Elwyn has suffered a grave injury :(

AVT100 · Post by **AVT100** » Sun Oct 07, 2018 12:45 pm

Since it looks like we're dealing with a T-joint here I'd just get a couple of L shaped brackets and some heavy duty hose clamps. Clamp the upper part of the L brackets to either side of the spine and then claim the lower feet of the L to the hip bar. I'd skip that epoxy shit altogether.

Wight · Post by **Wight** » Sun Oct 07, 2018 5:17 pm

Amateur here, but AVT100's advise seem right. Metal will eat and cut into epoxy and the repair will get loose. Metal has tremendous shear force capacity, so the repair should depend on metal to metal, not to epoxy.

Jimbofod · Post by **Jimbofod** » Wed Oct 24, 2018 6:46 pm

Hi All,

Sorry for the long delay. I was feeling kind of stuck with this and so after I went on vacation I haven't been back on to see this post. Regarding Dollsampler's idea, to get it to work I could not find a bolt that both had a large 30 mm head AND a proper length. Bolts with heads that big are just big, long bolts, and no hardware shop is willing to cut it either. They don't even give a reason, just say no. I did go to one recently where they suggested getting the short bolt but adding a big washer. This I think would work. I bought one and brought it home but the now the washer is too wide to fit into the tube. Probably I would have to bring the tube with me and look for something in the store to fit it as best as possible. That's where I am with that style of repair at the moment.

AVT100: I also had thought about clamps, but I didn't know what I could use that would work. Your idea is not a bad one at all. Maybe I could add that to the Dollsampler design as extra reinforcement? On its own, I wonder if they would be strong enough to really hold things rigidly together. I guess I could try it out to see how well it works, since it would be easily removable. Honestly the permanence of the epoxy method gives me pause. Not sure if I could undo it if I do it badly, which seems all too likely. There's also the issue of where I could do it without exposing myself to the epoxy fumes.

Wight, thanks for chiming in. The metal bolt connects very well with the spinal end inside the ring. For that part, the epoxy would just be holding things in alignment. When I put them in there together on their own (no epoxy), they hold together pretty well. It's the connection to the hip bar that is much more shaky. The bolt would stay in place, I think, but I wonder if it would hold the angle rigidly or not. Maybe that's where brackets and clamps would have an advantage.

Manny, thanks for the words of encouragement! I think I need that just as much as the technical advice.

CDPDoll · Post by **CDPDoll** » Sun Oct 28, 2018 6:12 am

Hope things work out!

Nkk_noodle · Post by **Nkk_noodle** » Thu Jul 18, 2019 1:52 pm

I no this is a little late but i had the same problem & i cut my doll open up both hips & acrossto the center of her back & told the whole u shaped thing out & replaced it with the front forks of a bicycle & had the leg connections & back connection welded to the fork then sealed her back up.