Make your own armature

Making you own armature at home is cost effective and easy. All you need is a few supplies from your local electrical wholesaler. The armature itself is made from a multi stranded plastic coated copper wire which is inserted into an electrical lug. There are a few different gauge wires available and the thickness you choose will depend on the size bear the armature is for. The most common size I use is 8 gauge for bears between 10 and 14 inches. Purchase your electrical lugs at the same time you buy your wire to get the best fit. Ideally the wire will fit sniggly into the lug without the need to strip the plastic coating off, but more often than not you'll need to strip some coating off.

You will need:

  • Electrical wire as detailed above.
  • Electrical lugs.
  • Two bolts and washers.
  • Two wooden disks in the correct size for your bears limbs.
  • Two part epoxy glue such as Araldite or a soldering iron
Cut two lengths of the electrical wire approximatly the same length as your bears limb. Determine whether you will need to remove the plastic coating on the tip of the wire to make it fit firmly into the lug. If so, score the plastic coating with some scissors but only as far from the end of the wire as the lugs' depth. Remove the plastic. You want the plastic coating to sit flush with the base of the lug.(see picture) There are two ways of securing the wire to the lug. Either coat the wire end with Araldite and insert into lug then leave to dry. (choose 5 minute Araldite to save having to wait too long) OR use a soldering iron to solder the wire into the lug.
Postion the lug/wire combination over your joint mark. Gently bend the wire into the shape of the arm and cut the end off so it ends just past the wrist area. Don't forget to do one for each arm as one will be the reverse of the other.Tape the end of the wire with duct tape so there are no sharp bits.

Thread a washer over a bolt (optional) and thread the bolt through the lug. Place the entire ensemble through the joint hole in the wooden disk.
This step takes a little patience. Mix up a quantity of the quick set Araldite. Holding the ensemble by the bolt thread, carefully apply a generous amount of glue between the lug and bolt head and also between the lug and the disk. Take care not to get glue on the lower half of the bolt thread or you won't be able to get the locknut to do up later on.
Pull the bolt tight so the ensemble sits together nicely and hold as in the picture until the glue sets enough to hold. You need to hold it because otherwise the weight of the wire will pull the bolt away from the disk and it will set crooked. It's best to do this step to the armatures one at a time or have someone hold one while you glue the next one.

When the glue has 'gone off' and is holding quite well, gently lay the bolt thread through the slats of a cake rack and leave it until properly dry.
The process sounds rather involved, but it's really very quick and easy once you know the process and the dollars you will save will make it very worthwhile.


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