Materials:

• Tubing
• String
• Tape
• Sharp knife
• Hot glue-gun
• Marker/ pen
• CD-cover
• Plastic or wooden clothes hanger

Instructions: 

Step One: Make A Template

First, draw an outline of your hand on a sheet of paper.

Mark off the joints of each finger including your knuckles.

Step Two: Creating Some Fingers

This hand was made using the plastic tubing that electricians use when they route wires trough walls. It is easy to cut and have a nice "spring" to it. Almost any kind of tubing will do though, so you can use whatever is easily available to you.

Cut the tube at a length equal to that of the distance from your finger to your wrist. Do this for all fingers. From the template, mark off the joints and then cut a V-shape in the tube at each joint. Make sure the to check the angle of the bend so that it closely matches your fingers.

Step Three: Mounting The Fingers

Insert your string into the tube. Nylon string that doesn't frizz works well. To be safe use a few feet of string for each finger (you can always cut off any extra string later). Tie a few knots at the end of the tube and secure it all with some tape to hold it all together as shown in the images above (click the thumbnails for larger images). At the other (wrist) end, pull and tape the string in place, which will make the next step much easier.

Take an old CD-cover and snap off a piece of plastic. Cut it to size and heat up your glue gun. Glue the fingers to the plastic strip (just below the knuckle joints). Make sure the right fingers are in the right place!

Depending on the diameter of the tubing, you may want to tape the fingers before gluing the thumb in place.

Placing the thumb is tricky, but study your hand and you'll work it out. Use a big blob of glue and hold it steady until it cools.

Continue reading this tutorial on the next page...