Arm Rods?

[shtick]

I know everyones probably asked this question a hundred times but, what do the muppet builders and other pro puppet builders use for arm rods? Every time I see one its the black one with the handle, just like in this picture of ol' Dave Goelz.

http://www.lyonpuppets.com/Goelz.gif

What are they made of? So far the only answers I've gotten are "Arm rods are made of whatever you want them to be made of". I'd like to know what they use. It looks very light and comfy, okeh!

 

[ravagefrackle]

its welding rod, and a home made handle, takes time but works well, but of course they eventually were out and need to be remade

 

[shtick]

whats the handle made of?

And where can I get welding rods?

 

[Buck-Beaver]

You can also use copper or steel wire (has to be a reasonably thick gage), cover it with a thin tube of black shrink wrap and then "shrink" it to fit using a heat gun.

Handles are often made from wooden dowels.

 

[practicecactus]

I've made a blinking eye red furry monster but needs a body, and I was thinking about making him a rod puppet, but I'm still planning how to make the rods removeable.( I planned on making the whole thing disassemble/removable for fixing etc)
Attaching the rod to the hand: I was thinking of inserting the rod into a piece of dowel, as you would for the handle, and putting a small flat piece of wood for the hand plate, making a hole underneath for the dowel, then putting a screw through (the palm) just deep enough to hold the dowel in place.
What do you guys think?

 

[Treelo]

Spring steel is also great for arm rods.

 

[Iokitek]

I use really thin hollow aliminium tubing. It's ultra light and doesn't bend under pressure easily.

 

[Jinx]

I use "Simpson" brand insulation supports from Home Depot. (UPC # 0 44315 81481 5) They're 23.5" long and extremely strong, yet very thin. They're also very tough to bend into the shape you want them to be, but once bent they stay.

 

[FISH'N'WOLFE]

I use "Simpson" brand insulation supports from Home Depot. (UPC # 0 44315 81481 5) They're 23.5" long and extremely strong, yet very thin. They're also very tough to bend into the shape you want them to be, but once bent they stay.

Great to see someone else using those, I use the exact same ones. I believe they also come in 16.5 lengths as well, or somewhere around that length. I find these are the best for arm rods and I have experimented with many different rods in the past. Not to mention they come I think fifty to a box or somewhere near there. I don't remember, it's a lot of rods though for a good price. If you sand them lightly the black paint will adhere to them well as well.

 

[Buck-Beaver]

I've made a blinking eye red furry monster but needs a body, and I was thinking about making him a rod puppet, but I'm still planning how to make the rods removeable.( I planned on making the whole thing disassemble/removable for fixing etc)
Attaching the rod to the hand: I was thinking of inserting the rod into a piece of dowel, as you would for the handle, and putting a small flat piece of wood for the hand plate, making a hole underneath for the dowel, then putting a screw through (the palm) just deep enough to hold the dowel in place.
What do you guys think?

Cactus, you may want to check out this page that I wrote about making removable arm rods. It contains the best method (in my opinion) that I've found over the years.