out have quick release bars. [Do not try to retrofit quick release bars on watchbands not designed for them. There are some videos on youtube that show you how to do it, but there is a high risk that you end up murdering a perfectly good strap.]

Next best: drilled lugs. That is only mildly helpful for swapping in but it makes it easier to swap out.

Other than that: tools.

I noticed when I took a watch to my local watchmaking shop to buy/fit a new strap, they did not use a springbar tool. Instead they used a watch knife, you know the knife-like thing that comes in any standard watch-repair kit. I tried that myself and it seems to work quite well, not a huge difference though.

And then there is this:

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I saw a couple of fancy watch tools in a Teddy Baldassarre video, and these specialised springbar tweezers were one of them. When I saw this I needed to have one, ordered it - has not arrived yet. Perhaps someone here has them, has used them, and can tell us whether they are any good as a tool.

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Or do it like me who who has one semi-busted fingers (aftermath of stroke) and get yourself a minion to change straps for you. 

Remember to buy quick change spring bars as minions do get sulky if forced to repeated tasks.

Also do as fellow Crunchers said, get a good spring bar tool, remember to tape the lugs if you don't want scratches (dugong forget that one, so yeah) and always have a good, soft cloth preferably black or dark colours (to make it easier if you have to look for launched bars) to rest your watch on while changing straps.

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right tools, patience, booze and lots of swearing

then become a quick release loyalist....

get a watch kit from amazon and have a go on a cheap watch and go from there

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Oh yes agreed - don't get me wrong - I have fitted many bracelets this way where they are not too tight, and that has gone fine. But, every now and again you find one that IS too tight and then that approach doesn't work and you're in the tweezer hell zone.

My Smith's Everest is one and this Laco bracelet is the newest candidate. Quick release bars on bracelets (Farer, Baltic - thank you!) are the bomb.

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Again, nice technique and detailed explanation with photos 👍

I was like "does he even know he has drilled lugs?"  😂 

My apologies, I had to clarify 🫣

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First thing I'd do? But a Bergeon 6767-F&6767-S Watch Spring Bar Tool. Link below.

You need to right tools first of all, secondly, watch a video or two on You Tube.

I find removing a bracelet is easy, what is difficult is, putting the bracelet back on.

Additionally drilled lugs help also. 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0728KW5YT/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

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My recipe for success. Equal parts good springbar tool, magnification, and ... Bourbon. 

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Buy straps with quick change spring bars.  I won’t buy anything else.  It means I can take just one watch on vacation with multiple straps, and change the straps without a tool.  There’s several good brands that offer quick change bars.  I can recommend both Delugs and Barton.

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Buy an Fxd fixed bars pass through straps and done.

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I've found the most important tools in my watch tool fishing box are the following:

Bergeon 6111 Spring Bar Tool

Genuine Bergeon 6111 Spring Bars Tool-Removes Watch Pins -LUX –  LuxWatchStraps

Bergeon set of screw drivers 

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Bergeon 55-606 30009 Set of 9 Screwdrivers with 9 Tubes with Spare Blades in Wooden Box Watch Repair Kit

Tool for sizing bracelets

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Tool for removing bracelets - critical for bracelets with fitted end links

W&S Spring Bar Plier Tool - to Remove and Replace Watch Spring Bar Pins, Watch Straps and Watch Bands

Inexpensive collection of tools and supplies for various tasks

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Lastly, my secret weapon...

3M - 2" Wide x 180' Long x 5.7 mil Thick Blue Masking Tape - 05573167 - MSC  Industrial Supply

I make sure to cover all scratchable surfaces with blue painter's tape before deploying the spring bar tool. If the spring bar tool slips it generally will not scratch the case if it hits the painter's tape.

When finished just remove the tape and it leaves no residue or marks. QED.