Maintenance How do you change hands???

Usually I pull, then put a clamp on it and then you can change the hands and remove the clamp. It is like a surgical clamp or locking forceps. I got mine off aliexpress.
I also recommend the help of another person. good luck!!
Another option is putting a thick stick in between the elastic so it is kept in place (pencil maybe?), but I think the clamps are easier to work with.

 

Agreed, a clamp makes a huge difference! It's really hard to hold the doll still, while pulling the elastic out far enough, AND manage to swap out the hands. What I do is hold the doll's arm very tightly between my knees, pull on the hand/elastic with one hand, and clamp the exposed elastic with the other, which creates a loose loop that isn't going anywhere. Swap the hands at my leisure.

If you have someone to help you with strong fingers, they might be able to hold the arm for you and press on the exposed elastic with their thumb, kind of like clamping it, then you can quickly swap hands. (Because if the elastic really is super tight, it'll hurt your thumb to hold it like that).

I strongly suggest that while you are swapping hands, remove the hand AND its hook. In the event that your assistant's thumb or the clamp fails, worst that will happen is the arms get unstrung. But if the hook is still on there without a hand, the hook could a) hurt somebody's fingers, b) damage the wrist or c) get stuck inside the arm and it can be hard to get out.

 

clamps are good for changing out hands. i tend to use my thinner knitting needles and loop it in the elastic. makes it easier for me to handle the hooks on my own

 

I read your comments with interest, because, I dare not change the hands of my nYID.

 

If the doll doesn't have a hole to rest the hook in, I pullout the hand/string and slip something (paintbrush, crochet hook, ect) between the string and joint so it stays.

I did end up getting injured just pulling and holding the hook lol. My fingers slipped off of the string and hook, causing the elastic to snap back and the hook grabbed my finger, slammed it into the joint and then the hook went right through my finger. I ended up having to cut the strings and get pliers to twist my finger out of the joint because it was stuck.

I was freaking because there was so much blood getting on the doll, lol ! I didn't want it to stain. Anyway, that taught me a lesson on what not to do.

 

TBH If it's anything like how tight the DFA I bought a few years ago was I would cut the elastic and restring with a different looser elastic. Mine was so tight that just the act of pulling the hand from the socket was enough to break the resin piece that holds the string.