PVC Battery holder mounting and Anti-Rattle Tutorial.

[cardcollector]

Hey guys,
Recently I have been working on a double bladed PVC saber and couldn't have any rattles in it whatsoever. like many of you, the battery holders have quite a lot of rattle in the hilt.

I think I have come up with a solution.

The battery holder I am using is available at Mouser.com. It is a round 3 AAA battery holder. It will fit in 1" PVC we use for our lightsabers.
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_NEn2MDL_Y8E/TURHIRdyWXI/AAAAAAAAAOY/GpGHrjv7YQY/aaa%20Batt%20pack.jpg

The other important part I will be using is a piece of scrap thinwalled blade stock.
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_NEn2MDL_Y8E/TURHIg8ihlI/AAAAAAAAAOc/S6Y4ZbvJC9I/Blade%20stock.jpg

So, the first thing that I had to do was sand the inside of the blade stock out with a dremel. It didn't take much to get the batterry pack to fit, but you will need to sand the inside out. The battery holder will then fit into the blade stock like so.
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_NEn2MDL_Y8E/TURHJOq488I/AAAAAAAAAOg/dZ-DEY1S_J4/Batt%20pack%20fit%20in%20blade%20stock.jpg

Now we need to wire up our battery pack. you will need some Flux paste and sand the tabs with some sandpaper. Then, using a toothpick, dab a little on the tab... Make sure your wire is tinned!
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_NEn2MDL_Y8E/TURQnUYpc7I/AAAAAAAAAPA/hJLGIYIrbp4/wire%20aaa%20batt%20pack.jpg

Now your battery pack is wired up and should fit in the blade stock like so.
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_NEn2MDL_Y8E/TURHJ_ZgeLI/AAAAAAAAAOo/IXqtM9ihS6s/Batt%20wired%20in%20blade%20stock.jpg

Now you need to drill and tap a hole for a screw in the lower portion of you hilt.
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_NEn2MDL_Y8E/TURHJZpVVII/AAAAAAAAAOk/7exd8S8QmyQ/Thread%20PVC%20hilt.jpg

The slide the battery pack in the blade stock, then both into in the hilt.
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_NEn2MDL_Y8E/TURHK_t0AeI/AAAAAAAAAOw/9oQAcsZNWTk/Batt%20pack%20in%20hilt.jpg

You will be able to see the blade stock through the hole you just tapped. Add a screw and tighten the screw into the piece of blade stock like so...
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_NEn2MDL_Y8E/TURHKUUTNzI/AAAAAAAAAOs/m9WbJZW0sS4/Screw%20secure%20batt.jpg

Now your battery pack won't rattle around in your hilt, and your batteries won't pop out of the holder.

[Sidd]

Very Nice

[Darth Midian]

I like those battery holders. Will that battery holder fit inside the blade stock with batteries in it? If it does that's awesome

[cardcollector]

Yes it does. :) If you look carefully at the pic with the pack in the blade stock, you can see the energizer words on the battery...

[Darth Midian]

Yes it does. :) If you look carefully at the pic with the pack in the blade stock, you can see the energizer words on the battery...

That is Awesome, Thanks. Dude, your saber looks quite interesting, how long before its finished? I really want to check it out.

[cardcollector]

http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com/showthread.php?12446-Calvary-Custom-Sabers-Presents-quot-S.T.E.V.E.-quot-A-Double-PVC-Saber

here it is. :cool:

[Jedi-Loreen]

Now we need to wire up our battery pack. you will need some Solder paste and sand the tabs with some sandpaper. Then, using a toothpick, dab a little on the tab... Make sure your wire is tinned!
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_NEn2MDL_Y8E/TURQnUYpc7I/AAAAAAAAAPA/hJLGIYIrbp4/wire%20aaa%20batt%20pack.jpg


Do you mean flux paste? That doesn't look like solder paste, to me.

[Darth Midian]

Dude, that saber is awesome. This is a great solution for the battery packs to remain in the hilt. I've been kind of planning a double bladed saber, I just haven't really thought of way to keep the batteries in. Thank you for this, & another helpful hint from you that I didn't consider. The balance, thanks.

[cardcollector]

Do you mean flux paste? That doesn't look like solder paste, to me.

You are correct, my bad...

Fixing.