Arm Rods?

[larz]

carbon fiber rods

I've been using carbon fiber tubes, about 4 mil, for arm rods. They are black already, very strong and extremely lightweight. They can't be bent, however, so you can't really tweak them for performance. I use the Project Puppet method of tubing built into the hand and the rods fit into the tubing, so they are removable. Yeah, they are more expensive than piano wire, but you can get them from RC Airplane suppliers in bulk for about $3 a rod, then cut them in half and get two arm rods. Hadn't seen this mentioned before, just thought I'd toss in the idea!

 

[Buck-Beaver]

I've often thought about using carbon fiber for various things, but never tried it for arm rods, thanks!

 

[larz]

Here's a good source and the size I use (3.5 mm). One other tip if you need removable arm rods for old puppets without a built-in holding tube - just epoxy an alligator clip on the end. The regular size clips fit right on the carbon fiber arm rod and hold pretty well. Heres an example on one of my puppets - http://merrillstudio.com/?page_id=385

 

[Melonpool]

Wow! That's a great puppet!

 

[larz]

Thanks Melonpool. I updated the link, now there is a gallery of some of my other puppets, too.