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CGompertz09
07-10-2011, 08:01 AM
Hello all, and welcome to the building thread of my first saber. The Claimh Solais, (Sword of Light) is a sword of Irish Mythology said to have "glowed with a bright light" and was capable of cutting through any enemy. Sounds kind of like a lightsaber, right? I have only the main, basic parts for now and will be ordering the rest within the next week or so. I'm looking forward to my first build!

And here's a few starting pictures.
http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w124/viperboygts14/IMG_2898-1.jpg
All the main body parts. I already started on the shroud somewhat, just cutting the length and slant.

http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w124/viperboygts14/IMG_2899-1.jpg
The main body of the "Claimh Solais"

http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w124/viperboygts14/IMG_2902.jpg
And the rough start of the emitter shroud.
The attached pic shows what the saber will mostly like when complete, with a few minor changes that I couldn't show with the MHSbuilder.

tachikoma1
07-10-2011, 09:48 AM
Nice design and great name! Do you plan on adding sound? I see you have a "closed" pommel insert.

Boj-Vaati Mau
07-10-2011, 10:00 AM
Excellent. Looking forward to seeing this one finished. ádh mór!

Yoshi-Taka
07-10-2011, 10:32 AM
Off to a great start. The shroud looks good too. Fairly clean from what I can see.

CGompertz09
07-10-2011, 10:51 AM
Nice design and great name! Do you plan on adding sound? I see you have a "closed" pommel insert.

For the time being, this is going to be only a stunt saber. I have a pvc 'dueling rod' that will be in and out of it. I bought the closed pommel insert accidently and am going to be ordering the one thats threaded for a recharge port, which I am adding strictly for looks. I'm trying to keep it as realistic as I can, even though there wont be any electronics. Thanks for the compliments!

And to Boj-vaati; Go raibh maith agat!

Jedi_Knight_Zekk
07-10-2011, 10:51 AM
Off to a great start! Love how you used a name from actual mythology!

CGompertz09
07-10-2011, 10:55 AM
Off to a great start! Love how you used a name from actual mythology!

Thanks! I have a lot of Irish Heritage, so I thought it fit well for both me and the saber. I even have an Irish Claddagh tattooed on my right shoulder with the Irish Gaelic words for Truth (Firinne) and Equality (Ionannas)

Jedi_Knight_Zekk
07-10-2011, 03:54 PM
Thanks! I have a lot of Irish Heritage, so I thought it fit well for both me and the saber. I even have an Irish Claddagh tattooed on my right shoulder with the Irish Gaelic words for Truth (Firinne) and Equality (Ionannas) That is so cool! I'm actually half Scottish half Irish, so the whole idea of Irish mythology in a saber really peaks my interest. That, and a william wallace saber... yea, I'm still working on that LOL

cardcollector
07-10-2011, 05:45 PM
This Design looks very well thought out, and is very cool. I look forward to seeing the finished product.

Lord Dottore Matto
07-10-2011, 07:49 PM
Well researched. I look forward to seeing it finished. Good job so far ;)

brett
07-10-2011, 11:05 PM
I noticed quite a lot of enthusiasm when you posted your original design options, and the project so far looks just as inspiring. Always love to watch builds progress (thanks for the effort) Sure it is going to be one of the greats!

hebert466
07-11-2011, 02:47 AM
love the name and the look!!!

PaPa_FoZzY
07-11-2011, 04:18 PM
Looks like you are off to a great start. I wanted to a Celtic themed saber too. Basically it would be a green blade with Celtic style designs in the hilt and in the grip. I was going to call it Celtic Legacy

CGompertz09
07-11-2011, 05:22 PM
Update: Worked on the shroud today. What started as test my test piece turned into my actual favorite for the saber.
http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w124/viperboygts14/IMG_2903.jpg

http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w124/viperboygts14/IMG_2904.jpg
Test fit to the hilt, and the grip tape added to the middle section.

http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w124/viperboygts14/IMG_2906.jpg
And test fit again after some wet sanding and hand polishing, which took forever.

Next step is to wait for more parts, which i will be ordering tomorrow. Different pommel insert, recharge port (for looks only), "activation switch" thumbscrew, and Graflex type knobs. Peace out!

CGompertz09
07-27-2011, 12:48 PM
Double post, I know, but it's been a little bit since my last update. If anyone watches the weather, you may have seen that Minnesota has had some of the hottest temps recorded in the country within the last few weeks, and being as I have doing my saber work in my garage which does not have A/C, my work has been put on hold. Plus I've been working a lot more hours for some extra cash. As for an update on the saber itself: the shroud is now finished and the "recharge port" has been added to the pommel. I have done some of the minor painting, and saving the rest of it for the final step. I just ordered the covertec wheel and clip today, and will be ordering the Graflex knobs next week. All in all, I hope to have this saber done within the next 3 weeks before school starts back up.

stegasp
07-27-2011, 01:25 PM
Looking good, so far! Can't wait to see the final build!

Silver Serpent
07-28-2011, 05:33 AM
It's looking to be a good build so far. If I may, I'd like to make a suggestion. Using tape as a grip material doesn't usually work too well. It tends to come off during battle. You might consider looking for large heat shrink tubing and carefully shrinking a piece in place where you want the grip, then trimming it. For heat shrinking grips, I recommend doing it in a toaster oven for even shrinkage.

Let's hope the weather cools down soon, I'd love to see more pics.

Invisas1979
07-29-2011, 07:52 AM
Looking good, almost the same combination of parts I amusing in my current build.

PaPa_FoZzY
07-29-2011, 10:32 AM
I like the shroud it's similar to one I cut out on a sink tube saber I built a few weeks back. Great minds think alike :)

CGompertz09
08-07-2011, 11:23 AM
Well the weather has been a little more cooperative and I had a day off, so I did a few small additions to the process.


http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w124/viperboygts14/IMG_2965.jpg
Whole saber, painted the middle ring gold.

http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w124/viperboygts14/IMG_2967.jpg
Covertec clip wheel added.

http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w124/viperboygts14/IMG_2968.jpg
"Recharge port" in the pommel and pommel insert painted flat black.
It's getting there!! :)

CGompertz09
08-15-2011, 09:00 AM
Sorry for the double post, but I need some input on a potential speed bump. The threading for the graflex knobs I'll be putting on is 10/32. The dremel tool I use as my drill press via the dremel work station will not hold the needed drill bit, it's too big. My thought for fixing this problem was to either use the same drill bit I used for the 8/32 holes, thread the holes, and then strip them out to make the hole bigger, or just move the drill bit around in the hole while it's on to maybe bore it out a little more. Thoughts? I want to figure it out before I try it, cuz screwing up majorly isn't exactly in my budget.

jin starkiller
08-15-2011, 02:53 PM
get a tap set for 10/32

http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/10-32-Tap-drill-set-P53.aspx

http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/Tap-handle-P54.aspx

CGompertz09
08-15-2011, 03:05 PM
I already have a tap set. as I said, the drill bit is too big for the dremel tool I have which is also used as my drill press via dremel work station.

jin starkiller
08-15-2011, 03:25 PM
either borrow a drill or get a drill to use to drill a 10/32 hole...using improper size to make hole bigger isn't advised due to you might make it too big or the hole will be irregular shaped

CGompertz09
08-15-2011, 08:55 PM
Did a little bit more work on the saber today in between loads of laundry and packing stuff. I move back to my college town tomorrow. The last steps are just to order and put o the graflex knobs, and then eventually get a carbon fiber blade. This will be my last update until I have the graflex knobs in hand and ready to install. Unless I have a question. haha

http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w124/viperboygts14/IMG_2972.jpg
Sprayed the v-groove section with a liquid rubber coating to give it more of a grip feel. I sprayed it on half a$$ed to make it look like it's well used, hard to see in the pic though. And put on the "activation switch" screw.

http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w124/viperboygts14/IMG_2973.jpg
Emitter painted gold, with the small inner ring left untouched for a slight color contrast.

http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w124/viperboygts14/IMG_2974.jpg
And the whole sha-bang until the graflex knobs.

monsterenergymixxd8
08-16-2011, 07:10 PM
a carbon fiber blade? i don't think that will light up that good if your planning on putting electronics in it

Noyl Wendor
08-16-2011, 07:15 PM
Nice work, I like the design. It kinda has that neo-jedi look.
BTW monsterenery is right, hard to pass light through carbon fiber. If you can get one of Tims poly blades. You know a hilt like this could benifit from having multiple colors, red one day, blue the next. Could go either way. ;)

CGompertz09
08-17-2011, 07:39 AM
For the time being, this hilt will have no electronics what-so-ever. Not in the budget or time frame, plus I'm now back in my college town, which means no access to the right tools as I do at home.

Edit: I do want to eventually put everything from sound to lights in this beauty eventually. Probably the best soundboard i can get (I'm a big believer in you get what you pay for) and having a silver blade (if possible)

CGompertz09
10-13-2011, 09:19 AM
A double post, but it's been a while since I had an update of any kind. At the moment, work on my saber is at a standstill for money reasons. While the only main cosmetic things to do on it is a "glass eye" graflex screw, and maybe a few minor things, some other ideas I had for it are just out of price range for a poor college student. I'm actually quite happy with how it looks so far, and I "weathered" it a little by simply dropping it, rubbing it in small spots with coins and even just handling it with rings on, giving it a clean yet well used look I guess. Once i get back into the monetary position to keep going, I may jump into some of the ideas I originally had (silver blade, sound, crystal chamber, etc), but for now the "Claimh Solais" is a proud member of my custom sabers, and my first MHS! :)

CGompertz09
07-03-2012, 10:26 AM
Well it's been a long time since I've done any update on my first build, so I figured I should give one. I was just about to order the electronics finally, only to find the the P4 Blue is currently out of stock... so my wait continues. In the mean time, I have made a couple of small additions.
I made my own 'razor' blade plug, it turned out a little too small, but it works for now. (The bent corner of the shroud happened during my "weathering" process)
http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w124/viperboygts14/IMG_0265.jpg
And I also weathered the hilt a little bit, as well as changed the gold painting on the emitter to a worn copper,
http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w124/viperboygts14/IMG_0268.jpg.
Lastly I've made a chassis, however it is quite horrible looking, so i wont post a picture, but it should do the job.
The remaining parts/steps to add are as follows:
-Seoul P4 Blue LED Module (might buy a White one as well, always liked the look of "silver" blades.
-PC V2.0 soundcard, pre-wired "light meat"
-Madcow's "Korriban" soundfont. (Love that font's hum!)
-2w bass speaker
-Mini Vibro-motor
-2AA battery holder for 2 Trustfire lithium ion batteries
-16mm nickel plated momentary AV switch (non-LED)
-Black momentary aux switch
-JST connectors
-Wire recharge port for kill-key, once I figure a good way to do it, the speaker holder kind of blocks it off from where the PC and battery pack will be...


I have also purchased two blades for it. One US standard Mid-grade with bullet tips, but it didn't exactly meet my standards (for one, they cut it too short), so I bought the TCSS supplies for thin walled blades (32 inch poly-c tube, bullet tip) and will be putting it together once I have the LED to test the fullness and brightness.

Once the P4 blue gets back in stock, I might just say "to hell with this months budget" and order everything. All in all, looking forward to FINALLY finishing up my first saber thats been about a year in the making! And I already have plans for a 2nd. :)

Kevin Starwaster
07-03-2012, 01:17 PM
Well it's been a long time since I've done any update on my first build, so I figured I should give one. I was just about to order the electronics finally, only to find the the P4 Blue is currently out of stock... so my wait continues. In the mean time, I have made a couple of small additions.
I made my own 'razor' blade plug, it turned out a little too small, but it works for now. (The bent corner of the shroud happened during my "weathering" process)
http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w124/viperboygts14/IMG_0265.jpg
And I also weathered the hilt a little bit, as well as changed the gold painting on the emitter to a worn copper,
http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w124/viperboygts14/IMG_0268.jpg.
Lastly I've made a chassis, however it is quite horrible looking, so i wont post a picture, but it should do the job.
The remaining parts/steps to add are as follows:
-Seoul P4 Blue LED Module (might buy a White one as well, always liked the look of "silver" blades.
-PC V2.0 soundcard, pre-wired "light meat"
-Madcow's "Korriban" soundfont. (Love that font's hum!)
-2w bass speaker
-Mini Vibro-motor
-2AA battery holder for 2 Trustfire lithium ion batteries
-16mm nickel plated momentary AV switch (non-LED)
-Black momentary aux switch
-JST connectors
-Wire recharge port for kill-key, once I figure a good way to do it, the speaker holder kind of blocks it off from where the PC and battery pack will be...


I have also purchased two blades for it. One US standard Mid-grade with bullet tips, but it didn't exactly meet my standards (for one, they cut it too short), so I bought the TCSS supplies for thin walled blades (32 inch poly-c tube, bullet tip) and will be putting it together once I have the LED to test the fullness and brightness.

Once the P4 blue gets back in stock, I might just say "to hell with this months budget" and order everything. All in all, looking forward to FINALLY finishing up my first saber thats been about a year in the making! And I already have plans for a 2nd. :)

I see your sprayed on rubber coating hasn't held up over the past few months. Doesn't bode well for mine. I did the same thing on the same pieces. (blue magic rubber coating)

I've seen it suggested around here that paint coatings should be baked to cure them. Have you given any thought to it?

CGompertz09
07-03-2012, 01:36 PM
I see your sprayed on rubber coating hasn't held up over the past few months. Doesn't bode well for mine. I did the same thing on the same pieces. (blue magic rubber coating)

I've seen it suggested around here that paint coatings should be baked to cure them. Have you given any thought to it?

I used Blue Magic Rubber Coating as well. The rubber slowly coming off is actually what i wanted it to do, to go along with the "well used" look i wanted for the hilt. I wanted it to look like the powder coating option for the v-grooved piece that just filled the groves in black, but not as perfect looking. Painting and baking is probably what I'm going to end up doing for the paint on the emitter. Though I want it to look worn, I don't want the paint there to come off much, since it is supposed to be a copper piece.

Evilpancreas
07-11-2012, 10:05 AM
This is something that I've been wondering about for quite some time: how do you go about cutting the shroud pieces? Is it done with a dremel?

CGompertz09
07-11-2012, 11:10 AM
This is something that I've been wondering about for quite some time: how do you go about cutting the shroud pieces? Is it done with a dremel?
I used both a hand saw and a dremel. Dremels come with small cutting disks, (made out of some sort of resin or ceramic, not really sure) that can be used to cut soft metals. Not sure if it was just me, but the disks did tend to wear down quickly and break under mild stress, so protective eye-wear and other safety equipment is a MUST!

Edit: And after the cutting, comes a good deal of filing and sanding to get it smooth and to look nice

Silver Serpent
07-11-2012, 11:14 AM
The reinforced cutting discs last longer, but they're a bit thicker and it's harder to do tight cuts with them.

Definitely agree about eyewear. I've had pieces of shattered cutting disc fly at my face (and bounce off the face shield) and they can certainly cause eye damage if you're unlucky.

Evilpancreas
07-11-2012, 03:24 PM
I've actually had a couple of dremel discs cust on me too. One piece almost nicked my tenders.

Jedi Mynock
07-11-2012, 04:40 PM
thats why i always cut "east-west" vs. "north-south".

gomp i dont know if two AA trust fires will work to power a PC and a rumble motor. i would just order a pre-made li-ion 7.2 pack and be done with it. plenty of power and your saber will be LOUD!
i also noticed you said the recharge port pommel cap might not work since it will be blocked by the speaker... i think you've got it the wrong way round? as in, the RCP cap will block the speaker? how do you plan for the sound to escape? you could always get a regular speaker grill type pommel cap, and drill out one of the holes larger for the RCP. to get the wires past the speaker, you just need to CAREFULLY make a notch on the edge of the speaker for the wires to pass through. however thats a little tricky.
my advice is to relocate the RCP to where you would put the glass eye, or your previous "activation thumb screw", and either get a knob looking kill key, or customize the thumbscrew or glass eye to use as a kill key.
besides, with too many "greeblies" on a saber, it becomes more uncomfortable to grip for spins and combat.

im also mostly Irish. i REALLY dig the name of the saber!

CGompertz09
07-11-2012, 05:18 PM
thats why i always cut "east-west" vs. "north-south".

gomp i dont know if two AA trust fires will work to power a PC and a rumble motor. i would just order a pre-made li-ion 7.2 pack and be done with it. plenty of power and your saber will be LOUD!
i also noticed you said the recharge port pommel cap might not work since it will be blocked by the speaker... i think you've got it the wrong way round? as in, the RCP cap will block the speaker? how do you plan for the sound to escape? you could always get a regular speaker grill type pommel cap, and drill out one of the holes larger for the RCP. to get the wires past the speaker, you just need to CAREFULLY make a notch on the edge of the speaker for the wires to pass through. however thats a little tricky.
my advice is to relocate the RCP to where you would put the glass eye, or your previous "activation thumb screw", and either get a knob looking kill key, or customize the thumbscrew or glass eye to use as a kill key.
besides, with too many "greeblies" on a saber, it becomes more uncomfortable to grip for spins and combat.

im also mostly Irish. i REALLY dig the name of the saber!

Addressing your concerns. The rumble motor will no longer be added. After seeing the PC in person, I'd rather not mess with soldering something addition to it, just not comfortable soldering something that small. The pommel now has pommel insert #6, which is vented for sound and still hold the recharge port. Still looking into ways to wire it, as the pommel is where I want it. As of yesterday the thumbscrew is gone, replaced by the 16mm AV switch. And the Graflex knob and Glass eye aren't going to be added anymore because I now think they would ruin the sleek design of the hilt. Lastly I am sticking with the Trustfire Lith-ion cells because I like the idea of having spares cells already charged and ready to use when the current ones drain (i ordered 2 sets). This way when the batteries die, I just change them out instead of waiting for the saber to recharge.

I'll be posting some updated pictures on friday when I have redone my chassis (parts get here tomorrow).

DarkarNights
07-11-2012, 06:17 PM
With a rumble motor set up you don't have to do any soldering to the PC at all. You tap into the positive of the blade LED (so it reacts to flicker changes) and the negative taps into the battery negative. And use the appropriate resistor for your desired vibration level. The only soldering needed is just between wires and resistors, if you make your splices after the JSTs you can even leave the boards existing wires unmodified. The use of the rumble motor is also described in the PC user manual.

CGompertz09
07-11-2012, 07:06 PM
With a rumble motor set up you don't have to do any soldering to the PC at all. You tap into the positive of the blade LED (so it reacts to flicker changes) and the negative taps into the battery negative. And use the appropriate resistor for your desired vibration level. The only soldering needed is just between wires and resistors, if you make your splices after the JSTs you can even leave the boards existing wires unmodified. The use of the rumble motor is also described in the PC user manual.

I knew about how to wire it, but it never crossed my mind to just splice it to the wires instead. Hmm, might still add it after all. Thanks!!

mrknify
07-11-2012, 07:12 PM
i've got those little bugs that have rumble mortor, nice and small, i like your idea.

DarkarNights
07-11-2012, 08:33 PM
I've got some motors on the way from RadioShack and I'll be doing some experiments to document changes in vibration speed with different resistors. I'll share my results. I've also designed a "plug 'n play" JST harness that will allow the motor to be added to an existing MWS PC saber without any desoldering or splicing of wires.

CGompertz09
07-12-2012, 09:18 AM
I've got some motors on the way from RadioShack and I'll be doing some experiments to document changes in vibration speed with different resistors. I'll share my results. I've also designed a "plug 'n play" JST harness that will allow the motor to be added to an existing MWS PC saber without any desoldering or splicing of wires.

I would definitely be interested in those results! I'm heading over to Radioshack today to pick up the vibro motor and a couple of resisters, then putting the rest of my chassis together when the parts get here in the mail.

CGompertz09
07-13-2012, 09:05 AM
Did some chassis work yesterday, boy was that fun... My original idea for the chassis was for the battery pack to be in the bottom half with the speaker, and the PC in the top half. However the location of the main AV switch prevented that, so I had to try and get it all to fit within basically the bottom 4 1/2 inches of the hilt.
http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w124/viperboygts14/IMG_0288.jpg
It all fits where I need it too, but it's a bit of a snug fit. I might try a PVC chassis in which I'd have the PC and battery pack lined up and over lapping a little. In my current set-up, the PC is reeeeally close the inside wall of the hilt, which for some reason worries me.
And here is my nice shinny new Nickel plated AV switch.
http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w124/viperboygts14/IMG_0290.jpg
Looks a lot better than the thumbscrew I had there before in place of a switch.

I might try and make a quick PVC chassis this weekend if I have time. Could be busy though, I have a music related audition on Saturday. In the meantime, any tips on making a PVC chassis for the PC V2.0 would be much appreciated! Peace!

DarkarNights
07-13-2012, 02:38 PM
Look at some sabers built by Madcow, he uses a beautifully designed PVC chassis that should give you some good ideas.

CGompertz09
07-17-2012, 05:39 PM
Minor update without pics, not much to show. Worked a little today on a PVC chassis that I think will work the way I want it to, just haven't secured everything to it yet. Bought two new sound fonts, "Korriban" by Madcow and "The Force Unleashed II" by Phoenix Jedi. They sound really sweet with the 2w bass speaker! :) The Seoul P4 Blue LED module was finally back in stock, so I ordered it last night and should be here by the weekend. This weekend I have the house to myself and nothing to do, so I am hoping to finally finish this project up!

CGompertz09
07-17-2012, 08:49 PM
Double post, but I decided to take a quick picture of what the PVC chassis set-up I came up with looks like.
http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w124/viperboygts14/IMG_0311.jpg
Nothing secured in place yet, just sitting in it to get an idea of how things should be placed.

DarkarNights
07-17-2012, 10:09 PM
Impressive.

Darth Ryo
07-18-2012, 02:42 AM
Very nice chassis indeed.
(and the saber btw, I like it)

CGompertz09
07-18-2012, 08:29 AM
Thank you both. Also forgot to mention that the chassis itself will be held in place by a set screw.

CGompertz09
07-25-2012, 08:00 PM
"It's working. It's working!" everything all hooked up for some tests, looks wonderful!
http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w124/viperboygts14/IMG_0351.jpg
Love the sky blue color the P4 Blue LED gives off!
http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w124/viperboygts14/IMG_0352.jpg
Recessed the Main AV switch and added the set screw which holds the chassis in place.
http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w124/viperboygts14/IMG_0353.jpg
And my current source of distain... the damn thread tap broke while threading the new blade set screw hole, now I must wait for the blade holder to be back in stock so I can get a new one. The blade is currently somewhat stuck where it is, although I put it there after I screwed up the hole so I could at least still see what the whole thing looks like. The old set screw is behind the shroud, meaning I have to almost take apart the whole top half of the hilt to remove the blade, so it stays there for now.

Next on my agenda, is to find a new place to set up the recharge port for the kill key. Even though I'm using normal Li-Ion cells instead of a pack, still want to be able to turn it off completely. I'm a little stuck on this, as where the port currently is (in the pommel) won't really be possible to set up as the chassis blocks it off and even if it were wired up, opening up the saber would be tricky. My thought is to maybe put it just above the main switch, though I worry about it not being able to go all the way through the ribbed section AND the shroud without coming up short. I'd want it to be flush with the shroud. That's all for now.

CGompertz09
07-28-2012, 08:58 AM
Double Post I know, but the other night me and my older brother were bored, so we decided it might look cool to take some pictures in the dark. Figured I'd share some of them. Only two steps remain, get a new blade holder, and set up the recharge port for Kill Key. Enjoy!
http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w124/viperboygts14/IMG_0320.jpg
http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w124/viperboygts14/IMG_0338.jpg
This one is probably my favorite of the bunch.
http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w124/viperboygts14/IMG_0340.jpg
Love the sounds from Madcow's "Korriban" font when swinging it around. haha

beggarsoutpost
07-28-2012, 09:33 AM
Drill a hole in the ribbed section big enough for the recharge port to pass through and then thread the hole in the overlay only... you will have no problem getting the port to sit flush... to turn it off completely you could wire a small slider next to the port inline with the batteries and flip that when you want it shut off...

This is what I did for a MKVI so i did not have to use a killkey which would have messed up the lines of the saber while displayed...

http://i717.photobucket.com/albums/ww174/BeggarsOutpost/MKVI/P1130280.jpg

Caine Drathul
08-07-2012, 12:36 AM
Did some chassis work yesterday, boy was that fun... My original idea for the chassis was for the battery pack to be in the bottom half with the speaker, and the PC in the top half. However the location of the main AV switch prevented that, so I had to try and get it all to fit within basically the bottom 4 1/2 inches of the hilt.
http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w124/viperboygts14/IMG_0288.jpg
It all fits where I need it too, but it's a bit of a snug fit. I might try a PVC chassis in which I'd have the PC and battery pack lined up and over lapping a little. In my current set-up, the PC is reeeeally close the inside wall of the hilt, which for some reason worries me.


Using electrical tape to hold your P.C. into place is no bueno.It can cause the board to possibly overheat and fry. I suggest using a small ziptie or dbl sided foam tape.

CGompertz09
08-07-2012, 07:22 AM
Using electrical tape to hold your P.C. into place is no bueno.It can cause the board to possibly overheat and fry. I suggest using a small ziptie or dbl sided foam tape.
Yea I had heard that, and I only used the electrical tape in this picture for show purposes, I wouldn't have used it in the end. But I actually completely re-did my chassis with the PVC set-up, holding the PC in place using double sided 3m tape.

I would also like to add that as of yesterday my saber project is 100% complete! I will post a few more pictures here and then I will create a Galley thread for showing it off more. :) :)

Caine Drathul
08-07-2012, 11:08 PM
Yea I had heard that, and I only used the electrical tape in this picture for show purposes, I wouldn't have used it in the end. But I actually completely re-did my chassis with the PVC set-up, holding the PC in place using double sided 3m tape.



Very cool! You have done well.

Dahi Esmeva
08-09-2012, 07:26 AM
Great job.

CGompertz09
08-16-2012, 07:18 AM
Just wanted to make a quick post to say that my saber is 100% complete as of last week, and I will not post anymore in this build log. I will however be making a Gallery thread for it after I take some good pictures and possibly a video to show it off. A huge thank you to everyone who has helped by giving their advice and sharing ideas. you have all helped a great deal in my first custom saber experience! :)

Darth Ryo
08-16-2012, 08:58 AM
Congrats, can't wait to see the final product ;)