Wire cutters and pliers handle the metal side of puppet building: arm rods, armatures, eye mechanisms and any structural wire inside a figure.
Arm rods
are the most common job. Steel welding rod and piano wire both need proper cutters — flush cutters or a small bolt cutter for heavier gauge. Do not attempt piano wire with craft snips; it will notch the jaws permanently and the wire will still not be cut.
Flush cutters
leave a clean end rather than a pinched point. This matters more than it sounds, because a rod end that goes inside a puppet’s hand will work through fabric and out the other side if it is left sharp. Cut flush, then file the tip.
Round-nose pliers
form the loops and eyes that let a rod pivot at the palm. A rod attached rigidly locks the wrist and every gesture reads stiff, so the loop is doing real work.
Needle-nose pliers
reach inside a finished head to grip, bend or retrieve, which you will need at least once per build.
Armature wire
— aluminium, easily bent by hand — is a different job entirely and cuts with almost anything. It is used inside soft parts to hold a pose: tails, ears, tentacles, floppy limbs that need to stay where you put them.
Safety
Cut wire flies. Cup your free hand over the cut or hold the offcut as you go, and wear eye protection with piano wire, which is under tension and genuinely dangerous when it releases.
The hack: cut arm rods long, then trim to the performer after a rehearsal. Rod length is set by reach, and reach is impossible to guess correctly at the bench.