Garden Ties - possible finger repair option

[Muninn]

Because I've been somewhat busy over the last few months, I've not yet got round to sorting Lynne's broken fingers out yet. I was holding out for a hi-tech option but unfortunately funds are getting a little stretched. So I've been thinking of alternative ideas to fixing her annoying spaghetti hands before they get beyond repair.

I did have an idea of using the electrical crimp connectors, glued into the palm plate in order to reattach the fingers - I notice someone's done this recently. But i was sceptical of the connectors breaking under repeated bending, and the possibility that it could make the fingers a little short. Be interesting to see some feedback on that one.

Working in the garden today, I reminded myself of some clever little garden ties that I had in the past. Rummaging about in the shed and workshop didn't reveal a secret stash I'd forgotten about. But they do come up on Amazon... they're something like this:

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They're galvanised steel wires coated in some kind of some PVC sleeving - from memory they could grip plant stems and bamboo canes quite nicely. They come in several thickness from what I see - the most common seem to be 2.5mm, 3.5mm and 7mm. Obviously the 7 would be rediculous, but one of the other two sizes could substitute for finger wires. Link to the above product is here for those who want a closer look: Amazon Linky

Now I know this is a pretty cheap option compared to the high end stuff that's been developed on here - three quid for eight metres of the stuff - but I get the feeling it could work. With the flexibility of these ties, they would probably be able to grip very light objects, or at the very least hold a decent pose. The problem could be the material - I'm presuming PVC is ok with TPE (sorry, I'm more of a Physicist than a Chemist)? Also the worry about the green colour seeping into the TPE and giving Lynne Martian fingers I'm presuming getting the old finger wires out is simple enough.

Contemplating getting some anyway, and if I don't like the look of it, at least they'll see use in the garden.

Thoughts/comments anyone?

[Muninn]

I decided on a whim to get round to doing hand surgery on Lynne's left hand yesterday. As I wasn't sure how good the ties would be, I thought I'd only do one hand for now and see how it goes... although all the wires have broken now, her left hand was the worst with pokes and minor damage.

I got the garden ties last week. The most sensible thing to do was to do a stain test. I don't have any samples, so I put it underneath an insert, which in turn was under some books. No staining to be seen - but worth checking as I don't want green fingers!

I opened her hand up in the usual way, replicating the crease in the palm of the hand. A decent craft knife seems to the job, I recommend having a practice on a spare bit of TPE/insert to get the technique. Inside I found the usual WM palm plate, all finger wires had broken off at the plate. So got busy removing these and the string stuff. The little finger was a pain, and needed me to peel the hand back a bit more as it is a "side entry". The thumb is the same, but although the thumb wire is broken I couldn't be bothered with the hassle. It doesn't seem to get all mangled like the fingers anyway.

This is a comparison between the old finger wires and the new ones

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The palm plate, ready to attach the wires. I simply drilled out the epoxy stuff (jeez it stinks!) and glued the wires into place with Loctite superglue.

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Wires attached. Thankfully I had the sense to roll up a cigarette to while away a few minutes while the glue was taking hold... though in fairness this stuff grips quick.

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Wires attached, and the "wound" should close up nicely. I'm leaving it open for a couple of days in case I have any issues.

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Her hand looks so much better!

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I should have taken more photos, if it had been planned better I would have sorted the camera out, but these are done off the phone.

Now I know this isn't an amazing hi-tech fix, and I don't think Lynne will never play the guitar every again (not that she could anyway *avoids a sharp kick to the groin from an unamused doll*), but the fingers are now reasonably poseable again. I'm not sure if I should have gone for the slightly thicker wire. However, this thickness of tie was very similar to the original wires, making it a doddle to get them into the fingers. Also, I have the theory that because they are thinner and move a lot easier than the old ones, there is less of a likelihood of the wires snapping at the palm plate... if I knock her, the fingers will bend instead.

One thing that is a bit annoying - one or two fingers seem to have a bit of a "twist" in them - so that the fingernail isn't quite where it should be, i.e. on top of the finger. Don't know how to rectify this, short of removing the nails and putting them on in a better position.

We shall see how things go, and will take on board any learned knowledge when I do her right hand.

[Go Wow]

Thank you for your ingenuity.

I'm keeping an eye on this thread...

[matt gloss]

Hi Muninn,I think that the wire tie material you have used is very durable,I bought some from bm bargains a few years ago and is still in good condition even after all that time outside in the uk..winter/summer so imo good stuff for fingers,thanks for posting.
Matt

[violette_22]

Good job! That’s a great test for color transfer as well.

[Muninn]

Thanks all...

Matt - Yes, it seems very durable for the thickness of wire involved. I'm sure I got hold of some in Pound(land/World/stretcher) some years ago too. Turned the shed over looking for if I had any left. Still I'm not going to complain over a couple of quid, and there's plenty left over for the garden

Violette - yeah, I was paranoid about the colour transfer, so had to do something in case she developed green alien fingers

Minor Update - the fingers have held up pretty well. Even with a couple of night's snuggling, there's no sign of strain. One of the finger wires is too long and pushed through an existing poke hole, so will trim that a little bit.

[Endless War]

This is great work and promising that the fingers can be fixed at home.
I have a few broken fingers here.

[RGC_0767]

Neat job!
I too did fix fingers with garden wire. I bought the same stuff you did here. But I had another type with a more plastic coating, and went with that.

But unfortunately with steel wire, it does not absorb blows all that well, and will poke through the skin at some point. I've made so many concept fingers, I'm not completely satisfied with most of them. Except for one.
I'd used a telephone wire, with a thin copper wire coil wrap. This hand has held up for 5 months with very much abuse, and have not broke. Or poked through.
Grip is not strong, but thats ok by me.

This pic is similar to what I'd made with the telephone wire. But this is very strong. Maybe too strong. I've not installed in doll. They might be a bit thick.

Steel-Finger-Bone.jpg

I've even played around with plastic fingers with a ball bearing palm plate. but this is just for fun. Palm plate rotates as a real wrist does.

Ball-Palm-Plate-plastic-fingers.jpg

High tech is not always a winner in my mind. If you are pleased with the results, that's all that matters

[nicvncnt]

Hi Muninn,I think that the wire tie material you have used is very durable,I bought some from bm bargains a few years ago and is still in good condition even after all that time outside in the uk

Perhaps we should send some of this garden wire to WM to help them with their finger wire issues!