Buck I Need Help

[Melonpool]

Just out of curiosity, what does the wire on the ourside do? I've never seen the point of it.

Steve

 

[Phantom]

I'm not sure what Buck will say, but from trying it, it gives a little more "oomph" to the position. It may be necessary depending on the gauge wire he uses , but I'm not sure. I'm curious to his reasons...now that you mention it.

I'm sure the wire I use is unnecessarily thick and I could use florist wire, but I had this big roll (from landscaping...staking trees) and I thought, "Hmmm..."

 

[Buck-Beaver]

Like Phantom says, the outside wire just help the hand hold position better. This particular technique works best in my experience if you use contact cement and not hot glue.

 

[Phantom]

And in my adaptation (to be clear), I use the hot glue instead of the wire. The glue helps the fingers to hold their shape and not get mushed and twisted during the bending.

 

[Karrion]

Do you anneal the wire first?

 

[Buck-Beaver]

What is "anneal"?

 

[Karrion]

Heat it with a torch to make it soft. A lot of wire is 'hard drawn' and will break if you bend it too much. Heating it just short of melting brings it to a softer state that is less likely to break. I always did this on wire I used inside my sculptures.

 

[Buck-Beaver]

If you're using the right gage of wire that shouldn't be necessary. If you did anneal the wire, be sure it's completely cooled before it comes in contact with the foam. Foam melts easily and emits toxic fumes when heated beyond it's melting point.

 

[puppetise]

hi ho

thanks for the great advice guys