How to build a steampunk gauntlet for zero dollars

What have I been working on all this time? Well, this, among other things.

I wanted to do a steampunk costume this year. Inspired by Lee Scoresby from His Dark Materials, I settled on a Western aeronaut. However, the hat, vest, boots and goggles just didn't seem steampunky enough, so I decided to add a mechanical gauntlet, and, informed and inspired by Backyard FX, I decided to make it for zero dollars, and to document the process.

I had this piece of foamcore sitting around from my boy's birthday party.

I scored one side for bends, and reinforced the inside with duct tape. I used some spare work boot laces to hold the thing together for an authentic look. I added some of the punch-out shapes from the cogs to the foamcore, then spray-painted the whole thing hammered bronze.

Years ago, my mother-in-law gave me this cool cardboard clock kit, and I desperately want to finish it someday, but I decided I could make a few of the multi-layer cardboard cogs from the kit and borrow them for the gauntlet.

This is a sample bottle of Cool Mint Listerine with the label removed and a LEGO corrugated tube hot glued to the top.

The gauges are made from the bezel of a broken LED tap-light and a round Ice Breakers mint box. I took another mint tin, drilled holes through the lid, and painted it bronze to serve as the door to the furnace. I used some craft wire to lash the mint box to this work glove, put a piece of cardboard over the wire knots, and then glued on a fake gauge face I made in about ten minutes in Illustrator.


A little while ago, thanks to the transparent panel on the side of my computer, I realized that the fan sitting on top of the chipset was no longer spinning, though this caused no heat issues. When I yanked it out, the brass cover came off the fan. Voila, two bits for the gauntlet.

Here it is, not quite done, but close. I used craft wire to secure the bottle to the gauntlet, then just bent the tube and fed it into a hole I whittled.

This weekend, I need to secure the gears to the elbow area of the gauntlet in a way that will let them turn. When it's time to wear the costume, I'll add some small bendy glow sticks into the "furnace" and inside the gauges. Jacob loves these things, so we bought them in bulk at the craft store a while ago. He won't miss a few.