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assembling

remember to take pictures during the assembly process!

what to buy

Before assembling your freshly-printed hand, you'll need a few supplies.

Super quick easy version: If you think you'll just be doing the one hand, or if you want to make life super easy, you can buy this kit, which has everything you need. They offer a discount since we're doing this for a charitable cause, you need to email them (instructions on the product page linked above).

​Print-a-lot version: If you intend to print more than one of these, buying kits isn't sustainable and can be costly. Here are the sources I use for the materials, bringing the per-hand cost down drastically.

Velcro - Hookandloop.com
Tensioner Screws - Boltdepot.com - #6 x 3/4 (I usually buy the box of 100)
​Velcro Screws - Boltdepot.com - #4 x 1/4 (again, buy the box of 100)
Fingertips - Amazon.com - optional but a nice touch (buy two boxes)
​Padding - Patterson Medical 
Stretchy Cord - Hobby Lobby (we use 1.5mm normally, sometimes 2mm)
Non-stretchy cord - Amazon (65 or 100 lb test Dyneema braided fishing line)

getting started

Ok, you've printed the hand successfully and you procured all the supplies you need? Great! Let's get everything prepared so that we can start assembling.

Remember, these sizes are for the file we've linked. If you scale the file up to print a bigger hand or scale down to print a smaller one, you'll need to adjust these numbers accordingly. 

First, we need to prepare the raw supplies. If you bought the super quick easy kit, you can skip this part. If you bought the supplies in bulk, keep reading.

1. Cut the Velcro into strips, you need one of each length (in inches) - 9, 8, 5
2. Cut the non-stretchy cord (fishing line) into 10 inch lengths, you'll need 5.
3. Cut the stretchy cord into 6 inch lengths, you'll need 5.
4. Grab 5 tensioner screws and set them aside.
5. Cut the padding into a 1.5 inch wide strip (assuming 5 inches tall padding). You really don't need much padding, you'll see that once you get to that step in the videos.
 Can't see or access the YouTube videos below? Here they all are a public Google Drive folder or a Dropbox public folder. Need them a different way? Let us know!
ATENCIÓN: Nuestros videos ya están disponibles en español! Haz clic aqui para verlos. 

step 1 - laying out the parts

step 3 - wrist and gauntlet

step 5 - tensioner pins

step 7 - beginning to string

step 9 - more stringing

step 11 - tensioner screws

step 13 - parts check

step 15 - velcro part 1

step 17 - final checks

step 2 - finger assembly

step 4 - connecting fingers

step 6 - Assembly check

step 8 - stringing continued

step 10 - fishing line

step 12 - final string check

step 14 - padding

step 16 - velcro part 2

That's it!

if you've made it this far, you are to be congratulated. all that's left is to pack it up and send it to us. We'll make sure it is perfect, and send it to a child in need.

if you have any questions, let us know!
You can find all of our Hand Challenge Assembly Videos in our YouTube Playlist.