Hello all,
I've made posable hands before.  I've used Dr. Puppet's directions (great ones!) and now I've tried the Project Puppet tutorial directions (also great ones!)
However, here is my question...
It seems that no matter which way they are made, if you repeatedly bend the fingers, the wire breaks!  I'm sure that most of the time, that is not how customers would use them (repeatedly bending them), but I want to be sure that they are durable enough to last a long time.
Have any of you used these tutorials, tried different wires, etc?  Please share what wire works best for you, and how you are building your posable hands in order to withstand lots of use.
Thanks!
Sara

I've used the Project Puppet method, but I twisted three pieces of the wire together.  It added strength, but did make it a little harder to bend.  They haven't broken on me (yet), but it has worked.  I think it is 16 gauge wire I started with.

most wires will eventually fatigue, but some wires last longer than others. You may have to experiment with different wires you have available.High tensile wires break sooner I think. To get longer life out of your wire, try to avoid bending the wires at sharp angles, and use as wide a curve in the bend as possible to not stress the wire so much. I am not familiar with the two techniques you mention, but one I have had reasonable success adding wires after the fact with,is by sewing the finger tip threads a little looser, or carefully manoeuvring them to open a wire sized gap in the stitching so as to carefully insert a wire through it and down the finger and into the hand as far as possible, to get the posability, and if they break, manoeuvre them out again and replace them.I have tried the method of attaching finger wires to a block which is inserted into the hand when making them, but they did not last too long, and had to be unstitched and remade to replace. The technique I am using  mostly now is  just a zig zag  type system where a single wire goes into and out of each finger successively, without any twisting, and no block, and extending the ends of of it up into the arm past the wrist.You can remove it, with a little bit of effort and replace it by unstuffing the arm from inside the body as you normally would in  making it. I have not found a perfect system yet though.

Larry suggest using "12g, rubber coated copper wire" in this thread. He said it pretty much last forever without breaking.

I've used jewellery wire mostly, but I have been tempted by the wire used for floral arrangements. Seems like it's pretty heavy duty and bends, but takes a lot more wear than most wires of that gauge (similar to jewellery wire gauge).

Perfect...thank you all!  I actually used 14g copper wire this time, but it still seemed breakable.  So, the 12g, as Shawn suggested would definitely help.  I was afraid the rubber coated would be too stiff, but if it doesn't break, it will be worth it! :D
Thanks again!
Sara

I could see how copper could break...if I am not mistaken it is a weaker of the metals especially when it is in wire form. 

Stiq