Creative Problem Solving

 Hmmm...what do I have lying around the house that can be used to make a doll's stethoscope? This is a problem-solving adventure and work-in-progress, so check back!

Step 1: For the tubing, I sacrificed a bit of USB extension cord. I hope it wasn't important. For the ear tube, I used some of my armature material - 14 gauge aluminum electric fence wire. 

Step 2: Now to figure out how to attach the wire (tubing) to the ear tube. I used a #11 scalpel blade to split the wire casing on each side - a little over 1/2 inch in length.
[Stethoscope #2 - don't need to split the casing on two sides to remove the inner wires - one slit will do]
[Update, see Step 11 below]

Step 3: Then I used wire cutters to cut out the 4 thin colored wires.

Step 4: I made two more slits in the black casing (opposite the first cuts I made and near the base of these slits), so I could slide the ear tube wire through those smaller slits. These short cuts are about 1/8 inch long. I applied a liberal amount of The Ultimate glue on the inside of the split wire.

Step 5: Now to figure out the earpieces. The holes in these gold beads are too big for the diameter of the ear tube wire. Maybe some floral tape could be used to wrap around the tips of the wire? Nope - it slides right off the wire. Other thoughts: make ear pieces from air dry clay or Apoxie Sculpt.

Step 6: I decided to dip the ends of the ear tube wire into glue. I'd originally thought I could wrap the floral tape over the dried glue so it'd stick, but on second thought I decided to dip the wire ends again (and again) after the previous glue layer dried (like dipping a candle). The dried glue blobs might do for ear pieces. 

Step 7: Removing the inner wires from the black cord that will cover the ear tubes near the main tube. 

Step 8: Less than successful. The inner lumen is smaller than the wire. I'd hoped I could just slide the short black casings onto the ear tubes (if that would have worked, I would have needed to do it prior to adding the glue earpieces). I will end up wrapping these to secure them, or try a different solution. Apoxie Sculpt would work great here.

Step 9: Here it is, wrapped with floral tape. I like this tape because it's flexible. I'll paint this black. I've also started a second stethoscope (I've only got the wire ear tubes cut and bent to shape) and I may try Apoxie Sculpt on that one. One downside I foresee would be that the wire will become inflexible, and the clay may break.

Step 10: Painted the floral tape and the ear pieces with black acrylic paint.

Step 11: Taking a chance and removing the wires from the entire main tube - they came out easily after making a little slit at the end of the time to expose the inner wires.
[Update] Next time I'll do this to remove the wires before making the slits for the wire ear tube insertion. This should make the connection between the main tube and ear tube more secure.

Step 12: Clutch pin back or large snap for the bell? 

Removed/flattened the metal "wings" on the clutch pin back.

Step 13: Cut the main tube to length appropriate for the doll. Cut out a small section - about 3/8 inch long - so the tube will fit into the opening in the pin back. Make sure you cut the slit so the "bell" of the stethoscope is oriented in the way you want.

Step 14: Apply glue to the end of the tube, and insert it into the opening in the pin back. 

Step 15: All done!

Prototype 2

Using Apoxie Sculpt to secure the main tube to the ear tubes. If this works, it may be much better than the floral tape. My Apoxie Sculpt is really old, so hopefully it hardens.

Update: this is much superior to the floral tape wrap!

Here she is, with stethoscope #2:

Stethoscope #1