From Mr. D: The mouth rubber band was only about 1/2" long. It hooked to the wire on the top/rear of the mouth and stretched (over the axle bar) to the bracket on the back inside of the neck. This was done at the factory before that neck bracket was glued permanently in place, so there's no practical way to hook a replacement onto the neck bracket in exactly the same manner. I've tried coneecting with screw eyes, glue, etc. What works best for me is to completely remove the old plastic bracket (dremel grinder) and replace it with a new unit of my own creation (a block of wood with a couple strategicly placed screw eyes, glued to the neck with super glue).
The mouth string ran from the mouth directly back and through (up and over) the hole provided in the plastic bracket extension on the back of the neck and then down through the hole in the base of the neck.
The eye rubber band hooked to the wire loop in the connecting "tie" bar and then stretched to the base bracket under one of the eyes. It pulled the eyes so they looked to the figure's left I believe. The string ran horizontally from the same connecting bar to the opposite side of the head where there is a small plastic crossbar which the string was threaded over before moving downward through the base of the neck.
Now we know where the phrase, "Down in the mouth" comes from ;)
ReplyDeleteYou can install a rubber band into the Jerry head with a very long pair of needle nose pliers or make a hook out of a coat hanger; put the rubber band on the inside hook, the pull it out as far as you can get it (making sure you pull it OVER the mouth hinge-rod and NOT UNDER it!) then you hook the clip that is on the jaw to it and let the rubber band itself pull the jaw into position. Often it is required that you fold the rubber band in half to make it short or strong enough to hold the mouth closed. In which case, put the CENTER of the folded rubber band on the inside hook, the pull the ENDS out as far as you can get them (again making sure you pull it OVER the mouth hinge-rod and NOT UNDER it! It is of course better to use a soft spring to replace the rubber band then it is fix forever, if you can find one short enough but strong enough to hold the mouth closed, try a hardware store that sells loose springs.
ReplyDeleteJohn Parisi
My earliest vent figure was a heavily reworked Jerry. I got tired of the struggle every time the rubber band needed replacing. I finally wound up using a length of heavy duty wide elastic! Pulled the mouth out, attached it, slid the mouth back into place, cut a hole in the back of the head, pulled the elastic over the rod and out through the hole and played with it until I'd managed to achieve the proper tension. Then I attached the elastic to the back of the head and covered it all with the wig. I used him onstage for a couple more decades before finally replacing him with a Hartz of similar mien.
ReplyDeleteThis page was very helpful when it came time to repair my Jerry Mahoney figure. My parents mail ordered him through Montgomery Wards just in time for my 12th birthday, 50 years ago. Thank you
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