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View Full Version : Bertuzzi’s "Mediator V3" (MHS - CF V5 – crystal chamber – Cree RGBW) - WIP



Bertuzzi
07-31-2010, 02:38 PM
Hi Guys,

I’ve been reading in this forum for over a year now and so I decided to (hopefully) enrich this forum with the one or other saber.

I’m working with MHS-Part for a year now and so I could test what’s possible. So I built some sabers to gain experience.

But for now I want to show you the process of building of the "Mediator V3", hoping for feedback and tips ;)
I already made many drafts for the Mediator. Version 1 I built two years ago, a friend of mine lathed me the parts I needed but the result was … botch. V2 has never been made, maybe I’m going to do this in the future.
So this is the draft of the "Mediator V3":

http://www.saberproject.de/other/bertuzzi/Foren/lightsaber/Mediator_V3/small/Mediator_V3_render_small.jpg

The saber is based on MHS-Parts. It’s 11,61“ long and consists of a blade holder style 18, a 9“ double female extensions with grooves, slots and two holes for the switches and pommel style 7 with insert style 6 to hold a recharge port. The powdercoating (super wet black) is in custom style.
For me it is important to build a saber I can duel with, because we also do stage combat, so the saber must be handy but nevertheless the design should be ambitious. I think I found a good solution.

The parts:

http://www.saberproject.de/other/bertuzzi/Foren/lightsaber/Mediator_V3/small/mediator_parts_01_small.jpg

The specifications I want the saber to have:
- Crystal Focus V5
- Cree RGBW, green with white clashflash
- rechargeable Li-Ion 18650
- chrystal chamber with quartz
- rumbling motor

I’m still indicisive whether I use an activation box instead of just having two switches.

My personal challenge will be cutting the overlay. I’ve never done that before so I’m very curious about the result.

At first I looked for designs of chrystal chambers and I found something I really like. After getting inspiration I started building and after a few hours of work, I had my first crystal chamber.

http://www.saberproject.de/other/bertuzzi/Foren/lightsaber/Mediator_V3/small/crystal_chamber_01_small.jpg

I used two MPS inserts style 6 and drilled threads for the thread rods.
But I was not satisfied with the result – the rods didn’t look good, the crystal looked cheap and rattled in the chassis although I tried to clamp it between the LED-holders.
So I looked in the DIY-store, ordered a quartz and did a litte bit of handicraft.

http://www.saberproject.de/other/bertuzzi/Foren/lightsaber/Mediator_V3/small/crystal_chamber_02_small.jpg

http://www.saberproject.de/other/bertuzzi/Foren/lightsaber/Mediator_V3/small/crystal_chamber_03_small.jpg

http://www.saberproject.de/other/bertuzzi/Foren/lightsaber/Mediator_V3/small/crystal_chamber_04_small.jpg

To hold the crystal I used the copper wire of an inductor I still had from repairing a CF.

I hope to be able to start soon with a chassis for the whole saber.

Feedback and tips requested ;)

FenderBender
07-31-2010, 04:24 PM
I hope that you had the hilt lathed down before powdercoating. The gloss colors tend to be thicker than the flats and the shroud might gouge the PC in places.

Darth Enab
07-31-2010, 06:01 PM
Wow. That's gonna be awesome. It kinda reminds me Qui-Gon's saber. Anyways, keep us informed. Good luck!

Lord Dottore Matto
08-01-2010, 12:22 AM
Good start. I echo fender (I sure hope those parts fit with your shroud)

Bertuzzi
08-01-2010, 04:07 AM
Thanks for the fast replies :)
I already tried go slide the shroud over the hilt - because of this I have some small scratches now. I though I could try it with an interference fit. The shroud just has to expand a few mikrometers so I'm optimistic.

Rafalema
08-01-2010, 05:31 AM
Got to love that desing!

What color will your blade be? Red like the crystal chamber?
Oh and do you have the CF already?

Good luck with the shroud problem..

Bertuzzi
08-05-2010, 03:02 PM
The color of the blade and the crystal chamber will be green. I just had no green 5mm flash LED, so I took a red one.
I don't have the CF by not, I will have to wait until the next run.
Next week I won't update this thread because I'm not at home but I will have time to continue building on the Mediator and some other sabers, too ...
I hope I can update in two weeks.

Bertuzzi
08-22-2010, 02:00 PM
In the last days I found some time to continue building the saber. I decided to build the chassis before making the overlay.

At first I abraded a 32mm PVC tube down to 31,75mm (=1,25“) with a dremel. It’s hard to find non-metric parts here in Germany. Dirty work. After that I had to clean up my whole flat.
Then I drilled holes for the momentary switches and the slots, so that you can see the crystal chamber.

http://www.saberproject.de/other/bertuzzi/Foren/lightsaber/Mediator_V3/small/chassis_001_small.jpg

http://www.saberproject.de/other/bertuzzi/Foren/lightsaber/Mediator_V3/small/chassis_002_small.jpg

After that I had to fit the crystal chamber to the chassis. Because of the diameter of the MHS pommel inserts I had to make discs that would fit to the chassis.

http://www.saberproject.de/other/bertuzzi/Foren/lightsaber/Mediator_V3/small/chassis_003_small.jpg

Now the chassis again. Cut slots to insert the crystal chamber. It ended up like this.

http://www.saberproject.de/other/bertuzzi/Foren/lightsaber/Mediator_V3/small/chassis_004_small.jpg

First attempt – failed. The crystal chamber waggled because I worked uncleanly. So I had to make new disk. The result is satisfying.

http://www.saberproject.de/other/bertuzzi/Foren/lightsaber/Mediator_V3/small/chassis_005_small.jpg

Now I could start making a mounting for the li-ion and the board. After that I cut two windows into the chassis to be able to reach the board better when I need to disassemble the saber. Two further slots were cut to slide the mounting into the tube. I also glued the momentary switches into the chassis.
The parts:

http://www.saberproject.de/other/bertuzzi/Foren/lightsaber/Mediator_V3/small/chassis_006_small.jpg

And this is the result

http://www.saberproject.de/other/bertuzzi/Foren/lightsaber/Mediator_V3/small/chassis_007_small.jpg

http://www.saberproject.de/other/bertuzzi/Foren/lightsaber/Mediator_V3/small/chassis_008_small.jpg

I put he chassis into the saber – fits well.

http://www.saberproject.de/other/bertuzzi/Foren/lightsaber/Mediator_V3/small/chassis_009_small.jpg

A little test with light.

http://www.saberproject.de/other/bertuzzi/Foren/lightsaber/Mediator_V3/small/chassis_010_small.jpg

I hope I will be able to make the overlay soon. The first tests to build one were … temperate.
Until I can wire the saber up I need to wait for a V5. I hope Erv will offer some of them soon ;) Then I can finish the mounting entirely.

Rafalema
08-23-2010, 05:42 AM
If you don't have the board, then what's that thing in the backround of the last pic? :confused:

RevengeoftheSeth
08-23-2010, 07:39 AM
Emo sinktube is pensive.

http://www.saberproject.de/other/bertuzzi/Foren/lightsaber/Mediator_V3/small/chassis_001_small.jpg

Skottsaber
08-23-2010, 10:53 AM
If you don't have the board, then what's that thing in the backround of the last pic? :confused:

I believe that is a version 4.x

const
08-24-2010, 02:09 PM
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4094/4924706052_ccd6ed4f3b.jpg

Sorry I had too...

Skottsaber
08-25-2010, 09:39 AM
I can't see it :confused:

Bertuzzi
12-05-2010, 12:59 PM
At last I found the time to work on the Mediator.
First I drafted the shapes of the overlay and taped in on the tube so I had an orientation when cutting it.

http://www.saberproject.de/other/bertuzzi/Foren/lightsaber/Mediator_V3/small/overlay_001_small.jpg (“http://www.saberproject.de/other/bertuzzi/Foren/lightsaber/Mediator_V3/big/overlay_001.jpg“)

http://www.saberproject.de/other/bertuzzi/Foren/lightsaber/Mediator_V3/small/overlay_002_small.jpg (“http://www.saberproject.de/other/bertuzzi/Foren/lightsaber/Mediator_V3/big/overlay_002.jpg“)

http://www.saberproject.de/other/bertuzzi/Foren/lightsaber/Mediator_V3/small/overlay_003_small.jpg (“http://www.saberproject.de/other/bertuzzi/Foren/lightsaber/Mediator_V3/big/overlay_003.jpg“)

After that I spent some time in sanding the edgings. Then I drilled holes for the switches.
I thought the powdercoating could be a problem but I only had to abrade the inner surface of the overlay for a few seconds with a dremel and voila – it worked.

http://www.saberproject.de/other/bertuzzi/Foren/lightsaber/Mediator_V3/small/overlay_004_small.jpg (“http://www.saberproject.de/other/bertuzzi/Foren/lightsaber/Mediator_V3/big/overlay_004.jpg“)

Now I cut the other part of the overlay and also abraded it roughly.

http://www.saberproject.de/other/bertuzzi/Foren/lightsaber/Mediator_V3/small/overlay_005_small.jpg (“http://www.saberproject.de/other/bertuzzi/Foren/lightsaber/Mediator_V3/big/overlay_005.jpg“)

At the moment I’m polishing the overlay and I hope I will finish this soon. The last step to complete the hilt would be the LED mountings for the switches.

Bertuzzi
01-04-2011, 11:00 AM
I just finished the hilt. The only thing which was missing was to glue in the led-mountings for the switches. Therefor I abraded two 5mm LEDs and cut the LED-mounts.
This is the result:

http://www.saberproject.de/other/bertuzzi/Foren/lightsaber/Mediator_V3/small/hilt_001_small.jpg (http://www.saberproject.de/other/bertuzzi/Foren/lightsaber/Mediator_V3/big/hilt_001.jpg)

http://www.saberproject.de/other/bertuzzi/Foren/lightsaber/Mediator_V3/small/hilt_002_small.jpg (http://www.saberproject.de/other/bertuzzi/Foren/lightsaber/Mediator_V3/big/hilt_002.jpg)

http://www.saberproject.de/other/bertuzzi/Foren/lightsaber/Mediator_V3/small/hilt_003_small.jpg (http://www.saberproject.de/other/bertuzzi/Foren/lightsaber/Mediator_V3/big/hilt_003.jpg)

http://www.saberproject.de/other/bertuzzi/Foren/lightsaber/Mediator_V3/small/hilt_004_small.jpg (http://www.saberproject.de/other/bertuzzi/Foren/lightsaber/Mediator_V3/big/hilt_004.jpg)

I hope to finish the saber by the end of January. I was able to get a CF so it shouldn’t take too long to bring this to an end.
Another thought I made is to rebuild the full chassis. Since Tim offers the chassis disks there are so many unimagined possibilities …

slothfurnace
01-04-2011, 11:54 AM
Nice work! Clean and elegant... I like the LED mounts.

Silver Serpent
01-04-2011, 12:12 PM
Looking very nice. Great lines on the shroudwork. I'm curious though, are those LED mounts intended to illuminate, or are they just decorative covers for the switches? If they do illuminate, I'd love to know how you're doing it.

Bertuzzi
01-05-2011, 04:47 AM
Looking very nice. Great lines on the shroudwork. I'm curious though, are those LED mounts intended to illuminate, or are they just decorative covers for the switches? If they do illuminate, I'd love to know how you're doing it.

Unti now I didn't find a method to lighten up the LEDs so I think they will just stay decorative caps for the switch.

Knighthammer
01-05-2011, 10:59 AM
Like'n the progress on this. Keep up the great work.

Bertuzzi
03-14-2011, 02:31 PM
After a long time I finally got my CFs (damn, so small). I hope I can finish the saber soon.

http://www.saberproject.de/other/bertuzzi/Foren/lightsaber/Mediator_V3/small/mediator_cf_small.jpg (http://www.saberproject.de/other/bertuzzi/Foren/lightsaber/Mediator_V3/big/mediator_cf.jpg)

I just need a li-ion now - and a new soldering iron. Mine is disused.

IndustrialAction
03-14-2011, 04:36 PM
If it wasn't for all of the extra LED pads, I'd swear it was a PC-L. Amazing little cards, aren't they?

Bertuzzi
05-20-2011, 09:43 AM
At last … finished! What a pain to arrange everything in the hilt properly and safely.

The hilt:

http://www.saberproject.de/other/bertuzzi/Foren/lightsaber/Mediator_V3/small/Mediator_V3_001_small.jpg (http://www.saberproject.de/other/bertuzzi/Foren/lightsaber/Mediator_V3/big/Mediator_V3_001.jpg)

http://www.saberproject.de/other/bertuzzi/Foren/lightsaber/Mediator_V3/small/Mediator_V3_002_small.jpg (http://www.saberproject.de/other/bertuzzi/Foren/lightsaber/Mediator_V3/big/Mediator_V3_002.jpg)

http://www.saberproject.de/other/bertuzzi/Foren/lightsaber/Mediator_V3/small/Mediator_V3_003_small.jpg (http://www.saberproject.de/other/bertuzzi/Foren/lightsaber/Mediator_V3/big/Mediator_V3_003.pg)

Overlay near the emitter:

http://www.saberproject.de/other/bertuzzi/Foren/lightsaber/Mediator_V3/small/Mediator_V3_004_small.jpg (http://www.saberproject.de/other/bertuzzi/Foren/lightsaber/Mediator_V3/big/Mediator_V3_004.jpg)

Covertec and recharge port:

http://www.saberproject.de/other/bertuzzi/Foren/lightsaber/Mediator_V3/small/Mediator_V3_005_small.jpg (http://www.saberproject.de/other/bertuzzi/Foren/lightsaber/Mediator_V3/big/Mediator_V3_005.jpg)

View on the crystal chamber:

http://www.saberproject.de/other/bertuzzi/Foren/lightsaber/Mediator_V3/small/Mediator_V3_006_small.jpg (http://www.saberproject.de/other/bertuzzi/Foren/lightsaber/Mediator_V3/big/Mediator_V3_006.jpg)

Take a closer look:

http://www.saberproject.de/other/bertuzzi/Foren/lightsaber/Mediator_V3/small/Mediator_V3_007_small.jpg (http://www.saberproject.de/other/bertuzzi/Foren/lightsaber/Mediator_V3/big/Mediator_V3_007.jpg)

In the dark:

http://www.saberproject.de/other/bertuzzi/Foren/lightsaber/Mediator_V3/small/Mediator_V3_008_small.jpg (http://www.saberproject.de/other/bertuzzi/Foren/lightsaber/Mediator_V3/big/Mediator_V3_008.jpg)

With blade:

http://www.saberproject.de/other/bertuzzi/Foren/lightsaber/Mediator_V3/small/Mediator_V3_009_small.jpg (http://www.saberproject.de/other/bertuzzi/Foren/lightsaber/Mediator_V3/big/Mediator_V3_009.jpg)

With blade in the dark:

http://www.saberproject.de/other/bertuzzi/Foren/lightsaber/Mediator_V3/small/Mediator_V3_010_small.jpg (http://www.saberproject.de/other/bertuzzi/Foren/lightsaber/Mediator_V3/big/Mediator_V3_010.g)

Next project: Make a better chassis with the chassis disks from the TCSS. So many ideas …

Knighthammer
05-20-2011, 09:55 AM
Looks Awesome!

Anatim
05-20-2011, 10:29 AM
Finally:D
After three years in the making the third version of the Mediator is ready for battle!

Can't wait to duel it on stage :)

Great Job:D

Darth Midian
05-20-2011, 11:49 AM
This is a great looking saber. I love how the copper wire in crystal chamber makes the crystal look as if it's suspended in the saber by the force. Great job.

Borax
05-20-2011, 12:57 PM
That is very good looking saber. I really like how clean it is, and it looks beautiful with the green. Very well done.

Tarrell
05-21-2011, 12:00 AM
Looks great, well worth the effort.

Skottsaber
05-21-2011, 04:23 AM
This is epic, looks great to handle.
And a CFv5 to boot (pun intended :lol:)

I want it.

Skottsaber
05-21-2011, 06:35 PM
http://www.saberproject.de/other/bertuzzi/Foren/lightsaber/Mediator_V3/small/crystal_chamber_01_small.jpg

I'm curious, what type of crystal is this?

Bertuzzi
05-22-2011, 11:25 AM
Thanks for all the positive feedback.

@Skottsaber: This crystal is one of the acrylic crystalls the TCSS offers. Instead of this I finally took a real quartz.

Bertuzzi
06-24-2011, 08:32 AM
As announced I started building a better chassis. I used the chassis disks from the TCSS, a plastic panels, threaded rod and some tubing. I know, the slots in the disks are not cut cleanly but I just wanted to make a prototype to test whether my imaginations could work. Another problem is, that I took the wrong chassis disks. I took the bigger one which normally should be between different MHS-parts. So I cannot put this chassis into a saber.
Here you can see the status quo:

http://www.saberproject.de/other/bertuzzi/Foren/lightsaber/Mediator_V3/small/chassis_v2_001_small.jpg (http://www.saberproject.de/other/bertuzzi/Foren/lightsaber/Mediator_V3/big/chassis_v2_001.jpg)

http://www.saberproject.de/other/bertuzzi/Foren/lightsaber/Mediator_V3/small/chassis_v2_002_small.jpg (http://www.saberproject.de/other/bertuzzi/Foren/lightsaber/Mediator_V3/big/chassis_v2_002.jpg)

http://www.saberproject.de/other/bertuzzi/Foren/lightsaber/Mediator_V3/small/chassis_v2_003_small.jpg (http://www.saberproject.de/other/bertuzzi/Foren/lightsaber/Mediator_V3/big/chassis_v2_003.jpg)

http://www.saberproject.de/other/bertuzzi/Foren/lightsaber/Mediator_V3/small/chassis_v2_004_small.jpg (http://www.saberproject.de/other/bertuzzi/Foren/lightsaber/Mediator_V3/big/chassis_v2_004.jpg)

http://www.saberproject.de/other/bertuzzi/Foren/lightsaber/Mediator_V3/small/chassis_v2_005_small.jpg (http://www.saberproject.de/other/bertuzzi/Foren/lightsaber/Mediator_V3/big/chassis_v2_005.jpg)

http://www.saberproject.de/other/bertuzzi/Foren/lightsaber/Mediator_V3/small/chassis_v2_006_small.jpg (http://www.saberproject.de/other/bertuzzi/Foren/lightsaber/Mediator_V3/big/chassis_v2_006.jpg)

http://www.saberproject.de/other/bertuzzi/Foren/lightsaber/Mediator_V3/small/chassis_v2_007_small.jpg (http://www.saberproject.de/other/bertuzzi/Foren/lightsaber/Mediator_V3/big/chassis_v2_007.jpg)

I will try the same construction with 14650 li-ion batteries as these have the size of normal AA batteries. I hope I can put the board on the batteries instead of behind them.
Comments and tips rqeuested ;)

cardcollector
06-24-2011, 10:02 PM
If it were me, I would clean up all the rough edges with some files. it makes the chassis look really scroungy. Plus, all that extra metal could eventually hurt your board. (small piece falling on the board and shorting it out. :shock:)

I like the setup though. :)

jin starkiller
06-25-2011, 06:06 AM
me personally clean up the edges then get rid of the third threaded rod and use the brass rod to feed the wires through but I do like the setup

Jedi-Loreen
06-25-2011, 10:44 AM
Guys, he said this was a prototype chassis. ;)


As announced I started building a better chassis. I used the chassis disks from the TCSS, a plastic panels, threaded rod and some tubing. I know, the slots in the disks are not cut cleanly but I just wanted to make a prototype to test whether my imaginations could work.

Azmaria Dei
06-25-2011, 10:00 PM
Guys, he said this was a prototype chassis. ;)

prototypes can look great too...

Ben Elion
06-25-2011, 11:38 PM
I will try the same construction with 14650 li-ion batteries as these have the size of normal AA batteries. I hope I can put the board on the batteries instead of behind them.
Comments and tips rqeuested ;)

Hi, Bertuzzi

this saber looks good so far.
Great work, especially because it is really handmade.

Is this only the green die of a Cree RGB?
Which Cree is that, as the one I tested (MC-E) had been very disappointing.

About the 14650, I use a pair of unprotected Thrustfire 1600 mAh from Deal Extreme in my saber.
They are labeled as protected with PCB , but there definitely is no PCB!
These only have a capacity of 1100 mAh as this is the amount I could charge after the saber turned off.
So runtime is less than an hour and you won´t find them with higher capacity.
But like Az explained to me, it is better than any 14500 available.

Don´t use protected cells in a pack with a recharge port!!

Philipp (from Hamburg)
You remember?

Bertuzzi
06-26-2011, 06:05 AM
Yes, the edges of the plastic disks are not made cleanly. I just wanted to look if the whole construction would work.
I would fix the board with double-sided adhesive tape on the disks. The surface is not that big so I think about an additional panel to put the board on. I would glue the panel on the plastic disks with super glue, so this should be secure.


I would use this batteries in combination with this:


That's a protection circuit board. So I should be able to use the li-ions with a recharge port.

Ben Elion
06-26-2011, 08:36 AM
I would use this batteries in combination with this:

That's a protection circuit board. So I should be able to use the li-ions with a recharge port.

These are the same batteries that I use.
Same with the PCB, but it got from another dealer.
This type is offered by many shops.

Jedi-Loreen
06-26-2011, 10:28 AM
Guys, please don't post any links to outside vendors that sell things similar to what Tim sells in the Store. Like batteries, LEDs, etc.

It's not allowed, and disrespectful to Tim.

Thanks

Bertuzzi
06-26-2011, 10:55 AM
I'm sorry, this was not my intention.

To correct/complete: I will try the 14650 li-ion batteries. They have a capacity of 1400mAh so I can use them for a little longer. As they are unprotected I will include a circuit-protection board.