Useful Tools
Now that I have been fixing dolls for a few years, I thought it might be useful to show and describe some of the tools that I rely on for making repairs. They are listed in no particular order. Following the list, I have attempted to categorize the tools and explain their uses. Many tools cross categories so you may need to hunt around to find what you are looking for. It takes time to acquire a tool collection. I've been fortunate in that I have been collecting tools my whole life, my sister purchases specialized tools to help with doll restoration, and my father has an amazing set of tools - including clock repair tools which are well suited for doll work. At this point, I do not have the tools necessary for repainting dolls so I will not be able to provide guidance on this aspect of doll restoration.
- cleaning swabs and rags
- cleaning solutions and shampoos
- de-odorizing compound
- spot remover
- magic eraser
- wire brushes
- long handled crochet hooks or restringing hooks
- elastic cord and rubber bands
- hog ringer and clips
- pliers with various tips
- screw eyes
- flashlight
- resealable plastic bags
- partitioned storage containers
- tape measure, ruler, measuring devices
- digital camera
- miniature screwdrivers (standard and phillips)
- drill bits and drill
- vises and clamps
- alligator clips
- batteries and batter holders
- continuity tester
- battery tester
- wire cutters
- wire strippers and crimpers
- soldering iron and solder
- hobby brass sheet
- steel wool of various grades
- cernet clay, balsa foam, plaster of paris
- sculpting tools
- files
- emery paper, fine grit sandpaper
- clock oil
- super glue and epoxy
- snips
- hobby knives, razor blades
- razor saw
- scissors
- wood burning tool
- hot air gun
- stitching awl
- paint brushes
Basic Safety Supplies
Dolls can be hazardous! They are made from materials that you don't want to get in your eyes, nose, or mouth when you start shaping or finishing pieces.
Interior Cleaning Supplies
Every doll needs cleaning at some point. It may be dust or stains the exterior of the doll itself: body, face, or eyes. Perhaps the doll's hair needs a shampoo and styling. It may be dust and stains on the clothes, shoes and accessories. Electrical and mechanical dolls often need their battery boxes, electrical contacts, or gear trains and springs cleaned. Dolls with odors can be particularly problematic to deal with. Sometimes the odors come from the environment the doll was stored in: homes with smokers or pets. Sometimes the source of the odor is the doll itself undergoing a chemical reaction or a bacterial attack. A great source of cleaning supplies is Dollspart Supply.
Restringing Tools
A common repair on vintage and antique dolls (bisque, composition, and hard plastic) is restringing. You can tell a doll needs to be restrung when its limbs fall off, or hang limply. A properly strung doll should be able to have its legs, arms, and head put in a position and hold that position. In strung dolls, the limbs and/or head may be held into their sockets by elastic cord or bands. Elastic cords eventually lose their elasticity from being in a constant state of tension. Elastic bands tend to fail in several common ways: too stretched out, dry rot, or fuse together. Restringing almost always requires 3 or more hands, so find a willing friend to help out.
General Purpose Tools
There are a number of tools that are helpful for inspecting and describing dolls after you have purchased them or if you are preparing them for sale.
Screwdrivers and Drills
This is important - power screwdrivers and drills should not be used on dolls. Even "hard plastic" is a soft material and a screw under power will either strip, split, or melt a mounting post. Some screws come very close to the opposite surface of the doll and can break through the doll's "skin" if they are driven in too deep. A screw driven with a lot of force can also crack the body surface being run down onto a threaded post. In short, always use hand drivers and a delicate touch.
Plastic and composition dolls generally don't take much force to strip out if you use too large a drill bit. Using too small a bit can cause the screw to split plastic or composition. Gently clamp down the part being drilled as it might spin, further damaging the part. When drilling through holes, use a backing material to make a clean hole. Hard plastic can tear or splinter.
Plastic and composition dolls generally don't take much force to strip out if you use too large a drill bit. Using too small a bit can cause the screw to split plastic or composition. Gently clamp down the part being drilled as it might spin, further damaging the part. When drilling through holes, use a backing material to make a clean hole. Hard plastic can tear or splinter.
Vises and Clamps
Electrical Tools
The three most common problems with electrical systems in dolls are: corroded or missing contacts, seized up motors, and broken leads at solder points. Corroded contacts need to be abraded clean. Missing contacts need to be replaced with handcrafted parts. Seized up motors need to need to be lubricated and hand spun until they start or torn apart and cleaned. This is not an operation for the faint hearted - it is very easy to destroy the motor. Broken leads need to be soldered or reattached in the same method used by the manufacturer. Never leave batteries in a doll and always use fresh batteries when testing a doll.
Sculpting and Modeling Materials and Tools
Sculpting, or making body parts is necessary if you are creating your own doll, fixing a doll you purchased with a TLC (tender, loving care) descriptor, or one of your prized possessions suffered a bodily injury through dropping, pet chewing, shrinkage, or HPD (hard plastic disease).
Adhesives and Lubricants
I try to use glues as sparingly as possible. It is possible that they contain a chemical component that will have an undesirable reaction with a plastic invented 30 years before the glue was formulated. Extreme care must be used when using super glues near moving pieces - like sleep eyes. I have not encountered a situation where a hot melt or cool melt glue is the best solution to solve a problem with a vintage or antique doll.
Lubricants should also be used sparingly because their chemical formulation might react with the material the doll is composed of. Things like talc, graphite, and vaseline may seem like logical choices for stiff joints but they can damage your patient. I limit lubricants to stuck motor shafts and places where a metal part rubs against another metal part.
An area that I would like to investigate is how to seal raw metal. Walking mechanisms that used steel parts tend to rust heavily and stick together. Removing the rust without sealing the surface just leads to another round of rusting. There must be an answer that doesn't require plating metal surfaces.
Lubricants should also be used sparingly because their chemical formulation might react with the material the doll is composed of. Things like talc, graphite, and vaseline may seem like logical choices for stiff joints but they can damage your patient. I limit lubricants to stuck motor shafts and places where a metal part rubs against another metal part.
An area that I would like to investigate is how to seal raw metal. Walking mechanisms that used steel parts tend to rust heavily and stick together. Removing the rust without sealing the surface just leads to another round of rusting. There must be an answer that doesn't require plating metal surfaces.
Cutting Tools
Cutting tools are selected based on the material they are going to cut: composition, hard plastic, vinyl, metal, or fabric.
Heating and Melting Tools
Heat and dolls generally don't mix. However, there are a few situations where heat is useful on hard plastic dolls. Heat should NEVER be applied to celluloid dolls. They are FLAMMABLE. If you can't tell the difference between hard plastic and celluloid then do not use heat.
Miscellaneous Tools
There are some areas in doll repair that I have not yet ventured. Here are some tools used in those areas. I will expand upon these topics in the future.