Lazy Bones: Anatomy of a windup toy
The Sleepy Pup - Mint in Box (1950s)

	I'm not a big fan of dog windup toys, but this unique windup caught my eye. Untypically large for a windup of this sort, measuring a full 10 inches in length, this toy features numerous clever and entertaining actions. Unfortunately the toy was not functioning. The windup key was stuck; it could not be moved in either direction, and I certainly didn't want to force the issue. So an operation was in order. No anaesthetic was required since Lazy Bones slept through the entire procedure.
	The dog stirkes an anthropomorphic pose. Human characteristics include legs, arms, feet, and the lack of a tail. All toy repairs begin with diagnosis. Here, the key is not moving. So, most likely the spring is not broken. It is probably jammed into the windup mechanism, or the gears are at such an angle that they can no longer move freely.
	The location of the key is where the windup mechansim is found. In this case in the upper chest. The plush must be stripped in order to get to the chest. Careful analysis indicates that there are 8 independant strips of plush. The torso, the neck / head, the 2 arms, the 2 legs, and the 2 ears. The torso is the first and perhaps only layer that must be removed. The plush has been glued down at one spot, along the seam on the dog's back.
	Before concentrating on the glued seam on the underside of the dog, the windup key itself has to be removed. Not always an easy task, but in this case it came off quite easily. It is necessary to remove the key in anticipation of removing the plush on the torso. I prefer to remove the plush completely off the toy, so as to facilitate access to the windup mechanism. The presence of the key would make it difficult without ripping the plush. Note the hole in the plush torso where the stem of the windup key protrudes.
	The plush on the torso is attached to the plush on the neck / head. The ribbon around Lazy Bones' neck serves a dual purpose. It is a nice decorative accent as well as a means of concealing the area where the neck meets the torso. I remove the ribbon in order to facilitate removing the plush torso.
	I start peeling away the seam on the underside of the dog. Remember, the seam is the area where both ends of the plush on the torso meet, and are glued together. I poke away at the seam with the tip of a dull swiss army knife. You don't want to use something too sharp, like an exacto knife. That will cut away at the plush as opposed to pulling it apart.
	You don't want to use something too dull, like the tip of a screw driver as that may leave unsightly gashes in the plush. Delicately, pull upward on the upper seam with a dull knife, elevate the upper layer, and use the blade to cut and separate the small excess strands of plush between both layers.
	It is important to recognize which segment of the plush belongs to the torso and which segment belongs to other parts of the body. Here the torso plush overlaps the leg plush. The seam on the underside has been separated. The majority of the glue will be located along the seam. However, the plush may also be glued down to the body of the toy on areas other than the seam.
	At this point, the seam on the underside of Lazy Bones has been separated.
	The plush torso has also been separated from the backside of the legs.
	This plush torso is still attached to the front of the legs, the arms, and the neck / head.
	From this angle it is easy to see where the torso meets the arms. The torso extends around both arms and is also attached to the small area on the underside of the dog between the arms.
	The plush torso has been separated from the front of the legs.
	This angle of the underside of Lazy Bones' arms, illustrates the last spot on the dogs body to which the plush torso is attached.
	Finally, the plush torso is completely removed to expose some of Lazy Bones' molded plastic body. The hole in the stomach reveals the mechanism, a small tin rounded disc, that is attached to the windup mechanism, and moves up and down beneath the plush torso to simulate breathing. As Lazy Bones sleeps his stomach moves up and down. The metallic tabs protruding from the molded plastic body belong to the windup mechanism. This is how the windup mechanism is fastened to the toy's frame.
	This is the plush torso after it has been removed. The" Made in Japan" tag, intact on the left side. The hole on the mid upper right is for the stem of the windup key (see 4th photo).
	Note that the dog's right leg and the dog's torso are part of a single mold. Therefore in order to seperate the torso to access the windup mechanism, the leg must also seperate. To be on the safe side I decide to strip the fur from the dog's right leg as well.
	This is a slightly different view of the dogs stripped torso and right leg.
	This point of view allows us to see how Lazy Bones' kicking foot is attached to the right leg.
	I decide to remove the plush off the right leg, as well as the plastic yellow foot, and attached bee. Once again, I prefer to play it safe, since I do not want to damage this fragile parts will trying to access the windup mechanism.
	Now the fun part really begins. Here is where I find out what is really wrong with the windup mechanism. The plush has been carefully removed and the mechanical parts will soon be in plain view.
	Carefully analyze how the windup mechanism is attached to the body. There are 4 tabs attached to the front of the dog's chest. The 4 tabs are how the windup mechanism is held in place.
	Viewing the back of the dog, it is now clear that the mechanism is attached solely to the front of the dog.
	I pry the tabs open with the tip of a flat head screwdriver until they are perpendicular (at a right angle) to the chest of the dog. Use pliers to flatten the tabs so that they are perfectly straight. The facilitates the opening of the chest, as well as the eventual closing of the chest. I use a plastic swizzle stick to hold the chest open.
	Careful observation of the mechanism reveals that the spring is in excellent condition, unbroken as suspected. Therefore one of the gears must be jammed or has slipped out of its groove. Eureka! Yes, in fact one of the gears is no longer sitting in the tiny hole on the side of the windup mechanism. I push the gear back into place and the toy immediately springs into action and starts unwinding. The gears spin beautifully!
	I might as well take advantage of the open toy and oil the windup mechanism. I place plastic bags over the remaining plush parts of the toy and apply a little oil on the gears and inside the spring. I windup the toy 5 to 10 times to allow the oil to spread evenly. I use a q-tip to remove the excess oil. The toy is then reassemble in reverse order. The toy now looks and works perfectly. The great thing is the spring never needed to be replaced and the toy has been restored to its original condition.

Lazy Bones: Anatomy of a windup toy The Sleepy Pup - Mint in Box (1950s)

Lazy Bones: Anatomy of a windup toy
The Sleepy Pup - Mint in Box (1950s)