This is a whole tutorial on how to restring Schoenhut animals.
First, of course, you need an animal who has all his bits. This particular one is a donkey.
You need a few tools.....I like a fine pair of hemostats (clamping tool) and a bigger pair.
Needle nosed pliers and scissors too.
You need the right type and size of elastic.
One usually starts with a limb that still has old elastic stuck in it.
The elastic is secured by a nail going through the upper leg.
You could dig out the head of the nail and pull it out with pliers but that will damage the paint around the nail head.
So I like extracting the nail from the inside.
Here I have cut and yanked the old elastic out enough to see the nail inside.
Now you need a tool to grab the nail inside the leg. This is where I like my fine hemostats. Any other fine grabbing tool would work.
Grab the nail and start pushing it out.
Once the head of the nail gets out a bit you can grab it with pliers and pull it fully out..
You have not touched the paint surface with any tool yet.
Now you have to empty out the rest of the hole where the elastic sits. Sometimes the old elastic hardens up and is troublesome to remove. A drill bit of the right size can be used to manually ream out the old elastic.
This leg still has old elastic plugging up the hole.
Here is a leg with all the old elastic reamed out.
Now you put an end of elastic as far into the hole as it will go. Pushing the nail back in will secure the elastic.
Again, to save the paint surface, I pad the other side of the leg with something so the pliers do not do any damage.
Another view.
For front legs, the elastic goes into the body and right out of the other leg hole.
Pull the elastic to a nice tension plus a bit extra and clamp it against the body with hemostats.
Then cut the elastic about 1 inch.
Install the other leg on the end of the elastic just like the first leg.
Once you release the hemostats....
Front legs done.
The back leg elastic goes from one leg through the body...then through the neck (if it has a neck) and then back through the other leg hole. The heads have hooks to hook into that loop formed on the front.
Once you hook in the head you can pull the elastic to a good tension and then clamp and install the last leg.
One donkey restrung.
Excellent tutorial
ReplyDeleteThank you for this excellent tutorial!
ReplyDeleteThank you, thank you, thank you for this! After reading, I had the courage to re-string my Schoenhut elephant, and he is so happy now!
ReplyDeleteI have just successfully restrung a donkey - thank you so much for your informative demonstration!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks to your very clear instructions I was able to restring my Grandfather's animals. The elastic in some of the leg holes had hardened and felt as if the holes were not bored as deeply as others. The thoroughness of your information gave me the courage to dig in, and sure enough, petrified elastic was blocking the holes. Thank you for this well laid out guide. The Pig, Horse, Zebra and Cow are back on their feet.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for sharing!!
ReplyDeleteI have a ring master I would like to restring do you have or can you show a tutorial on that?
ReplyDeleteThe stringing pricipal is the same for the figures as it is for the animals. You need to locate the nails that secure the old elastic and extract them. I will look to see if I have pictures of a figure getting restrung.
DeleteDo you have a tutorial on stringing a Ringmaster?
ReplyDeleteJust wanted to say 'thank you' for sharing your knowledge. I am working on my first Schoenhut pony and appreciated the info!
ReplyDeleteCan this info be used on the 4 in. Felix as well? Do I need different instructions?
ReplyDeleteI don't know as I have never restrung a Felix. The same stringing methods apply to the clowns and circus figures...I have restrung those. So, as long as your Felix is made by Schoenhut, the same principles should apply?
DeleteYes, Felix is a Schoenhut. Thank you for getting back to me. Wish me luck! He is in many pieces.
ReplyDeleteIf you send some pictures of Felix to me I might be able to guide you better. My email is in the 'about me' section or drdarcidollhospital@gmail.com
DeleteWhat size and kind of elastic restringing cord do you use?
DeleteThere is a picture of the elastic. It is round, cotton covered 1/8inch (3mm) elastic.
DeleteDo you push the nail through the elastic cord? Is that how the cord stays attached?
ReplyDeleteYes. The nail goes through the center of the elastic.
DeleteWhat is the routing of the cord when there is a tail?
ReplyDeleteIs there an animal with a strung tail?
DeleteI was able to restring my dad's Maggie doll (from the comic strip Maggie and Jiggs) from this tutorial. Now sharing it with my sister, who has his circus animals. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome :-)
DeleteDo you happen to know what wood species is used for the Schoenhut circus animals?
ReplyDeleteI don't know.
DeleteFor any character that has a costume over the wooden body - I can see that the male characters have nails in their legs, but the clowns appear to have the costume attached differently - how do you restring the clowns?
ReplyDeleteYou have to access the nails to restring them so removing the costume is the safest thing to do.
DeleteWhat size hemostat? I think mine too big but there's no # on it.
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't matter what size the hemostat is. You just need some contraption to hold the elastic while you attach the leg.
DeleteI think I need a smaller hemostat to get the small piece of cord out of the socket. What size is smallest?
ReplyDeleteA hemostat is not needed to get elastic out. Any type of tweezer or grabbing instrument you can find will do the job. If the nail is out of the leg you can use drill bits to ream out the rest of the elastic from the socket. Not in a drill....in your hand.
DeleteYour tutorial is very good. I am a little scared to crack the wood. Can you tell me where to buy the elastic please.
ReplyDeleteI cannot remember where I bought the elastic but it was for sure an online purchase. Etsy might be a good source for elatic depending on where you live.
ReplyDelete