Dottie's Home-made Doll Stand. No Special Tools.

[NamRepaid]

I found these in the electrical supply aisle of Ace hardware. Haven't tried em yet. The longer bolt will have to be replaced with even longer ones to fit around a 1" pipe, but the two halves should grip well. I was thinking of just removing the short screw in front and threading the support rod into that. It won't go in far though, so I dunno if it'll be enough.

It is a ground rod connector, copper will bend before breaking, might work OK if the load is light and the tappings are for large enough threaded rods. I'll see if I can snag a few 3/4" & 1" clamp hangers from work tommorrow. I'd be happy to give a few to TDF members if needed.

Hey manekineko, I have RSSDs, under 15lbs. I often shove a bottle of baby powder between them & stand for better posture.

Nam

[Stepford_CT]

Cool...Now cover the base with faux grass,paint the pipe brown or
green and wrap realistic faux ivy around the pipe to the top and
add a few flowers here and there.

To bad they don't make invisible paint; it would make her appear to stand unaided.

I applaud your design; it equalizes the load distribution quite well. I assume her feet touch the floor.

Instead of "astroturf", I would go for linoleum covering for the plywood for indoors. The grass would be a good outdoor choice. I would also use clear PVC for that "ultra-modern" look. In the end though, you can't hide that support pole.

If you use a white pole, you can spiral red ribbon from top to bottom for a neat Christmas decorative effect. Put a Santa hat on her with a skimpy Santa outfit...

[Stepford_CT]

If I could make a suggestion to the back support.

I read the earlier posts where the doll will tend to swing on the caster-mounted platform. One solution would be to put a belt loop on the back support and use a nice accessory belt as a restraint. To the viewer, it would look like an ordinary accessory belt, but it would actually be a "seat belt" to secure the doll.

[tabasko62]

That is so cool. Nice job! I can't weight to hear how this works with your doll.

it works fine. But I did mis-judge the height. So what I did was secure the hook to the top and run a sort of "block and tackle" That way I could raise her higher.
As I suspected though, the furniture dolly base is too narrow. But I'll build some outriggers so that she can actually "stand" on something.

I'll post some pictures soon

[manekineko]

With much help from Campdaan who provided the split ring pipe hanger and ceiling plate, I've created a back rest for my doll stand.



More images can be seen in my doll album.

http://www.dollalbum.com/dollgallery/th ... album=1358

I still have to get felt to cover the padded block, but beyond that it's fully functional. I replaced the screws for the pipe hanger with thumb screws for easy turning (hard to see in the pictures but they're there), cut down the 1' threaded rod to about 6", and attached the padding using staple style tacks.

Having used it briefly, there are two issues I have with it. First, there are times when I wish it would just go away. By that I mean that when dressing Paige or removing her from the stand, I need to shift the backrest out of the way. With the device attached the way it is that is no easy task. I'm still thinking that the weight of the doll itself should be able to keep a backrest in place, which could then be easily removed just by shifting the doll. This is something I want to experiment with later.

The second issue is that the backrest shifts the weigh of the doll such that I'm seeing different stresses on the neck hook. It keeps wanting to slide forward until the oak dowel to which it is screwed hits the end cap. I need to readjust the hook, perhaps cutting a longer piece of oak dowel for a tighter fit or screw the hook further into the wood so that i has no wiggle room. That's a minor issue and fixable issue, though.

That's about it. It works pretty well otherwise. Many thanks to Campdaan for his design and his contribution to the effort.

[manekineko]

Frustrated with my screw hook and dowel solution, I've tried a much better approach, namely an 8" Eye with Hook Turnbuckle. It ends up that the metal turnbuckle fits perfectly into the 1" pipe nipples. I removed the eye portion, drilled the hole in the pipe cap to accommodate the larger size of the hook, and it all fit together nicely. Here is what the end piece looks like:



This hook is rated to hold 350 lbs. With the all metal piece, there is no worry of my hook coming loose or moving even with the backrest forcing the weight of the doll forward, and my doll weighs less than a third of what it is rated to carry.

Happy ending over all. Now I just need to go to a fabric store for felt.

[Campdaan]

Good going Mane. I was at the Hardware Store looking at threaded eyebolts and tempted to send you one.

BTW. I got the Felt at Wal-Mart in the Crafts section. It was already sized and about 32 cents a sheet.

[Jerry]

This hook is rated to hold 350 lbs. With the all metal piece, there is no worry of my hook coming loose or moving even with the backrest forcing the weight of the doll forward, and my doll weighs less than a third of what it is rated to carry.

Actually, that is the rated strength assuming the pulling force is along the axial path of the hook. You are hanging a doll at an angle to the shaft... 80 or 90 degrees... so the rating would be much higher.

Great design.

Putting the casters on the stand is really great... you can wheel her into a closet for storage and to keep her out of sight for visitors. It's a shame Matt didn't have the mounting hook years ago. When I got my first doll I was told to store her in a sitting position. I soon learned that the silicone would flatten out and be damaged. Hanging is much better... the dolls will last much longer this way.

Jerry

[manekineko]

Actually, that is the rated strength assuming the pulling force is along the axial path of the hook. You are hanging a doll at an angle to the shaft... 80 or 90 degrees... so the rating would be much higher.

Great design.

It did occur to me that the force was meant to be along the long axis, but I wasn't sure if the rating would be better, worse, or the same at an angle. Dammit, Jim, I'm a programmer not an engineer. Good to know I did better than I thought. Many thanks for letting me know.

The casters are probably the best thing I've done. I had gotten a wheeled office chair to help move Paige about, but I haven't used it once since I made the stand.

[manekineko]

Well, I finally finished my stand. The backrest is done, and the stand painted to look less industrial.



I chose white for the stand to contrast better with anything my doll might wear and to eventually blend in with a white backdrop for photoshoots.

For the backrest, I found a place that provides thick foam blocks and large cuts of felt. As you can see it looks pretty nice.

So that's all she wrote, folks. Nothing more to do.

[jonline]

Hip hip for campdaan. And manekineko for the follow up and information. I am waiting for my charlie doll. He is heavier and taller than your two dolls. I am very interested in building your stand campdaan. Do you think it will work for the male realdoll as well? Charlie stands 5/8. I want to attempt to put together my own stand. Do the dolls legs separate well hanging on it? And does it roll around well. Is it stable? I would like to hear from you campdaan and manekineko too for advice on this project. And I thank you for your creativity and information you both posted on the DF. Hope to hear back. John.

[manekineko]

Hip hip for campdaan. And manekineko for the follow up and information. I am waiting for my charlie doll. He is heavier and taller than your two dolls. I am very interested in building your stand campdaan. Do you think it will work for the male realdoll as well? Charlie stands 5/8. I want to attempt to put together my own stand. Do the dolls legs separate well hanging on it? And does it roll around well. Is it stable? I would like to hear from you campdaan and manekineko too for advice on this project. And I thank you for your creativity and information you both posted on the DF. Hope to hear back. John.

I think it would work with a Charlie. You would need to make the stand a bit taller, probably making the lower vertical segment longer than what we have, but the 1" pipe should handle the weight just fine.

As for the legs separating, my Paige maintains a wide stance even while hanging. If it's a concern, though, I think it would not be difficult to create a leg spreader - a fixed-length rod with cushions on each end to fit between the legs. I think I saw a picture of one on the forums before, but I could see making it much like the backrest. The threaded rod comes in a variety of lengths. Just fit two blocks like the backrest on both ends and you're good to go.

I find my stand rolls well with my doll, though living in a carpeted apartment where the path between bedroom and living room feels like an obstacle course can make it awkward. If you have a hardwood floor I think you'd be fine. On carpet the weight does mean the wheels don't move freely. I end up holding the stand from behind and using the vertical shaft to pull the stand along. Occasionally it does catch on the carpet and requires a tug, and although it has sometimes felt like it will tip if I use too much force (since my hand and the doll's weight are set higher up on the stand), it's never done so.

When not moving the stand is very stable. No worries about tipping. I've even tested it, pushing on the top. It takes some force to get it to budge. I have more fear from what my cats will do while she's hanging than leaving her there in general. I think Paige would be fine in a mild to moderate earthquake.

[jonline]

manekineko thanks for your help. It's nice to have smart people on the forum with ingenuity. I have hard wood floors throughout the apartment. My trouble with that is plastic wheels don't roll but slide not getting a grip on the surface. But If they make rubber wheels I should be ok. I also have a cat. I know I must keep the doll in a closet with the door shut or who knows what would happen. I'm going to put together this stand and I thank you for your help. I'll let you know how it went with photos.

[technoguy]

manekineko...

Nice doll stand you made. It looks like something that one could, with a bit of effort, construct in a single afternoon after visiting his local hardware store. I like how you painted the upright pipe with white paint.

I can see from the green back cushion that the center of gravity of these dolls is below and in front of their point of susension (the neck bolt) which tends to cause the doll's butt to swing backward when it is hung up.

It might even be possilbe to make a doll stand using only a single vertical piece of pipe. It would have a hook at its top that the neck bolt would slide over the pipe which would then be located much closer to the doll's body. But then the doll would swing back against the pipe and a large portion of the pipe's length would have to have a foam cushion surrounding it to prevent marks being left on the doll's skin during storage.

I definitely like the idea of adding wheels to these stands so that they can be rolled from one room to another. The solution to movement over carpeting would be to use larger diameter wheels, but, in order to minimize the chance of tipping, the base piece would also have to be larger.

Maybe someday Abyss will make available a similar mobile doll support that the buyer can order along with this doll and on which the doll would be hung during shipping. Then, upon arrival at the customer's home the doll could be rolled out right after the crate was opened.

Yes, I think this is feasible. Hmmm....to keep the shipping weight down, the support would be made entirely of PVC piping and other plastic parts. It might be possible to make a doll stand that weighed less than 20 lbs.


technoguy

[muzza]

I just want to thank Campdaan, Manekineko and tabasko62 for their photos, parts list and descriptions for a suitable homemade stand. Much appreciated. I am looking forward to receiving Natasha (B6,F3) late in July and, after surfing the forums for pre ownership tips, have been concerned, among other things, about storage other than an Office chair on wheels. I'll give it a go and hopefully post pictures of Natasha later this year.

With Thanks .... muzza from Oz