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slothfurnace
08-29-2010, 04:20 PM
http://www.slothfurnace.com/images/ESBLukeFX/001.jpg

This saber is going to be a lot easier to make than my New Hope graflex. I will make it so that both the ESB and ANH sabers can share the same internal chassis. I will most likely mount them both on a display with one having the expanded look with the chassis in it, and the other saber displayed closed, beneath it. I have many of the parts ready to go for this, the original Graflex flash gun, the Kobold replica D ring assembly, the 6 notched grip sections from Blast Tech, and an extra vintage Graflex red button assembly.

http://www.slothfurnace.com/images/ESBLukeFX/002.jpg

Since I had the parts for this, I thought I'd start with the grips. I made a grip alignment template in Photoshop, printed and cut it out. I wrapped it around the base handle and taped it to itself so I could slide it off. More on that later.

Here's the way I do it. This is my way, not the only way, but it's what works for me. Before you start, CLEAN the graflex handle with something like rubbing alcohol or degreaser. This is very important to get a good stick on the grips. Then be careful not to touch it after that. Then, align your template where it needs to be, and don't move it. I try to leave around a half inch above the template clear, so I have something to stick the back of the grips to. I peel the first little bit of the adhesive backing off the grip, and fold it to the side. This is important later.

http://www.slothfurnace.com/images/ESBLukeFX/003.jpg

Now I very carefully adhere the grip section that's exposed to the metal base, making sure my peeled section is accessible to one side, and that my grips are aligned to the template as accurately as possible.

http://www.slothfurnace.com/images/ESBLukeFX/004.jpg

Making sure that they are evenly spaced around AND up and down, and that my template hasn't moved, go ahead and attach the rest of the grips in that fashion. It will be very cumbersome, so you have to be careful.

http://www.slothfurnace.com/images/ESBLukeFX/005.jpg

Now the hard part. CAREFULLY slide the template down JUST past the ends of the grips, without rotating it. If you got your template on tight enough, it should smoothly slide down, and stay in place. Also, make sure you haven't accidentally stuck your grip sections TO the template, that's why you only peel a small bit of the adhesive backing off.

http://www.slothfurnace.com/images/ESBLukeFX/006.jpg

Now the fun part! Hold tightly with your thumb to the stuck section of grip, and with needlenose pliers, reach under the grip and grasp that folded piece of backing. Slide it carefully down away from your thumb, and with a finger (if you can) keep the grip from snapping to the graflex until you're ready to push it down.

http://www.slothfurnace.com/images/ESBLukeFX/007.jpg

Once you get the adhesive backing off, line your grip up with the lines on your template, and press down. You may have to lightly adhere it, look, reposition, etc, before you finally press it for good.

http://www.slothfurnace.com/images/ESBLukeFX/008.jpg

Once you have all your grips done this way, use opposing force on them to press them. Meaning, pinch each side of one grip with your thumbs, and each side of the opposite side's grip with your fingers, and press hard to secure the adhesive. Once done, slide your template off, and attach your clamp. I'll get into the screws that go into the notch a little later.

http://www.slothfurnace.com/images/ESBLukeFX/009.jpg

While I have my parts out, I thought I'd go ahead and remove the glass eye mount, and replace it with the extra red button from the other busted Graflex top I found on ebay. This is easy, the button just unhooks from the pull tab metal retainer, and the threading is the same, so it will screw right into the glass eye hole.

http://www.slothfurnace.com/images/ESBLukeFX/010.jpg

Like so.

const
08-29-2010, 05:08 PM
Here we go again, I can't wait
First!

Ronan
08-29-2010, 05:23 PM
*Grumbles* He is doing EXACTLY what i'm going to do next week once i receive the rest of my parts.

On the other side, it's good to know what i was thinking of doing is implemented here and is working, it takes a huge load off my shoulders :D

Thanks Sloth :P

Rhyen Skytracker
08-29-2010, 05:30 PM
Very nice so far. Can't wait to see it complete. BTW - what kind of camera do you have?

Ronan
08-29-2010, 06:42 PM
Very nice so far. Can't wait to see it complete. BTW - what kind of camera do you have?

Rhyen the camera doesn't matter, its how well you know how to use it ;)

With that said, i do highly recommend a Nikon or Canon DSLR. If you are in the market for one, i would suggest something cheap but practical like a Nikon D3100 (just came out), or a D90 (soon to be replaced).

cannibal869
08-29-2010, 07:11 PM
Rhyen the camera doesn't matter, its how well you know how to use it ;)

With that said, i do highly recommend a Nikon or Canon DSLR. If you are in the market for one, i would suggest something cheap but practical like a Nikon D3100 (just came out), or a D90 (soon to be replaced).

And don't forget the tripod....

Ronan
08-29-2010, 07:16 PM
And don't forget the tripod....

Tripods aren't necessary (unless for low light/long exposure situations). It really depends what he is shooting.

I can shoot handheld at nightish with my D3.

If he wants to start i would get the following:
DSLR
Standard lens (Something around the 25-50mm range)
Flash
Tripod

With those, he has his bases covered. Oh and don't forget a memory card + back up.

Shadar Al'Niende
08-29-2010, 07:27 PM
Of course you have to go and post ANOTHER build log right AFTER I post mine.... Just have to be a glory hog don't you ;)

Seriously though, I am psyched for your build, i was so disappointed when you finished your other masterpiece. Now I have something to get my slothfurnace fix on :D

slothfurnace
08-29-2010, 08:35 PM
Very nice so far. Can't wait to see it complete. BTW - what kind of camera do you have?

A semi cheap Nikon P90 coolpix
A tripod that is worth less than 30 bucks
The diffused sunlight from my office window
one leather couch.

Ronan
08-29-2010, 09:00 PM
A semi cheap Nikon P90 coolpix
A tripod that is worth less than 30 bucks
The diffused sunlight from my office window
one leather couch.

Nikon P90 is a beast. They replaced it not long ago.

theJUDGE
08-30-2010, 05:58 AM
i have seen your other two build threads and they were absolutely great to follow and read about. Now you are doing an ESB luke as well and i am excited to see how it turns out, it is one of my favorite original trilogy sabers of all time :D. Cant wait to see the finished product

Rhyen Skytracker
08-30-2010, 06:58 AM
I just got a Nikon S3000 Coolpix camera. My main issue now it lighting. I need to get me a floor lamp with a cool white bulb now. Or something like that.

Ronan
08-30-2010, 01:30 PM
I just got a Nikon S3000 Coolpix camera. My main issue now it lighting. I need to get me a floor lamp with a cool white bulb now. Or something like that.

Table top light + one of those spiral bulbs that are energy efficient (they are cool in color and to the touch).

Don't forget to adjust your White Balance.

slothfurnace
09-01-2010, 06:01 PM
http://www.slothfurnace.com/images/ESBLukeFX/011.jpg

Here we have the pieces together, sans D ring and grip screws. Along with it's older brother.

http://www.slothfurnace.com/images/ESBLukeFX/012.jpg

Speaking of grip screws, I believe I will add those now. First, I had to trim out some of the rubber around the holes drilled in the grips. They were not perfectly aligned left to right, so I had to widen them slightly. I also used my scribe to dot in where my centerpoint for the holes will be, it's that barely visible indentation on the metal under the rubber. This is where my screw hole will be drilled, and I made sure they were the correct distance to the back of the hilt with my micrometer.

http://www.slothfurnace.com/images/ESBLukeFX/013.jpg

Now comes a picky step, making sure the holes are drilled properly each time. I set my clamp to close up just outside a grip strip, and put some tape down to keep things from scratching. The metal tube sits on the vice claws, and that keeps it level, and aligned. On my tape, I marked the spot where I slide the grip back to with a pencil.

http://www.slothfurnace.com/images/ESBLukeFX/014.jpg

Once the holes are drilled, and all the shavings cleaned off, I tap them out with the 6-32 tap, making sure to keep it level and straight. One tip here is to not let it tap all the way, to let the screw work a little harder to get in there in the end, that is if you're doing what I am doing, and not using the nuts that came with the screws. The reason I am doing that is that my chassis from the ANH saber will fit in here, and I can't have all those nuts and screws taking up room, or else the battery can won't slide in. This also means I have to shorten my screws at some point, but that's not too hard.

http://www.slothfurnace.com/images/ESBLukeFX/015.jpg

Once I have the grip screws tapped and installed, I come to the replica Kobold Flash D ring assembly. This piece almost fits flush against the hilt, but I will have to file off the corners a bit to get it to fit better.

http://www.slothfurnace.com/images/ESBLukeFX/016.jpg

Taking a pic of this was hard, so parden the slight blurriness, but this is how I mark where the holes will be for the D ring mount. I press in with my scribe to get it "ballparked" then go in and measure and make corrections. Once I am satisfied with where my holes will go, I drill, tap and install the D ring mount.

http://www.slothfurnace.com/images/ESBLukeFX/017.jpg

I had a minor calamity when assembling this, but nothing a slight burr off with the dremel can't fix. But word to the wise, measure twice, cut once, MAKE SURE what you're about to do is lined up properly. I accidentally indexed my D ring incorrectly, but it was fixable without any exterior clue as to what happened.

http://www.slothfurnace.com/images/ESBLukeFX/018.jpg

Here is a shot of the hilt with most of the exterior pieces installed. I lack the PCB Card strip that goes in the clamp, and once I get a little further along, I'll order the blade adapter and machine it to fit my chassis, get a new pololu latching switch for this setup, and this little fellow will be done! (Until I decide to do more) Stay tuned, more to come!

Ronan
09-01-2010, 07:41 PM
What a mistake... oh la la!!!!!!!!!! ;)

slothfurnace
09-05-2010, 02:42 PM
http://www.slothfurnace.com/images/ESBLukeFX/019.jpg

Well, the other day, I was digging through my junk bin and ran across this Sun microsystems PCboard from 1984. I had salvaged this and several other like it from an old auto diagnostic machine they threw out at the auto shop in high school. Meaning, I have been hanging on to this since 1993. Not sure why, but I am glad I did, because this particular PC board had the required wide connection strips that would put 13 evenly spaced in my graflex clamp. The original prop had a section of PC board from a Hewlett Packard I/O BUS card with these wide strips tapering to thin narrow traces. The original had them tapering straight. This card, unfortunately doesn't have straight traces coming off the connector points, but it will do untill I find another one, and best of all, it is free!

http://www.slothfurnace.com/images/ESBLukeFX/020.jpg

A quick visit to Dremel Land and I have the required 13 strips cut out. I know the original didn't have the green soldermask silkscreened onto it, but this will work for now, like I say.

http://www.slothfurnace.com/images/ESBLukeFX/021.jpg

And here it is installed, next to the licensed Master Replicas scaled version of this saber. I am pretty darned close...

Ronan
09-05-2010, 04:16 PM
Hey bud, i have an extra card pins thingy coming in with my order.

Shoot me an e-mail if interested or grab me on MSN.

RevengeoftheSeth
09-06-2010, 05:53 AM
The custom card is a nice touch and I think it adds unique character to say that it is yours. But I'm sure you are going for 100% accurate, though?

Skottsaber
09-06-2010, 07:29 AM
I like both cards, actually. If you want supreme accuracy then go for the proper one, but I don't mind the look of the "custom" one.

psab keel
09-06-2010, 10:36 AM
Hey Slothfurnace!

It's always a pleasure to follow your builds. I love the ingenuity and fantastic pictures!

Matt Thorn
09-06-2010, 05:35 PM
The custom card is a nice touch and I think it adds unique character to say that it is yours.
Agreed.

So now the real fun--the evolution of another insane crystal chamber--begins, right? :cool:

I have been given a fan-made Luke ESB replica to transform into a working saber for someone, but the workmanship is pretty shoddy. (Crooked grips, kobold clip off center, etc.) It would never pass slothfurnace muster. :p

Crystal Chambers
09-07-2010, 10:38 AM
Custom PCBs are cool! I just cut one recently myself.

I think you're out of luck this time Matt. Last Sloth mentioned he was using the same chassis for both sabers for a while since he had another build to do.

slothfurnace
10-04-2010, 04:07 PM
Custom PCBs are cool! I just cut one recently myself.

I think you're out of luck this time Matt. Last Sloth mentioned he was using the same chassis for both sabers for a while since he had another build to do.

Minor update, speaking of custom PCBs...

http://www.slothfurnace.com/images/ESBLukeFX/022.jpg

Two weeks ago, I sent off designs for the most accurate HP44 bus board replica I could make, and got them back from China today!

http://www.slothfurnace.com/images/ESBLukeFX/023.jpg

These have the slightly offset thin trace, coming from a rounded transition section, as well as the diagonal traces on the back, leading to round traces. I based by design on this shot from Parts of Starwars, the HP-44 Bus card.

http://www.slothfurnace.com/images/ESBLukeFX/HP44Bus.jpg

Ronan
10-04-2010, 05:16 PM
The card is too yellowish and the solder points aren't golden enough, please have them redone :p

http://www.partsofsw.com/images/lsesbsab2.jpg

http://www.partsofsw.com/images/lsesbsab3.jpg

Lord Dottore Matto
10-04-2010, 09:42 PM
The card is too yellowish and the solder points aren't golden enough, please have them redone :p

http://www.partsofsw.com/images/lsesbsab2.jpg

http://www.partsofsw.com/images/lsesbsab3.jpg

ROFL, that is funny man :lol:

pointoforigin
10-04-2010, 11:31 PM
Sloth, I'm not sure you have quite enough cards there for your build. Maybe another 7000 will do the trick :p

Oh and you better match those fingerprints on it right too, to be 100% screen accurate.

On a more serious note, is it just my eyes or in Ronan's pics there are those two different sabers? The first one seems to be missing the screw holding the grip on, only on the grip that's in line with the control box. Otherwise they look the same.

Crystal Chambers
10-05-2010, 04:35 AM
ok...when I said custom I meant cutting up circuit boards, but good call, they look great. I wonder how much it would cost to build a saber for eveyr card you got..lol

Ronan
10-05-2010, 05:15 AM
Sloth, I'm not sure you have quite enough cards there for your build. Maybe another 7000 will do the trick :p

Oh and you better match those fingerprints on it right too, to be 100% screen accurate.

On a more serious note, is it just my eyes or in Ronan's pics there are those two different sabers? The first one seems to be missing the screw holding the grip on, only on the grip that's in line with the control box. Otherwise they look the same.

A LOT of different versions were made for the movie. Theirs also significant difference between hero prop, action prop and all that.

Thanks to today's digital technology, its 1000% times easier to find mistakes in movies ;)

Skottsaber
10-05-2010, 09:05 AM
Thanks to today's digital technology, its 100% times easier to find mistakes in movies ;)

FAIL :p

Lol Sloth, just a few cards?

Ronan
10-05-2010, 12:28 PM
FAIL :p

Lol Sloth, just a few cards?

Forgot a zero :mrgreen:

cardcollector
10-05-2010, 01:16 PM
Aw sloth I'm touched you got each of us a custom card! You really shouldn't have...;)

RevengeoftheSeth
10-06-2010, 11:41 AM
The card is too yellowish and the solder points aren't golden enough, please have them redone :p

http://www.partsofsw.com/images/lsesbsab2.jpg

http://www.partsofsw.com/images/lsesbsab3.jpg

Need more cowbell. ^.^

Nah, they look great. I saw your post over at FX-Sabers about it. Cool that you could get them custom made like that!