I just came back from SummerFest sponsered by One Way Street Puppets.  One Way caters to puppet ministry in churches.  They sell puppets. scripts, stage equipment etc.  It was fun to try on the mass market puppets to experience how they handle and feel.  While I didn't particularly like the appearance of the puppets, I did notice that they had arm sleeves that extend into the mouthplate which give it a nice finished feel and appearance.
I came back home and decided that I wanted to see how these were constructed.  I asked the children's minister at my church if I could exchange one of his oldest ugliest Puppet Production brand puppets (a competitor of One Way) for my hand built Moses puppet.  He was very happy to oblige.  Today I cut the puppet apart to see how it was built.  I'm accustomed to using Project Puppet patterns for most of the puppets I make, so it was nice to compare.

Major observations:
They use 1 inch foam for both the body and the head!  These puppets can take abuse better than mine.  After repairing about a dozen puppets at my church I came to respect the Puppet Production brand.  They held up well over time.  I'm wondering if 1 inch foam has better memory and better stability.  Those old Puppet Production heads kept their shape well!

They used sentra (plastic sign material) for the mouth plate. 

They made an arm tube (for the puppeteer's arm not the puppet) out of a material similar to swimsuit or dance skirt material.  It was that cheap, non shiny, polyester type material.  It was like a simple sock puppet that is inside the main puppet and guides the hand into the mouthplate.  It was firmly attached with contact cement to the mouthplate.  The bottom edge of the arm tube is sewed to the bottom edge of the puppet exterior, so the whole puppet looks clean and professional from the exterior and feel slick and soft inside, no foam innards showing. 

There is also a piece of foam just above the mouthplate to stabilize the head and create an upper hand hold.  It was cemented to the upper head foam, inside and flush to the bottom edge. (see center photo)

Hope you find this as helpful as I did.

I have seen this type mouth assembly before. I generally use 1" foam in the heads of my puppets and 1/2" inch for the body and often 1"  for the body as well.
That is what facinates me about puppetry........... there are so many different ways to build a puppet.

Thanks for sharing

Billy D.

Shawn:

If it's unethical to post pictures of other people's puppets innards than let me know and pull my post off.

Pam

Billy:

The variety is fascinating isn't it?  I'm hoping to blend various ideas together to make a puppet that is very sturdy, functional and attractive.  Right now my puppets lack the sturdiness that this puppet has.  I assumed 1/2 inch foam was the standard, but you yourself use this sturdy 1 inch kind.  Good to know.

I am curious. How many folks here use sentra for mouthplates? Those that do, where do you get the material? What other materials do folks around here use? If you use sentra, what do you shape it with?

I use mostly foam-core board, mostly because that's what the first puppet pattern I ever bought said to use. I've not had any problems with it, and it is sure easy to work with. But I'm always looking for more ways to do things.

My Armslength video showed using sentra, but I didn't catch that before, so I never really heard of it until just a day or two ago when I was recording the tape to the computer so that I can burn a disk with it. (who knows when the tape player will disintegrate).

So, what do you folks build your mouths with?

I use foam core as well, but plan on switching to sentra once I find a good source.  There is a sign store in my area that I plan to visit.  I'm hoping they have scrap.

Shawn:

If it's unethical to post pictures of other people's puppets innards than let me know and pull my post off.

Pam

Pam many people do this reverse engineering with puppets, stuffed animal, etc. I have talked to some builders that have told me that someone destroying a piece of there work was more upsetting than trying to learn how the puppet was made. They have often told me if the person would have just ask them they would have told them how it was made ............. however this is not the case most of the times. Many builders regard these as well kept secrets when in fact they learned some of these same techniques somewhere else.
I don't think it is wrong to use it as a example to learn from but to duplicate the exact puppet and reproduce it for personal gain it is. Taking different aspects of a design and encoperating it into your own design is fine.  I know this is not your intention.... most would have just posted the picture and not mentioned the name, but you doing so shows your good character as a person and that you have no intentions but to use this for educational purposes. This is however my on opinion. I have seen this style before used on other puppet patterns so it is a standard mouth design. I have over 30 or so different patterns and they are simular and vary in design. As said in a post here in the past by Project Puppets.... there is just so many ways to build a puppet. With that being said I see no harm. Some may not  share my view on this but I am intiltled to my opinion.

Billy D.

Ok I have a question? Is sentra the hard plastic corugated signboard used to make real estate signs?
I have used all types of product for mouth boards, .80 styrene plastic, wood paneling, the stuff the cover counter tops with, Gasket rubber, heavy duty cardboard covered with vinyl fabric, A thin wood used to back picture frames, foam core. It really depends what I'm working on.

Billy D.

Great post puppetlady...  It's the same for me I love learning all the different ways people make there puppets.  For example I'm really looking forward to seeing how Dr Puppet makes the moving jaw in his puppet pattern.  Seems like i'm learning something  big or small every day. =)

Ok I have a question? Is sentra the hard plastic corugated signboard used to make real estate signs?
I have used all types of product for mouth boards, .80 styrene plastic, wood paneling, the stuff the cover counter tops with, Gasket rubber, heavy duty cardboard covered with vinyl fabric, A thin wood used to back picture frames, foam core. It really depends what I'm working on.

Billy D.

I think sentra is the non-corrugated plastic used for signs. Some of the novelty signs you might find in places like Spencer gifts or the plastic signs for various "pet crossing" signs in the larger pet stores might be an example.

FWIW, it looks to me on the Arm's Length video of puppet making, it looks like they are using 1 inch foam on the head, also.