Introduction: Building a Wooden Puppet Stand

About: Andrew Kamal is a techie by day, DIY enthusiast by night! Enjoy this small curation of projects.

We wanted to build a nice puppet stand for some kindergartners and were inspired by request to do this DIY project. We decided to upload the steps for the community for anyone who wants inspiration to make their own.

Step 1: Materials

The materials were quite simple. For the base we wanted to get some two 24*17.5" bases. The other parts were legs, wheels and pegs. We wanted to add in a cut chalk board as well for the sides and got some fabric, gloss, and paint given it was a puppet stand. The fact that we used spray paint over a wooden finish isn't something that I would recommend though. Full dimensions really depends on the size of the puppet stand you want to build or how tall you are. For me, I would have made the puppet stand about 4.5ft in height, while I am slightly past 5ft 10'. (I am saying this because you might want to scale it close to your height at well.) I also wanted to make this a bit shorter because there will be other people using it not as tall as me.

Step 2: The Top Base

For the top base, draw 6'' holes (or your estimated puppet size) in the center and saw or laser cut through them.

Step 3: Spray Painting the Pieces

We did spray paint the pieces but for safety reasons, probably better to have used a stain. (Also given the smell it releases as compared to a wooden stain.) We first spray painted in an open area but decided to do so in a vented box instead for obvious reasons and better precision.

Step 4: Glossing the Pieces

The next part was painting a nice gloss on all the pieces and letting them dry in the sunlight before approaching the build phase.

Step 5: The Assembly

This is the final part, putting it all together. We had the top base being the one with holes, and the bottom having the pegs. Wheels are attached to the pegs to make it mobile. Also a hole is drilled through the legs and the wood for the pegs to screw through. You have one side with a chalkboard to write the kindergarten lesson. The other side has a whiteboard for you to write your notes, as well as fabric that you can put your hands through. The fabric was attached with a staple gun to the side of the base.

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