Test Stringing

I spend a LOT of time test stringing. Honestly, probably about half my "dollie working" time is spent with a partially-strung doll (or even just a single limb), playing with it. Moving it this way and that, looking at it from every angle, and just thinking (and muttering to myself). It may not seem very productive, as much as making a new part is, but it has always been a very good use of my time.

Because eventually, an idea will fall into place, and I'll be hit with inspiration to fix something, and I'll know just how I want to do it. Or I'll suddenly see exactly how I can change a joint slightly to make it work just right.

It does make it a little frustrating, to work all evening on something and to feel like I'm not accomplishing much, but in the long run, it works very well for me.

BTW, you might try using wire instead of elastic to test string your doll. Not only will it allow you to test under tighter stringing conditions, but it will also help you find "errors" in your jointing... If the wire suddenly gets slack at a certain point in the movement of a joint, then that same joint will tend to snap into that position when strung with elastic, as that point will allow the elastic to be under less tension. I find it's a lot quicker to string up with wire as well.

 

I use quite thin and soft elastic for test stringing. I find that if i can get the joints to work well with a very light tension it will be even better when it gets tighter. If it doesn’t work with the light tension it will get even worse with tighter.
I'm not sure how much time I spend with it, but it is quite a lot. Especially at the sculpting stage and the whole tweaking of the joints. After that, the need for test stringing is smaller when just working to improve the finish and get the doll ready for casting.
I have made a stringing tool out of wire that makes stringing very fast. I work on a very small doll right now, a bigger would be more work, but I can put her together in a matter of minutes.

I make S-hooks out of galvanized steel wire. But don't worry about rust when just testing. If you get as far as casting you will probably not make your own hooks anyway. And even if you do there will be plenty of time to find the perfect material at that point.
Most dolls use steel of one kind or another. Since the elastic doesn’t like to get wet anyway, rust is not a big problem.

 

Ha, I've been using straightened-out paperclips... In my older dolls made from Paperclay, the pins have indeed started to rust. The s-hooks are fine, but anything embedded in Paperclay has a bit of rust. My Apoxie Sculpt dolls are still completely rust-free, however. Anyhow it won't be a problem unless you intend to make OOAKs