Captain's first MHS Saber...

[captain_mills]

**EDIT**
Jump to post #27 to see the finished version as far as this saber goes. I am so excited about this! It's great!!
http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com/showthread.php?12740-Captain-s-first-MHS-Saber...&p=201426#post201426
**EDIT**

I'm gonna show off the exterior first, since I have not yet begun the chassis. Also, I have to apologize for the lower quality of photos. My wife's most excellent camera is indisposed at the moment, and I will most definitely supply images of higher quality when they are taken.

In the mean time, my first saber takes shape with the following MHS parts:
* Blade Holder Style 1, drilled and tapped at 8-32, ~20 degrees of where I would have liked it.
* Choke Style 3, as is from the shoppe.
* Ribbed Extension, basic and stock.
* 2" Double Female Extension, also drilled and tapped at 8-32.
* Black Machined Covertec
* Gear
* Pommel Style 5, with Insert Style 10 and an SPST Momentary Switch.

The shroud is custom and made by me in about two hours worth of time with a typical piece of LHS Copper Sink Tube.

And, without further ado, the images!

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As usual, your comments and suggestions will be more than welcome!

Captain Mills

[Azmaria Dei]

that looks really nice. ^_^ good job.

[mps]

I like the switch in the pommel..Gives the hilt a real nice clean look.

[Rafalema]

Madcow inspired eh?

Sweet. :cool:

[jin starkiller]

very nice ..digging the shroud good touch for BH 1

[captain_mills]

Thanks for the comments folks! Yes, it is Madcow inspired. I sent him an email and asked if he minded me borrowing from a design or two of his. He was very cordial... At the same time, I also wanted to make it unique without completely copying, so I added a few features that I knew I would like and could handle, it being my first saber and all...

I suppose I should have put this into the A-Z Build threads, but it wound up here. If a mod comes by and moves it for me, I'll be grateful.

I plan on adding an Obi-Wan Econo board with a 4AAA pack and wiring a P4 White LED in parallel to the board. It won't be lighted (yet), but I also plan on having a crystal chamber included in the grip-section for show when it's opened (if I can successfully work it to have the LED wires from the econo board go to my accent LED, then I'll be happy and have my crystal chamber be lit). I purchased the Premium speaker and the swing sensor from the TCSS shop here and will add them to the econo board. I have to figure out how to do the placement, as the switch and the speaker are both in the pommel. Will have to float the speaker above the switch and allow room for the wiring. Best laid plans of mice, you know... ;)

Otherwise... I'll post more pics as the progress comes along!
Thanks again!
CMills

[dgdve]

So far Soooooooo good... (*popcorn)

[Crystal Chambers]

Nice! Good work on the sinktube although it's hard to tell it's copper. You really need better pics to show that off since it's not common.

[captain_mills]

Okay... here's a bit of an update...

The two saber parts are painted... first with a flat dark grey automotive primer, second with a Krylon flat black paint, and third with a satin clearcoat. I have not yet baked it as I am waiting for the parts to dry over a day or two before I do it. The first four images only have the primer, and the last one has the final paint job...

In a couple of shots, you can see the Obi-Wan Econo board that I'll be putting in it. You can also tell a lot more that the shroud is more of a copper than a chrome...

Mostly, this post is to finally get some better images up of the saber.

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[dgdve]

Looking good! definately +1

Suggestion: Why not also paint the shroud? it will add some balance to it (<-says me), or whats the plan? Also they do sell stuff for the edges of the shroud if you dont like it that way (wish I could remember what its called..)

[captain_mills]

Paint the shroud, eh? Never thought of that... I was kinda hoping it wouldn't be brass but more of a chrome kinda thing... I wouldn't mind it being just ever so slightly darker than the rest of the aluminum, but the brass-colored edges are off a bit for me...

So, what do you think? Paint it black like the bottom end or paint it a nice aluminum color? I'm leaning more toward the aluminum... unless you can tell me what that "stuff for the edges of the shroud" is...

:D

[Vox-Xin Vangear]

Really nice design. I love the emitter. Nice stuff!

[vctrsone]

As usual with your stuff i like it. :)

[dgdve]

Send a PM to Master Jay-gon, he is the absolute master of shroud work and absolutely knows what the stuff is (that fixes up the cut off ends of sink tube).. why am I thinking its caled black something err other... (come on! some of the old schoolers should know it... sinktube was all we had back then)

[captain_mills]

Thank you, sir... will send! :)

Look for updates this weekend...

[(null).exe]

why am I thinking its caled black something err other

You talking about Birchwood Casey's Brass Black (http://sport.birchwoodcasey.com/Finishing/FinishingDetails.aspx?ProductID=d66c82b1-292e-4753-84d7-290d6728fd8f)?

(They also sell Aluminum Black (http://sport.birchwoodcasey.com/Finishing/FinishingDetails.aspx?ProductID=0790cc91-b2e8-488d-a6fa-8820790beefb) and Steel Black (Bluing really) (http://sport.birchwoodcasey.com/Finishing/FinishingDetails.aspx?ProductID=2eea6f1b-7376-423e-9fb2-ccacffc80906)

[Aradian Valentine]

I really like the O-rings in the pommel, it's a nice touch and it ties the hilt together.
-AV

[jedimastergarcia87]

Nice hilt. Liking your shroud work. Alot better than what I can do. How did you accomplish a perfect shroud?

[captain_mills]

No big secret really... I was directed to a template online, printed it, cut it out with a dremel and a cutting blade, then smoothed it out with a metal sander...

http://www.hu.u-net.com/graflica/images/pattern.gif

I've recently painted the shroud black and cut a few more details. Wife took the camera with her for a few days, so I will have to post some lousy pics with my cell phone tomorrow... Otherwise, I'll wait a few days and post the good ones...

[dgdve]

ALTHOUGH I want to see her again BAD... I think wait for the good camera ;) Cell phone pics sometimes do more harm then good to a build lol(from viewers perspective)

[captain_mills]

Ok, back with some updates...

1) I fried my Obiwan Econo board by doing some lousy soldering. Some of the green and the leads peeled and broke off making it useless... Then on top of it, I tried for an hour unsuccessfully to attach wires to my P4 LED... Not a good weekend... Thanks to those in the chat area who offered suggestions about tinning and such. Will give a second try next weekend after I get to drive two hours to the nearest WalMart...

2) The only difference between last posts and this one is an aesthetic change to the shroud. I didn't like the copper look to the edges, so I added some grilles and painted the thing black! Opinions, comments, crits, as usual, are welcome...

3) The entire length of the saber, with the blade is at 117cm, which I may cut shorter by reducing the length of the blade... I put scratches in my ceiling the first two times I tried to do some flipty-do's with it... lol

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[Boj-Vaati Mau]

Good recovery, Cap'n! I like the black Emitter Shroud, it ties in with the rest of the saber, helping to balance it out. At 5' 9" a good over all length is 49.25". The way I was taught is that the blade should just clear the ground, say an 1/8" or so. Good luck on your next round of soldering, you should do MUCH better this time.

[dgdve]

Yes its looking sweet!! painting that made it really match the pommel end.. plus the cut outs match good with the gaps between O-rings section.. NOW that emitter shroud brings the saber together perfectly.. over all the problems I still cant help to say this saber has improved ;) v3 (with a pc?) coming... I feel it, can you feel it??

[stegasp]

Turning out to be a great looking saber!

[Knighthammer]

Shround looks great in black!

[captain_mills]

Thanks all for your compliments! They actually help me to appreciate and like it more...

lol @ dgdve... I don't see a pc in the immediate future...

[captain_mills]

HOLY COW!!! I JUST FINISHED!!! My wife is so funny. When I put the batteries in and flipped on the switch, It activated and my eyes just about popped out of my head. She said I looked like a kid on his first trip to the candy store, lol...

Anyway, I'm pretty thrilled to finish my first saber. I sacrificed the crystal chamber. Incorporating it and the electronics was too much for me this time. Hopefully my second saber will be much more "complete".

Anyway, this one's all MHS with a custom shroud cut by me. The painting was done by me also. Inside it's got:
4AAA 1.2V each
TCSS Speaker with Mount
22GA wiring throughout
Obi-Wan Hasbro Econo Sound Board
+Added the TCSS Clash Sensor
+Added the TCSS Swing Sensor
Incorporated a TIP42 Transistor
Seoul P4 White
TCSS Filters - Chose green as the preference
36" Clear PolyCarb Blade
White Diffuser

Did I forget anything?

The saber was wired exactly following the wiring in the "2010 Electronic Lightsaber w/DVD Tutorial" thread. I hated bookmarking the 5000 pages, so I saved the images that fit my needs to my hard drive and used those as references. Thanks to those who provided!

The saber has a real sensitive swing and makes the swing noise more often than I'd like. However, the clash is not as sensitive as I want it. Half the time I have to strike the tip and the other half the pommel. Other times no matter how hard I strike it, it doesn't make the clash sound. Oh well. It's probably my wiring rather than the quality of the clash sensor. I would love to include a video, but my wife's $1200 camera does every thing BUT video. Will see what I can do later...

First few pics are without the filter. Straight up White P4... The last three are with the medium green filter in it. Not as bright as I was hoping, but it could be that I need to recharge the batteries, or the Econo board includes too much resistance...

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[dannv]

Looks good.

[Xanatos1986]

Ok so I love the rubber washer grip my first MHS has it. How is the color discs? It reminds me of my first MHS saber I think it looks amazing keep it up.

[captain_mills]

Thanks Xan!

I'm not as impressed with the blade brightness as I thought I would be. I'm currently giving my rechargeables a real good recharge. We'll see after that. Otherwise, the color disks are great, but some work better than others. The yellow looks light green, and the light green one (what I have in right now) is a bit more turquoise. The purple and the blue looked the most convincing. There's a P4 White underneath them so I expected more. I may get it when the batteries are fully charged... Will post updates.

Still hoping to post a video too. Mostly for all to hear what the swing, clash, and hum sound like with the TCSS updated sensors. I'm sure everyone else has heard them, but out of courtesy, I'd like to at least share mine...

Thanks again!

[captain_mills]

Update 08/04/2011:

Ok, after a good lecturing about LED's and overdriving too much, I went and purchased the 1.5Ohm 5Watt resistor that TCSS sells here. I received the resistor about an hour ago and have it installed already. No change in brightness... It may even be less bright. Needless to say, I'm still disappointed in the performance of this P4 white. I thought that after all I'd read on the subject here (and elsewhere) that these P4's were supposed to be one of the best and brightest. I've gone over the wiring a hundred times and everything works, just not as bright as everyone else's images or sabers.

First is curtains closed, second open... the other two are self explanatory... resistor is wrapped in electrical tape...

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[Ripper]

Thanks Xan!

I'm not as impressed with the blade brightness as I thought I would be. I'm currently giving my rechargeables a real good recharge. We'll see after that. Otherwise, the color disks are great, but some work better than others. The yellow looks light green, and the light green one (what I have in right now) is a bit more turquoise. The purple and the blue looked the most convincing. There's a P4 White underneath them so I expected more. I may get it when the batteries are fully charged... Will post updates.

Still hoping to post a video too. Mostly for all to hear what the swing, clash, and hum sound like with the TCSS updated sensors. I'm sure everyone else has heard them, but out of courtesy, I'd like to at least share mine...

Thanks again!
The white LEDS suck. I found that out on my 2nd saber. I took it apart and made a flshlight out of it. You live and then you get mad you got a white LED. lol After chargeing it won't get better. But your saber is a GREAT 1st saber!! Awesime job bro!

[captain_mills]

Thanks, Ripper, but I was still under the impression that the white's were amazing... I looked at one thread where someone had used a white P4 and the color discs (which is what I had originally intended) and they were just as bright as others with the discs and totally brilliant without... I just know I'm so bummed...

:(

[hebert466]

to me if you go with the color disks you have to go with the P4 (it is what i used in my first saber). and the colors are not what you would expect...with that said i love the way it turned out!!!:D

[Crystal Chambers]

Are you taking day time pics? I think you're expectations are high. Most lit saber pics seem to be at night in dim indoor lighting at best. Only a few of the TCSS colour discs are ok. Otherwise you may want to track down Lee filters. I've tried a number of LEDs (p4s, Lux3s, deep red Ledengin) and the p4 white on it's own is brighter then all others. When you add discs they'll dim the light while adding colour. With the better discs I find them comparable to Lux3s. This is why anyone out for uber bright colour will use coloured LEDs, or RGB LEDs and mix the colour. The RGB also tend to get better saturation without dimming. Otherwise I suggest trying Lee filters.

Also most saber pics are taken without a flash. Even hilt pics are best taken with a good light source and no flash.

[Kai Sabol: Jedi Knight]

I like it. Is that a white LED with a green disk? If so, I love the ghostly effect it gives!

[captain_mills]

Here's a video of my saber for all to admire! I hate the sound of my own voice on video, but oh well...

This video does justice to the brightness of the LED and the blade, which I'm happy with. Comments and questions are welcome!


http://youtu.be/7zajNMVyoPw

CM

[Crystal Chambers]

That looks reasonably bright. The colour does seem pale. How does it look in the dark? I've had some luck with the two greens and a yellow disc combined to get a nice yellowish green. Not the brightest but it seems to equal a red lux3 well. With your current blade I would suggest adding 4 feet of clear wrap inside the diffuser. It would even it out more. My first blade was done the same way but now I'm really sold on the trans white blades. They seem to be the brightest and most even blade although they don't have the texture or edge effects of other blade options.

[Nick Knight]

Looks great! be happy of your accomplishments. You did a hell of a job.

[Xanatos1986]

cap, im assuming you figured out your brightness issue, congrats I love it. The rebel white is off the chain too lol i cant wait to see your next saber.

[Jedi Mynock]

wait, what? you changed to the new rebel white? i hope to do that also. i have the same P4 white and yeah its sorta "meh". i may end up just going with an amber LED instead of a white with disc. i was rrunning mine off a hasbro econo with tip 42 and 4 AA nimh.

your saber is sweet though. i think crystal is right about the wrap in the blade. i have a trans-white and also thought "meh" even with a bright P4 blue stunt with 1000ma buck-puck. needs wrap for sure. until then i prefer the TCSS Battle thick walls. heavy, but nice looking for a battle blade!

*oh and what lens is in your saber? i need to try with the 8 degree. i think i have a 10 (or 5?) in the blue stunt now? i need to mark them somehow, getting them mixed up!

[Xanatos1986]

cap this is the rebel white running at 1 amp.

bright room pic
http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/ff512/gregorybear1986/Snapbucket/122A8C9A-orig.jpg

with my orange and yellow filters also in a bright room
http://i1239.photobucket.com/albums/ff512/gregorybear1986/Snapbucket/4681CFC1-orig.jpg

hope you figured out your issues with the brightness, and havent seen you in forever so hope all is well.

[thejedilestat]

http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=5739&d=1314597541
http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=5736&d=1314597460

taken with my iphone 3GS so the photos look brighter but they where taken outside on a cloudy nite i would have got more but it started to rain