Beaker's Genius or: How to Best Deal with Cam-Locks

[SeeingEyeDog]

Apologies in advance, this was all news to me...perhaps for some of you it is not. And so, I am hoping for some of you...it is...please, read on...

I'd like to take this opportunity to acknowledge and appreciate all of the great and helpful and useful information that is shared freely back and forth on this forum. Conventionally, this is simply done by users firing off posts and then other users responding and the rest of us all reading and learning. Today, I'd like to talk about how I learned a very small thing that will reduce a somewhat difficult inconvenience from my annual equipment maintenance...and how I learned it in a slightly UNconventional way...

As many of you know, I am such a fan of the All-Star FM4000 Magnesium mask I now own three...black with tan, silver with black and my most recent acquisition via Umpire Empire's used equipment exchange...a custom Carolina Blue (thank you, Anthony at Mask-It!) with black, courtesy of your brother and mine... @834k3r. (And by the way, every piece of used equipment is different but, this mask came with an Ump-Life harness, a Mizuno throat guard AND the proper All-Star sunshield AND a carry bag! Wow! How could I say no? This is how you do this, people...)

So, yesterday, as I was preparing to use it I had to make some adjustments to the harness...and that's when I noticed it...that's when the Beak-a-tollah Khomeini's genius nearly blinded me. (For those not familiar, the Ump Life harness has 3 cam-locks...) But, first before being blinded by Beak-meister's sublime modification, I had to fight my first instinct which was that of disappointment...

You see, brothers...The Beak-man had GASP! cut...the straps...on...the harness! Oh no! Oh Gahhhhhhd! What is a man like me with my bulbous 7-3/4 hat sized head to do with these cut straps?!?! This is no good! This cannot stand! Why...I might have to buy a new harness for my mask that was more than 50% off retail, gently used, with a cool awesome color that will be the envy of my entire association and is otherwise perfect! The outrage...the disappointment...

Wait a tic...no! It's ok! It's going to be ok! There is still enough strap-page to accommodate my gargantuan dome! And then I finally see the true brilliance of it all...yes, the straps are cut but...THEY ARE CUT ON AN ANGLE! THE ENDS OF THE STRAPS ARE NO LONGER FLUSH! Beaker's a sharp dude but, he can't cut a straight line whatsoever...oh...right...for the...CAM-LOCKS! You see, brothers...the tolerances of the cam-locks on the Ump-Life harness make it VERY difficult to thread or re-thread the straps. This is an annual issue for me as I always fully disassemble my masks at the end of the year to wash and inspect the pads. Previous to all of this, my procedure was to remove the lever of the cam-lock, lay the strap into the channel of the housing and then re-insert the lever. It all sounds simple, right? No, because the threat of shearing the pins that allow the lever to pivot is a clear and present danger! I have always said a prayer to Saint Peter of Verona, the patron saint of sports officials whenever I do it. And now...I don't have to do that because with ANGLED STRAPS now, they will feed through the tight tolerance of the cam-locks without having to remove and replace the lever!

It's the small things, brothers...the small things...thank you again, Brother Beaker!

~Dawg