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5. Cut out your four stacks of puppet parts (two feet a body and a head). Take your time. Forcing the saw to cut faster than it wants will adversely affect the quality of the parts you get, creating a lot more sanding work for you.
6. Drill the yarn/control string holes, using a 1/4-inch diameter bit for the clothesline that attaches the head and feet to the body (5 holes) — and a 1/16-inch diameter bit for connecting the two ends of one control stick to the head and the body with monofilament.
7. Smooth all edges, using sandpaper. Don’t try to do this with your router. The pieces are too small to be held safely.
8. Apply a non-toxic finish, such as a salad bowl finish or non-toxic paints.
9. Assemble the puppet, by gluing the ends of ordinary 1/4-inch diameter clothesline into the two feet (pass one end through the lower body hole, first, of course) and the two holes you drilled in the edges of the head and body. DO NOT glue the clothesline to the body, at the point where it passes through.
10. Attach the control lines to small 1/16-inch diameter holes drilled in the ends of two 8-inch long x 3/4-inch wide x 1/4-inch to 3/8-inch thick control handles. Drill a 1/16-inch diameter hole near the far ends of the two handles. Next, cut four pieces of 36-inch long monofilament fishing line. Attach one end of each line to the control handle ends by tying them through or gluing them to the 1/16-inch holes. Attach the opposite ends of the lines on the left/right control handle to the feet by tying them snugly to the clothesline ends where they glue into the feet. Attach the remaining two lines to the small, 1/16-inch diameter holes in the body and the head.
11. Assemble the control handle by connecting the two control handles to each other in the middle with a screw or bolt. Some people claim to achieve better puppet control when the connection between the two handles is left a little loose.
12. Enjoy! |
