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Finger Repair on Rifrano 140 cm

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DonKeydick
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Finger Repair on Rifrano 140 cm

Post by DonKeydick »

I have seen the threads on finger repair for lots of types of hand skeletons but I don`t recall seeing this particular type or this method of repair. After repairing index and middle finger on right hand I needed to repair the ring finger so I took a couple of photos to show what I am working with. The first photo shows the incision from previous repair and the new incision with the hand skeleton, made up of a corrugated semi flexible tubing, where the two strand twisted copper wire finger broke off at the point where a knuckle would be. So far all broken fingers and now the thumb also, have broken at this same location. The second photo shows an electrical wire butt connector. Not sure what size but smallest that would take the finger wires and have the plastic part on the other end slip over the tubing knuckle, then I trimmed off the plastic at one end all the way to the metal part. My first attempts at making incisions sucked and left ragged holes that I have not fixed yet mostly in case I had to fix my repairs. New incision done with a pair of cuticle scissors and is very clean. Next step was to peel back enough tpe and unwind the string far enough back to get a clean connection between the big end of the butt connector and the tubing. Test fit it to make sure, then slip the finger wires into the trimmed end as far as they will go. If they get to the end of the metal part on the un trimmed side thats perfect. Take a set of wire crimping pliers and crimp the connector in the middle around the finger wires to hold them in place. You could also use some type of glue to keep the wires from twisting in the connector, I used clear gorilla glue. Test fit again to the knuckle and if it all looks good put some glue in the plastic end and connect the finger back to the tubing. The gorilla glue even sealed the new incision. The first repairs were done over a month ago and everything is great so I will be able to fix the incisions and be done. This method would work to fix any broken finger wires where there is enough wire on either end of the break to slip into a butt connector. Best part is only having to make a tiny incision to get it done. Hope this helps anyone with a similar broken finger problem.
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RGC_0767
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Re: Finger Repair on Rifrano 140 cm

Post by RGC_0767 »

They break where the tiny copper wire comes out of the flex. My Rifrano broke in same spots as yours. Little sharp wire stabbing through palm.
Each wire is only 0.7 mm and there are just 2 wrapped in string.
I removed the whole factory mess and replaced with my own simple design.
Cut just above wrist an inch incision, pull all wires out, pull skin down toward forearm and remove the tubing that holds all wires in. Make up a new set of fingers matching length with originals.
It's quite a bit easier to repair than the WM hinged wrist finger design.
[attachment=1]Dolly-Hand.jpg[/attachment]

I made a ball bearing wrist plate with rotation as it should be, up/down side to side. Equipped with plastic fingers. But all the hot shots here scoffed. LOL
What do I care anymore.?? I don't. Worked for me any way. all that matters.
[attachment=0]BBWP-Concept.jpg[/attachment]

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RainKing
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Re: Finger Repair on Rifrano 140 cm

Post by RainKing »

Donnie,

RGC is very well qualified to speak on this subject. He's Fixed LuAnne's hands And are still going strong.

Refrano TPE is tough! You may want to heat a single edge razor blade up next time it will cut like butter.
Not red hot, just hot enough to turn a little blue-brown. do not breathe the smoke if there is any. Bad stuff!

would prob be best to replace all of the wires back to the Wrist tube.

Best of luck
Rainy
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DonKeydick
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Re: Finger Repair on Rifrano 140 cm

Post by DonKeydick »

Thanks RGC and Rainy for contributing more info for this specific hand and finger type. If I do need further repair I am glad to have more knowledge of what I am dealing with. So far, for me at least, this is working fine. Call it the lazy mans repair, its good enough for how easy it is. Eventually I would like to upgrade to a better hand skeleton design but in no hurry to. Now that everything seems to be fixed I am going to repair the first 2 incisions. The clear gorilla glue worked so good on the last one I will try it again on the first ones.
"The More Complex the Mind, the Greater the Need for the Simplicity of Play" James T. Kirk "Shore Leave"
A photographic journey of a young womans blossoming into a beautiful creature.How Julia Spends Her Day
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Gabby`s welcome page. Buongiorno America
My Cousin Gabby`s thread. My Cousin Gabby
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Re: Finger Repair on Rifrano 140 cm

Post by RGC_0767 »

Just a bit of cotton batten on the ends of new fingers will give a bit of cushion on tips. I just glued some on tip, and wrapped in thread and put a bit of glue (contact cement) around thread. Just more dollar store fixes without blah blah blah engineering mumbo jumbo... It's a doll. Not the next bionic woman. :)

But anyone wanting to learn finger replacement Google "Miss Atleur hand repair" there are Crazycajuns videos that are very good in giving ideas. Just tailor your own ideas in there.
He does not really show how he sealed the cuts, but he did show how he sealed cut in the neck retrofit video. With a hot styro foam cutting knife. :) It worked good. I did the same with a solder iron blade. It's an alternative to solvents

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Re: Finger Repair on Rifrano 140 cm

Post by RGC_0767 »

DonKeydick wrote:Thanks RGC and Rainy for contributing more info for this specific hand and finger type. If I do need further repair I am glad to have more knowledge of what I am dealing with. So far, for me at least, this is working fine. Call it the lazy mans repair, its good enough for how easy it is. Eventually I would like to upgrade to a better hand skeleton design but in no hurry to. Now that everything seems to be fixed I am going to repair the first 2 incisions. The clear gorilla glue worked so good on the last one I will try it again on the first ones.
CinnamonLover did something similar to yours I think.
Hey the first hand replacement took me hours. First hand I made is like rubber, flexes any way and takes a fair beating. Still holding up since April. I've beat them carelessly Only thing is grip is useless.

Second hand? (one pictured in this thread with tube) Plastic coated steel wire 1.5mm wrapped twice in thread, copper flex wrap, capped with cotton bud pieces. Expensive!! :roll:
Replaced in less than an hour. (Not including making fingers) Sealing up took longer cuz I was super fussy trying to hide scar. Not perfect but improvement over first hand sealing. Both done using heat. Solder iron and hot air gun. First one still needs tweaking.
TPE is somewhat discolored now. Was used from snips from neck. Hmmm. Oh well. :)
1sthand.jpg
2ndhand.jpg
Once you'v done 1 or 2 , you can do ANY doll LOL :)

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Re: Finger Repair on Rifrano 140 cm

Post by DonKeydick »

I have finished the repairs and have resealed the incisions. The last incision made on ring finger is almost 100% sealed the first two incisions on first and middle finger were a lot more ragged. First finger is almost 100% sealed and middle finger still needs work. All fingers now work as they did originally no more floppy fingers. The clear gorilla glue worked well as an adhesive to seal the incisions. It seems to kind of melt the TPE back together and leaves it looking the same and still soft not hard and crusty like superglue.
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"The More Complex the Mind, the Greater the Need for the Simplicity of Play" James T. Kirk "Shore Leave"
A photographic journey of a young womans blossoming into a beautiful creature.How Julia Spends Her Day
Julia`s welcome page. Hello Ladies
Gabby`s welcome page. Buongiorno America
My Cousin Gabby`s thread. My Cousin Gabby
Anna Belle`s rants. Anna Belle
Link to International Intrigue Bad News From Italy
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Re: Finger Repair on Rifrano 140 cm

Post by RainKing »

Wait? what? Gorilla glue may be akin to TPE glue? that's big news!! does it smell like model glue?

Also, if the butt connector was too big you can cut the red jacket off and use just the metal barrel... I do that all the time for broken plastic outlets on car parts... and stuff. it makes it smaller diameter on the outside.
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Re: Finger Repair on Rifrano 140 cm

Post by RGC_0767 »

RainKing wrote:Wait? what? Gorilla glue may be akin to TPE glue? that's big news!! does it smell like model glue?

Also, if the butt connector was too big you can cut the red jacket off and use just the metal barrel... I do that all the time for broken plastic outlets on car parts... and stuff. it makes it smaller diameter on the outside.
Yes, I'd like to know what type of Gorilla glue? Gorilla's answer to crazy glue?
But as usual type of TPE will differ in results.
I know Rifrano chicks are tough. LOL Their skin is soft, but tough :)

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Re: Finger Repair on Rifrano 140 cm

Post by DonKeydick »

Gorilla brand Clear Gorilla Glue, no idea of ingredients none listed on bottle. It is thick and almost odorless. I am going to try it on a couple of small tears in Julias ears and find out if it is a good TPE bonding agent for that type of repair also.
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"The More Complex the Mind, the Greater the Need for the Simplicity of Play" James T. Kirk "Shore Leave"
A photographic journey of a young womans blossoming into a beautiful creature.How Julia Spends Her Day
Julia`s welcome page. Hello Ladies
Gabby`s welcome page. Buongiorno America
My Cousin Gabby`s thread. My Cousin Gabby
Anna Belle`s rants. Anna Belle
Link to International Intrigue Bad News From Italy
My Favorite Song Green Eyed Lady by Sugarloaf
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Re: Finger Repair on Rifrano 140 cm

Post by FeelingReality »

My doll is a cheaper China version, which had a lot of high expectations that it didnt live up to. But Im over that now. lol. Mean while making do with what I have. The hand on mine is all wires. the Enamel coated copper wire in a twisted pair with string between them. But there is no hand plate. It goes all the way back to the wrist with the wires. And that is where it broke off and the whole hand was dangling on its own weight.

So I thought a bit about how to attack this problem trying to minimise scaring. And thought if I can cut her whole hand off, a few inches up the wrist, long sleeves could cover up anything. And the concept of being able to turn inside out if necessary was a thought, so to not have too much arm in it. I ended up just removing all the wire completely and just slide the hand back on. I was going to leave it and consider my options.

And It stayed on for a bit, till i put her on my knee and the hand fell off, and I was jabbed in the neck by a terminator robot type stub... caught me by surprise, and thought, mmm, terminator robot, I can work with that, not being a turn off at all. lol.

Now what I had seen was to use a soldering iron with a temperature control to rejoin the arm. I just tacked in on in a couple of places as a temporary till i decide how best to proceed. The other hand kept having the thumb wire poke out of a hole in the finger and after pulling on the flex to poke it back in several times, I decided to just chop it off!!!

I am considering the idea of making up a skeleton with a moving joint. But now it came to me while reading these articles, of just putting in there some clear fish tank hose. About a 3mm inside diameter. I was going to make up something with paper clips and winding joints to have just one joint in the middle of the fingers and a joint at the palm. Its a work in progress. I was then going to use a 3D printer hand held version to build up some layers on the wire. Its still in the post.

But now this idea of the pvc hose is seeming easier and more practical. Considering my dolls hands are small compared to those I see your dolls have. That knuckles is something they didn't have before anyhow. And its not like a joint is going to function. I just got fed up with looking at her hands with her fingers all bent and buckled over that looked like she had been in a bad accident. The flopping hand isn't so bad either being hollowed out.

These dolls are rather heavy with regard to the damage that weight can do if they sit on their own hand, or are not picked up and tried to slid on a bed etc. I don't worry about a long wig in the bedroom any more, as it falls off and hair goes everywhere. So a short wig is better in bed. In fact no hair is good for a cuddle and squeeze in the dark. Nothing like a nice butt to hold while drifing off to sleep. I will let you know how the hands go. I was also considering a ball swivel in the wrist, but the only thing I could find was a camera gimble, which will be rather large. I ordered two, still in the post.

I am considering using some 6mm end rod bearings I have, and cut them down.

I have a spare head, 2 actually. And I have one of them above my PC screen looking at me all the time. And put her on one of these end rod bearings to swivel her position. The idea is to eventually be able to motor control it to nod for a yes or tilt to the side with some sense realism. She's the prettier one. And it just feels good to look at a pretty face. And feeling good makes you happier and healthier and live longer... such is Feeling Reality.
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Re: Finger Repair on Rifrano 140 cm

Post by RGC_0767 »

FeelingReality wrote:My doll is a cheaper China version, which had a lot of high expectations that it didnt live up to. But Im over that now. lol. Mean while making do with what I have. The hand on mine is all wires. the Enamel coated copper wire in a twisted pair with string between them. But there is no hand plate. It goes all the way back to the wrist with the wires. And that is where it broke off and the whole hand was dangling on its own weight.

So I thought a bit about how to attack this problem trying to minimise scaring. And thought if I can cut her whole hand off, a few inches up the wrist, long sleeves could cover up anything.
No wonder no one really replied to your message. Many here in the know do not like Cheap Chinese dolls. It's sort of why I cannot be bothered logging in here much anymore. Snobbery. It's ok, I refuse to behave that way towards people.
But reading your situation saddened me.
If your doll is similar to mine, you could have done it the way I did. Soldering iron with this stuff is tricky and takes a lot of practice. I do not use the solvents for repair. (though fixed a minor ear tear with it ok) Solvent success is limited. On curved areas? I'd like to see that done. Pastes and fillers?. Just as much a pain as an iron.
The wires will all break where they meet the metal tubing (WM). Or if doll is wired wrist, they will either break at the end of flex tubing, Mid palm. Flex as well will kink where the tube is at forearm. Not good to put weight on wrists.
Easiest way to show you is I've done a series of videos of the replacement. Basically took me 45 minutes from start to finish. Finessing the scar can be the most time spent though.
Have a look at the videos. It's a wired wrist doll. JY, etc...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVS0PGm8M5g&t=213s
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Re: Finger Repair on Rifrano 140 cm

Post by FeelingReality »

Thanks for your reply. Though I had not looked back for a while.
I have the other day used the 3mm tubing in the fingers with mixed results that are acceptable enough for me. The wrists however are too floppy and I will have to take off the hands again and fill them in with something.

I saw something a while back which had silicon sealastic with some corn powder in it to make it set in airless cavities. I was thinking this might be the best thing for the gap between the tubing I did and wrist metal.

I have however now really taken to not be so careful. I almost bought another of these dolls, but the joints all round have loosened up, and I havent been doing much. We just cuddle :D with a bit of a caress and squeeze in the curves and butt, thighs, belly and boobs. Maybe I am getting too old for it. For when i got it and opened the legs the whole was wider than it was tall, and then it started to tear a bit. It was a huge disappointment. It sat on the couch for most of the time, and now lays on the best a spooning cuddly one.

And I bring her out to cuddle while watching TV sometimes. And really the loosening of the joints has become a major bother, to the point where I just dug a hole in the side of the knee to tighten up with a 16mm socket. I am seriously now thinking of putting in some actual knee caps, by cutting under the knee enough so I can fold back the skin over the knee and insert some PVC plumbing caps of about 40 to 50mm. As I really would like her to be on her knees without digging holes out through the flesh as it did when I first got it.

And now also the back has gone again on its other joint, as the first upper joint went within 3 weeks totally to flop to the side. I am seriously considering doing a big operation with scalpels to open her up and redesign all the main joints with springs and ratchet like teeth. As this standard is far below my expectations. When i was an apprentice we had very high tolerances standards. And its a very big exercise in patience to accept such low standards. I am glad I only paid $1245 Au, for the whole doll, 165cm and 3 heads, 2 spare that is. And having to embarrassingly deal with customs asking me what sort of manniquin it was, and just spilling the beans to say its a silicon sex doll (TPE really) and them tell, well thats okay, they are exempt from sales tax, if under $1000 AU. Well I showed them shipping was $250 and got it through okay with much evidence uploaded.

So now its more for cuddle and good squeeze... and a bit of motor boating from time to time lol. I do have other devices to deal with urges. Which are much easier to move around. But if I do revamp all the joints, perhaps my disappointments would be overcome enough to use her like I did for about half a dozen times before she became too much trouble. At least she doesn't say NO! lol. But I think its because I know I can do as I please when I want, that I lost interest. Strange that, having just turned 55. but I do have easier devices that do do wonders.

I will check out your videos, Im always up for learning how to do things better.
I would really like to have her move some bits herself. Its been a problem with everything being so stiff, then loosening up far too soon. I mean heck I haven't even done it 20 times, and much of the time its been sitting on my knee or leg. I would not recommend these dolls unless you want something that feels better than a teddy bear to hug and hold. Maybe I got a dud. But those fingers and hands didn't last long at all either. Its a lot of work trying to move it around without things get caught.

Though I have a silicon armless legless headless torso, which I have now shoved a spine down from the neck to put one of the other heads on. And this has made it seem a lot better and easier to move around. Between the two I manage something that is like a threesome with 4 boobs and a pair legs to wrap around.

My real ideal would be to get some mechanisms inside the torso with the full doll so that arms and legs had some sort of spring action for the doggy position. I am mindful to cover up scarring parts. I did have a chunk of TPE I put into the electric frying pan from a smaller device that I would not have purchased if I knew it was so small, legs and lower torso, seemed too good to be true a while back. I am using that to make better neck on the headless torso, and using a tablet gooseneck from a car tablet holder. I have already experimented to round off where I cut bits off to make it smaller, and am considering heating it up enough to plop it on top of the part neck of that torso, then redo the goose neck back through the hole I made already with a threaded rod the size of the heads thread. It might need a splash of silicone sealastic with the corn flour for hardener to get it to stay in place. It was really very easy to make a smaller hole with a 6mm rod with a ground point, heated on the gas stove, with laser thermometer to keep track of heat, it was done in seconds, then the larger with a light heat as well. Giving me confidence to go crazy on it all and see how it goes.

The knee caps should be great I think, then finally I have have it do the things I expected it to do standard. From what I heard none of them have knee caps. But I don't know about those that are over $3000 US, which would be over $4500 AU to me. So I guess you get what you pay for. Just as well I don't want her to talk. lol, unless it is YES, one word will do. ;)
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