G.O.T.H. 1st Saber - Red Shadow (starting)

[Darth Ryo]

Hey saber fans and geeks alike!

So here is my 1st build thread :).
This particular post will be reserved to present the final product, with part details etc. i'll use the next posts as logs and questions.

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I plan to build a short doubled bladed staff, since I like playing a Sith Inquisitors in SWTOR.
Of course I'm not capable at all to reproduce one of the great SWTOR sabers design. But I'll do something that I'd like for myself, using only MHS parts with slight custom works by Time (like venting the chokes). Personnal touch will be the shroud really (we'll see if I can do it well).

Its name is Red Shadow, suitable for a shadow killer.


Specs:

Igniter(tm) R2 w/Tru Color(tm)
2 x 18650 bateries (custom pack with 7.4v PCB)
2 x Led Engine RGBA
2 x 7/8" Clear SaberBlade(tm)
TCSS MHS parts :
2 x Ribbed Extension, 4" extension, 2 x Choke with custom mill, and 2 x Blade Holder.
2 x TCSS premium speaker
2 x red accent leds
Activation Box 2 + Recharge Port, AV switch red and aux switch
Black matte powder coating
Custom Shroud (will make it myself)


Thanks a lot to all the people who helped, and special thanks to Tim of TCSS for this amazing shop and for making it possible.

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(for pics)

[Darth Ryo]

I've not much to show for now, except how I plan to do it.
For now I'm not able to render the shroud design, even if I have a clear idea how i'd like it, I'm to noob at rendering software to draw that (will try some hand drawing soon).

Here is the first blueprint using MHS builder over TCSS :
http://www.goth-customsabers.ftl-network.com/pictures/SaberBluprint00.jpg

I also put an inside view of the hilt where I started to put the 2 18650 batteries, and Igniter(tm) with TruColor(tm).
- I planned to use a PLI (the blue box in the drawing), but it won't be back in stock, so I have to give up that part...
- The activation box would be style 2.
- The 2 speakers will be oriented toward the emiters, with vents in the chokes to let the sound come out.
- The black powder coating will be matte tuscon as shown in the picture.
- I plan to use red thumb screws for the blade holder.
I guess that's all the details regarding MHS parts.

And here is the internal wiring :
http://www.goth-customsabers.ftl-network.com/pictures/Red_Shadow_wiring_V2.jpg

So the PLI is no longer an option (But I left it there as reminder), but the rest should be ok.
Feel free to comment, point errors or else :)

Hope you'll enjoy following this build as much as I do making it :cool:

[shmoetech]

Can't wait! looking at your parts list i want to trade bank accounts. lol. which igniter board are you going to use, from what i understand there about to release v2.

[Darth Ryo]

My part list is almost complete, will post it here tomorrow... bank account will be dealt a serious blow indeed lol.
Regarding Igniter, R2 has been release in May if I remember correctly, and R3 should be released by fall this year.
I'll be using R2 for this saber btw :)

[Kevin Starwaster]

Looks kind of like the one I wanted to do, but I only had enough money for half of a saberstaff. (so, until I can afford to spend more, I only have a lightsaber, lol)

Can the Igniter handle what you're doing there though? Driving two LEDEngin like that? Seems dicey to me but then I don't know that board's specs...

[Darth Ryo]

My original plan was to build two identical sabers to combine them as a staff (like the Maul I already own), but as there is no MHS couplers that detach easily (and I'm not able to build one), I thought I would build this short staff first to save a bit money (since I'll use only one sound card) for another saber later.
Even so, it blows my budget all the same lol... but hopefully worth it.

Can the board handle 2 high powered LEDs? mmm that's what I'll find out, hoping I won't fry anything lol :p

Seriously tho, yes it can (as long as a pack of 18650 batteries and the proper diodes are involved).
I'd be the first to test that configuration it seems ::finger crossed:: (I especially wanna see how long the batteries will last).

[Kaide]

What's the shroud going to look like? I'm excited to see where you're going with that

[Darth Ryo]

Me too actually hehe, as soon as I have sorted my part list and ordered them, I'll work on rendering what I thought about the shroud.

For now I have to deal with some space issue as I won't be able to fit the speakers in the ribbed extension as i wanted : not enough room left for the wires from the LedEngine :confused:
Will try to find a proper extension for that.

[Kevin Starwaster]

Me too actually hehe, as soon as I have sorted my part list and ordered them, I'll work on rendering what I thought about the shroud.

For now I have to deal with some space issue as I won't be able to fit the speakers in the ribbed extension as i wanted : not enough room left for the wires from the LedEngine :confused:
Will try to find a proper extension for that.

You could carve some grooves on the inside of the ribbed extension but don't do it under the grooves themselves as that would undermine them...

Been looking at Igniters stats though and it's a 2A driver and it really doesn't seem to me that you have enough power here.... Let's say each of the dice on the LEDEngin are 700-1000mA each.

Your wiring schematic has them all wired in parallel which means they have to share current - if you're driving each die at the same all at the same current then they each get 333.33 mA. (6 dice total sharing 2A)

Not sure really what the best solution for you is though... ideal one would be 2 sets of batteries powering 2 boards. (they'd probably have to be 14500s side by side with the boards mounted over them - or maybe 18500s in stick configuration)

Big edit: Snipped a bunch.... I'm disregarding here what your exact color might be that you're going for; if you're only mixing a couple of colors then maybe it's not as big a deal as I'm making out; maybe you can ignore the above. Depends on how much current you're wanting to throw at each LED die. (like if you were doing purple, each blue getting 700mA for a total of 1.4A, leaving you with 300mA for each red...)

[Darth Ryo]

I don't know so much to be able to reply with certainty, but I would say the 2A is per die, not for the whole LEDEngine, otherwise, the board wouldn't even be able to handle one LEDEngine (4 die for a total of 4A).
So it is capable of taking 2 LEDEngine in parallel like I put in the schematic, the main question will be the batterie :
- 1st be carreful not to drain over the 7A limit of the protection circuit, if I ever choose to use the remaining White or Amber dies for additional FOC (combining RGB FOC with the 4th die).
- 2nd see how long the 18650 will last in that configuration.
But both these points will be indeed manageable by applying the proper settings.

Btw, regarding the space issue, I already have a specific idea about the PVC chassis, which will not allow me to grooves or madify anything on the ribbed extension.
Instead, I've changed the design a bit (extending the staff of 1") :
http://www.goth-customsabers.ftl-network.com/pictures/SaberBluprint01.jpg

I've moved the speakers to the middle section (in yellow), now 5" instead of 4", (still oriented toward the emitter).

The things I don't know here is : will the activation buttons and recharge port (on activation box 2) leave enough room in the hilt for the rest (boards and PCB)?

[Kevin Starwaster]

It's not per die.

In electronics (regardless of the component) you have voltage and you have current (measured in amps). In this case, the components are LEDs.

If you wire the LED dies in series then voltage is split between them and you want to make sure that the voltage provided is enough to supply all of them. In series means that you wire from one die's positive to the next die's negative. (example wiring: board- to die1-, die1+ to die2-, die2+ to board+)

If you wire them in parallel then the current is being split. In parallel is how yours is wired. From the board+ to each die+ and then from the various board- to each die-.

So your 2A are being divided six ways. Split evenly, each die would be getting 333.33... mA. Adjusting current to each die is how color mixing is achieved. The more current, the brighter the output of each die. Again, assuming that you're going for some particular color that's not whitish, then you're not splitting evenly - how much each die actually gets depends on what color you're going for. Unless your board somehow has multiple individual LED drivers built into it then that's the scenario you're looking at.

(idea: wire each like color die in series. That will add wiring back and forth between each end of the saber. So each like color pair would be in series making 3 groups and those 3 groups would be in parallel. The net result would be that each die would be sharing current with its counterpart but splitting voltage. I have totally not even tried to work out the math as I don't know what the max voltage provided by your driver is)

The above is not relevant to Darth Ryo's issue for reasons stated below but is retained for any informative value.


Regarding the space issue (act. box, switches).... I have to resort to guessing here but if that's a short momentary and if the Igniter is as thick as I think it is then you *should* be able to but just barely. But not having handled one physically I'm not sure what its thickness is.

Edit #2: Ok I feel like an idiot now. Apparently that's what the TruColor addon is; another two constant current drivers to drive the other two dice at full current. Sorry Ryo, never mind what I said before, should work out fine exactly as you have it in your diagram aside from your battery lifetime. The current IS split in parallel though so whatever you configure for each die will be split in half. The other thing I said about it setting each color by adjusting current also seems to be wrong so I guess it's adjusting brightness by PWM.... which is pretty sweet.

[Darth Ryo]

No problem at all ;)
From what I read here, you're far from being an idiot hehe, no worries then :D
I would even ungrey that comment of yours cause it is still good information, and exactly stuff that I'm currently learning. So thanks a lot for posting and helping me!

Regarding the space, I guess I have no other choice but to try. I saw people cram so many things in small hilt spce that I feel like, "c'mon, should be ok, that board is tiny". But that the first one I have ever handled so well.. I still have some backup plan if it's not fitting.

[Kevin Starwaster]

No problem at all ;)
From what I read here, you're far from being an idiot hehe, no worries then :D
I would even ungrey that comment of yours cause it is still good information, and exactly stuff that I'm currently learning. So thanks a lot for posting and helping me!

Regarding the space, I guess I have no other choice but to try. I saw people cram so many things in small hilt spce that I feel like, "c'mon, should be ok, that board is tiny". But that the first one I have ever handled so well.. I still have some backup plan if it's not fitting.

I've also seen people on here cram a PC on top of an 18650 in the ribbed/ribbed grooved extension pieces, but when the time came to try it myself, I wasn't comfortable doing that as it was kind of mashed unprotected against bare metal. Since then I've been steered towards M&M Minis tubes for speaker holders and I've since experimented with those a bit and they could be used as insulation. Mine is the PC 1.6 with those bulky swing sensors so it's a bit thicker... the board you have is supposed to be a lot thinner, so that could be another possible mounting point for you.

BTW, going back to the LED wiring, I'd suggest not to configure for full power until you're confident that both LEDs are fully wired to avoid accidentally putting to much power through a single die.

[LionOJudah]

I just bought an Igniter R3 w/ TrueColor and am about to undertake the same idea! One board, 2 speakers, 2 LEDEngin RGBA's, I want to use lit momentay anti-vandals one in the center and one close to the blade end of both sides, charge port and a 7.4 18650 battery pack. I am really interested in how your build is going Ryo! I follow with great anticipation!!!

[nartules]

Well I look on eagerly to both Ryo and LionOJudahs builds. Not very often you see double bladed lightsabers. So it will be good to see a few made in the flesh..err aluminum.

[LionOJudah]

Ryo, by the way what is the board connecting the batteries and the recharge port?

[Silver Serpent]

That would be the Protection Circuit Board (PCB) which is needed for Li-Ion packs. http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/PCB-for-72V-Li-ion-battery-packs-P482.aspx

It helps prevent overdischarge of the pack and keeps the individual cells properly balanced.

[LionOJudah]

Thanks For the info Silver Serpent!

[Darth Ryo]

What SS said :) I bought unprotected batt, so I added the 7,4v PCB that TCSS sells.

@ LionOJudah : that's great, I'll be also very interested in your build, looking forward to it ;) And for sure I'll keep you posted about mine!

Overall update:
Part order and custom jobs are still under discussion with Tim (meanwhile I'm on vacations ^^).
I might also send my Igniter R2 for upgrade to Naigon, since it's still unwired, why not put R3 on it.

I'll try to finish some schetches by end of the week to give a better idea of the whole project.

[Kevin Starwaster]

What SS said :) I bought unprotected batt, so I added the 7,4v PCB that TCSS sells.

@ LionOJudah : that's great, I'll be also very interested in your build, looking forward to it ;) And for sure I'll keep you posted about mine!

Overall update:
Part order and custom jobs are still under discussion with Tim (meanwhile I'm on vacations ^^).
I might also send my Igniter R2 for upgrade to Naigon, since it's still unwired, why not put R3 on it.

I'll try to finish some schetches by end of the week to give a better idea of the whole project.

When do you think you might begin construction? I'm curious to see how some aspects of your build work out...

[Darth Ryo]

I'd say "as soon as I get the parts from TCSS". My cart is almost complete except for Powder Coating and a few custom services.
I'm also very eager to start manipulating things :)

Still, not in a hurry, I'll be back from vacations end of this week. This is when I'll really get into solder practice ;)

[Darth Ryo]

Small update, order for parts is now placed on TCSS Store, yay!! :cool:
I'll post my part list later just for reference.

[Boj-Vaati Mau]

BOOYAH! You go, boi! That's gonna be a fine looking staff.

[Darth Ryo]

Finally, TCSS package arrived yesterday, YAY :mrgreen:
I must say it is hard to describe the joy to put my hands on those parts for the first time (now I know why it's also getting addictive hehe :o)
Tons of thanks to Tim, it looks perfect to me, very nice crafting services and powder coating.

Here is a few pictures (i'll do some closer shots of the custom MHS parts by Tim and will post them in the due galery section) :

- Unpacking took quite a time... just to enjoy every part of it.
http://www.goth-customsabers.ftl-network.com/pictures/01-Unpacking.jpg

- Here is the barebone assembled
http://www.goth-customsabers.ftl-network.com/pictures/02-First_look.jpg

- Now a first example, of course the shroud still need to be planned (I put my Maul staff side to it as reference). And I'm not yet decided on the thumb screws position...
BTW, the alignment isn't fully done on these photos, the part are being loose on purpose until the saber reach completion.
http://www.goth-customsabers.ftl-network.com/pictures/03-Example1.jpg
http://www.goth-customsabers.ftl-network.com/pictures/04-Example2.jpg
http://www.goth-customsabers.ftl-network.com/pictures/05-Example3.jpg

- And the question I needed to answer right away, will there be enough room in the center section?
By the look of it, should be possible.
http://www.goth-customsabers.ftl-network.com/pictures/06-Internal.jpg

Now, I'm kinda late on solder practice (lots of things to do, plus my attic is getting quite cold)... but I will start with the pvc chassis and solder the battery pack asap. Not really in a hurry btw, so might take a while, but I hope to give some progress soon.
;)

Thanks for reading.

[Kevin Starwaster]

Hey looking good. And that is one HELL of a lot of toys I'm seeing in the background!!

jealousy rearing its ugly head....

:x

[Darth Ryo]

Thanks :)

(that's too many toys for a grown man I've been told :p)

[Evilpancreas]

I plan to make a double-bladed saber soon so I'll be following you quite closely for reference. Keep up the good work and good luck on your build; so far so good.

[shmoetech]

lovin it so far.....

[Darth Ryo]

Thanks again guys!

Let's show some progress on this then, been quite a while but I'm slow builder that like to take his time (and also very busy lol) :p

So I like to see build pics very much (always inspiring to see how people manage them), that's why I'm gonna post a "little few"...
hope that won't be too much ;)

So I started soldering the battery pack:
http://www.goth-customsabers.ftl-network.com/pictures/Build01.jpg

Here is a try of what would be the chassis, made with paper tube:
http://www.goth-customsabers.ftl-network.com/pictures/Build02.jpg

And voilà the actual chassis made of PVC tube:
http://www.goth-customsabers.ftl-network.com/pictures/Build03.jpg

With black paint, even if it will be reworked later, looking cooler :P
http://www.goth-customsabers.ftl-network.com/pictures/Build04.jpg

The chasis hold just fine inside the center section and is cut to welcome the thiner ribbed extensions (cuts will be reworked later on):
http://www.goth-customsabers.ftl-network.com/pictures/Build05.jpg

And with the speaker glued to it:
http://www.goth-customsabers.ftl-network.com/pictures/Build06.jpg

Igniter and TruColor boards will be in the center section, very tight fit but still manageable:
http://www.goth-customsabers.ftl-network.com/pictures/Build07.jpg

Following pics are what I've done with the activation box and short switch (which has a sanded bezel to leave a bit more room inside, thanks a lot to Johannes Huber for that very nice idea, plus I like the look of it once painted):
http://www.goth-customsabers.ftl-network.com/pictures/Build08.jpg
http://www.goth-customsabers.ftl-network.com/pictures/Build09.jpg
http://www.goth-customsabers.ftl-network.com/pictures/Build10.jpg

And it's a GO for testing phase:
http://www.goth-customsabers.ftl-network.com/pictures/Build11.jpg
http://www.goth-customsabers.ftl-network.com/pictures/Build12.jpg

Now I've to finish testing and configuring the soundboard, then I'll be up to some custom shroud works :)

Thanks for watching :mrgreen:

[shmoetech]

This saber is going to be epic when its complete!!!!

[Starwinder]

Aw man, this is lookin great! The colors on that activation box are sick! :)

[Johannes Huber]

Hi!,

Looks fantastic! I've been looking forward to seeing this ever since you put up the design.

Johannes

[Kevin Starwaster]

Interesting chassis tube. Didn't really think of using an oversized tube cut like that to fit into the ribbed section.

Currently I'm reworking mine. My saber is totally non-functional ATM because I wasn't happy at all with my chassis work and I ended up breaking most of the wiring working on it. (note to self, screw on the blade holder LAST to avoid twisting the LED wiring to death) Only recently started up on it again and the only PVC pipe I could find to fit into the extension is slightly too small (about 1" OD) so I was going to use that but with a ring of shrink wrap as a shim so that it would be more snug.

[Darth Ryo]

Thanks a lot for the kind comments guys :mrgreen:

@Johannes:
that bezel idea with the switch really saved me a lot of pain! It couldn't fit without it, so thanks again ;)

@Kevin:
This PVC chassis is really a first try after seeing that the paper tube was too week and ugly, so i really did this one by guessing, cuting again and again untill it was entering fine in the ribbed section. I could actually build another one, better looking now that I know exactly how to shape it.

FYI, here is what I've used "1-1/4" x 12" Slip Joint Tail Piece One End", they came from your own Home Depot so you shouldn't have any issue finding them :)
So I had to sand the tube in order to fit into the main section, indeed the OD of this tube is slightly larger the standard MHS, but after a bit of sanding, it fits perfectly.
Then it is pretty easy to cut, and with proper measure, you can have one chassis fiting both standard MHS and 1.15"OD ribbed extension.
Another nice point is that the bass speaker fits well into that tube, a bit of hot glue and thus a holder isn't needed.
Hope it helps ;)

[Silver Serpent]

I'm loving the work-in-progress photos. Keep it up! This is gonna be a lovely saber when it's finished.

[Kevin Starwaster]

Thanks a lot for the kind comments guys :mrgreen:
@Kevin:
This PVC chassis is really a first try after seeing that the paper tube was too week and ugly, so i really did this one by guessing, cuting again and again untill it was entering fine in the ribbed section. I could actually build another one, better looking now that I know exactly how to shape it.

FYI, here is what I've used "1-1/4" x 12" Slip Joint Tail Piece One End", they came from your own Home Depot so you shouldn't have any issue finding them :)
So I had to sand the tube in order to fit into the main section, indeed the OD of this tube is slightly larger the standard MHS, but after a bit of sanding, it fits perfectly.
Then it is pretty easy to cut, and with proper measure, you can have one chassis fiting both standard MHS and 1.15"OD ribbed extension.
Another nice point is that the bass speaker fits well into that tube, a bit of hot glue and thus a holder isn't needed.
Hope it helps ;)

I was actually still toying with the idea of using a thick walled cardboard tube as I have one that is the perfect size but I did have some concerns about long term durability as the ends frayed a bit from the act of inserting and then removing the tube from the hilt a single time. Plus paper is too good a heat insulator and it just didn't seem like a good choice when I had PVC available.

[Darth Ryo]

I've yet to try chassis disk, but so far I'm a big fan of PVC chassis.
It's really fun to build one (as fun as I'm gonna build another one for this saber, in order tro try another configuration with those new smaller speaker that could fit into the ribbed extension) :)

Anyway, just received my Blade Plugs from Darkside Engineering and couldn't resist to post a pic (those are really amazingly good looking :P)
http://www.goth-customsabers.ftl-network.com/pictures/Blade_Plugs_03.jpg

[Darth Ryo]

Hey all,
Been a while I didn’t update this one, been busy (and it was pretty cold in my attic… now days are better to enjoy working there again hehe).

So, while waiting for Igniter R4 board and other components to arrive, it was time to make a first attempt at the shroud..
Here is what I’ve done eventually:

http://www.goth-customsabers.ftl-network.com/pictures/Shroud-01.jpg

Still need proper polishing (I’ve yet to learn that) and painting, and there are a few little mistakes to “correct”, but overall I’m quite pleased with the results for a first try.
The shroud is actually “extendable”. I can indeed adjust each side position with thumb screws at the bottom.
I actually thought of something retracted when carrying the weapon, and that would “extend” in time of combat (like being in a more aggressive stance).

Overall it looks like that:
http://www.goth-customsabers.ftl-network.com/pictures/Shroud-02.jpg

And now a few more pics for those who like them (that iPhone5 quality, sorry, didn’t take time to make better pics):

http://www.goth-customsabers.ftl-network.com/pictures/Shroud-04.jpg

Retracted
http://www.goth-customsabers.ftl-network.com/pictures/Shroud-07.jpg
Extended
http://www.goth-customsabers.ftl-network.com/pictures/Shroud-06.jpg

I have more sleeve material at my disposal for other attempts, but I’ll stick with this one for now, happy with it.

I’m still in progress of totally reworking the chassis, which is going to be far better than the first one. However I still need to order those 20mm speaker. More to come “soonish” then ;)

[joshm74]

Dude, sick sick sick shroud work! I love it! That thing looks mean :)

[Starwinder]

Lookin awesome so far Ryô! Really like the idea of an extending/retracting shroud. Great work and looking forward to seeing this completed!

[Johannes Huber]

Gorgeous work on the shrouds! I don't know if a high polish would be right for this piece, but I tinkered a lot with it on my Velocity build and if you need a hand, just let me know. I'm building a saber for a friend at the moment and all the parts got a polish from 60 grit all the way to 3600 grit, but there is one problem to high polish I wasn't aware of originally: paint won't stick to it (many thanks to LDM/General Grievous for warning me before things got messy:D). Powder coating works fine but apparently really shiny=paint doesn't stick. That said, the positive of the high polish is you get a very "soft" feel to the metal since all the edges smooth out and the tactile quality is very unique (in a good way). If one is going in for heavy, heavy "dueling", I'd probably not recommend it (saber hits ground, gets major scratches/dents and they show up a lot more...) but otherwise, lots of fun. Again, incredible work! The whole thing looks fantastic (been waiting to see it at this level of finish since you posted the initial renderings).

[Darth Ryo]

Thanks a lot again guys :D
I'll try to progress a bit faster on this one now, still much to be done :P

@Johannes
I'm not 100% sure about the paint patern I'll apply on it yet, but a better polishing was indeed planned anyway. Didn't know that would cause issue with the pain tho. Actually, I was planning to mask some areas that I want to remain with a polished metal look, and use a primer coat on the rest. Then flat black paint, then bake it, and finally apply the red patterns and bake it again.

I welcome your help indeed, thanks :D
So paint wouldn't stick on polished metal (I understand why actually), but I wonder if that is the case, even using primer and baking. Is that what you did on Velocity and your current build?
Now that we talk about it, how did you obtain that mate metal finish on Velocity?

Really like Velocity anyway, awesome peice and the shroud work you did there is still impressing me ;)

[Silver Serpent]

Self-etching aluminum primer should fix the issue. You may have to check automotive shops for it. Be sure you mask the areas you want to keep polished.

One way to get a matte finish on aluminum is with media blasting. It's not the only way, but it's pretty quick to do.

[Darth Ryo]

Thanks SS, I'll then try to find that alum primer around here and test that :)

[Darth Tor]

Greatings, I am DARTH TOR Lord of Anger, and I'm kinda new to the whole designing your own lightsaber thing and I was wondering is it possible to design the ledgendary DARK SABER?? "seen here BELOW" I would like to design the handle like a bully club, or a cyber blade.... seen below8722

[Darth Tor]

This is the type of blade i would like to design !!! 8723

[Forgetful Jedi Knight]

This is the type of blade i would like to design !!! 8723

Can you make a Tonfa style hilt? Yes, it's possible. Can you do a black blade? Only if you use spray paint

[Boj-Vaati Mau]

The ublack core guide! Heed well, young one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=jSYw5UywHPU

Really about the only way to get this is by using paint, and then it'll only work at certain angles, or making it flat sided and painting it a la Pre VIsla's in TCW.

[Johannes Huber]

Back on the polishing, paint and matte surfaces. I didn't know about the paint thing either until LDM saved me from myself:D. He seems to specialize in how paint and powder coating can be used (I have a paint weathered and PC'd Malakyte saber from him and the mixed effect is beautiful) and his thoughts seemed to be that paint was pretty much out for high reflection aluminum (I showed him the WIP pictures of the saber I'm working on which is mirror finish so it may be different with less shiny surfaces) and that this was where powder coating takes over which matches what one painting tutorial somewhere here on the board said. It was written by a professional automotive/industrial painter, I believe, so between that and LDM's thoughts I don't think there is much hope for a super shiny surface to hold paint while remaining super shiny, baked or otherwise, although I could certainly be wrong or have misunderstood...
There's actually no paint anywhere on Velocity. I got the reflective polish on the Velocity hilt by starting at 60 grit sandpaper and hand sanding the piece all the way up to 3600 grit sandpaper, sanding each set of connected surfaces completely before moving to the next. The tricky part was polishing the long curved choke. There what I did was put masking tape on each area I wasn't sanding to protect it from the sandpaper biting into the edge sections by accident, taking off the old masking tape and replacing it each time it got too chewed up. Now I should say that I started at 60 grit because there were lots of scratches from test fittings of the shrouds as I went and a truly horrible gouge from when the flexshaft skipped while trying to drill in a retention screw (that's why there is a "window" in the emitter on that side: it got rid of the worst of the evidence;)...). Without the scratches and other stuff I could probably have started at some point higher on the progression of the sandpaper grits. I know some people recommend doing each grit perpendicular to the sanding direction before it, but I found that didn't work as well for me and made for a "cloudier" finish so I'm always polishing in the same direction. The reflection turns "mirror" very abruptly somewhere between 1200 and 1800 grit but there is a odd thing that sometimes happens (the saber I am finishing right now has the whole body and shroud polished the same way as Velocity and both had this issue at one point) in that one gets patches of cloudiness at the higher grits and the only solution is to be patient and when you reach the next sandpaper grit, it will usually polish out, certainly it does within 2 grits. I don't know why this happens but there is also a tactile difference so I am guessing it may be from some sort of issue of unevenness in how aluminum is cast or some sort of local variation in the aluminum. One benefit of the long haul polishing is that you also get a tactile difference in the metal that is very interesting, not only along corners/edges but on the long surfaces as well. The one thing after all the sanding is to use a polish that will then get rid of all the hand acids, dirt, micro-flecks of metal etc, that's when the mirror effect really starts to be extremely strong. Velocity actually didn't get that polish until after I posted the pictures...Oops. It's much more reflective on the hilt surfaces now:D. The progression I'm using is: sandpaper grits: 60, 150, 220, 320, 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1200 then the Micromark reuseable sanding patches 1500, 1800, 2400, 3600 and sometimes 4000.
On the matte sections (all the shrouds) what I did was sanded it first at 60 grit and then at 150 grit in one direction, which left a decided "grain" on the aluminum (the coarser the grit, the more obvious the grain). After that was when I started tinkering with gloss coat to seal it since the bare metal proved horribly prone to scratching across the grain I had established. This was when I started thinking about a "flaw" that comes in to play a lot in airbrushing called "orange peeling" which seems to come from holding the spray can/brush the wrong distance from the target object. This gives a sort of subtle pebble effect that started interacting with the straight line texture from the sandpaper and gives a very interesting form of highlight causing the metal to look "matte" until you get close and then it looks different, with a lot of very small highlights from the pebbling and grain. A lot of coats of this later and a lot of playing with the distance between the spray can and the shrouds and it got the effect I wanted. One thing: definitely do all the gloss coat stuff outside and leave the pieces to dry there: The stuff truly reeks and is definitely not nice to the lungs...
The self etching aluminum primer sounds very interesting, I'll have to get to trying that out too. Hope this was useful

[Darth Ryo]

Very usefull indeed to have other people experiences :D
Thanks for having taken the time to share it Johannes!

I'm going to run a few sanding tests on the scrap shround parts I've left, and then i'll see how the pain goes on that.
(now gotta find that self etching aluminium can around here, don't even know how to tranlate that into French :P)

[Darth Ryo]

Update time, I can finally consider the hilt finished :D
Back to electronics now.

As always, here is a "few" quick iphone pics:

- A matter of taste really, but I'm pretty fond of black and red, here is how looks the saber with the painted shroud (sithy enough, can't wait for a matching costume):
http://www.goth-customsabers.ftl-network.com/pictures/SaberCompleted-01.jpg

After all, the paint job has be done with what I had laying around the attic, so I used a common primer for metal, then flat black paint (from Gamesworkshop, since I did some fig painting a while ago and still have a full spray can left), and finally Red base and leyer paint (also from Gamesworkshop).

From the tests, even after up to 3000grit polish, the combo primer + black and some time in the oven made a pretty strong bond with the shroud. I have hit the test shroud numerous time without scratching it :) So I went for that solution and I'm very pleased with the result.

Here is an overall "spinning" look:
http://www.goth-customsabers.ftl-network.com/pictures/SaberCompleted-02.jpg

and now closing up to a half of it (last pic with the shrod retracted):
http://www.goth-customsabers.ftl-network.com/pictures/SaberCompleted-03.jpg

Now it can wait on display while I'll work on internals (plus I could note from this photo that Vader took a lot of dust lately, cleaning is really in order :p):
http://www.goth-customsabers.ftl-network.com/pictures/SaberCompleted-04.jpg

Hope you guys like it (at least I do, and so did my GF ^^).

[joshm74]

I didn't think that saber could have looked better before the paint job. Wow I was wrong! That is a seriously awesome saber you got there buddy!

[Starwinder]

Wow, looking pretty sweet there Ryô! Can't wait to see this thing with the internals completed. Awesome job!

[Silver Serpent]

That's a really great paint job! It's basically screaming, "Look at me, I'm EVIL!"

[DarthMarr]

Epic build man!!! I'm with you on the black n red, it the greatest color combo EVER! I just have one question. How do you get your pics so big?

[Darth Ryo]

Epic build man!!! I'm with you on the black n red, it the greatest color combo EVER! I just have one question. How do you get your pics so big?

Yeah, love the black and red ^^
Regarding the pics, I host them directly on my domain, so I actually resize them myself and then just post them here as URL.
Since I post many pictures, I guess that's better than put more load on TCSS servers... altho I'm not sure if that makes much difference hehe.

-----------------------------------

Anyway, update time... been a while and time goes pretty fast :P
Actually, it's more a reboot that I'm doing on that build.

With the MHS Coupler Prototype received, I wasn't sure I was going to use it at first, but after a few mods to improve that coupler (more details here (http://goth-customsabers.ftl-network.com/log/mhs-coupler-mod/)), I decided to give it a go. And so, here is the new version of my saberstaff work:

http://www.goth-customsabers.ftl-network.com/pictures/new_hilt_01.jpg
2 separated hilt that can be coupled, which is even more awesome than the previous version
(and what I'd have wanted from the start, back when it wasn't possible yet, as there was neither a coupler nor Igniter Minis using single battery 3.7v cells ^^)

http://www.goth-customsabers.ftl-network.com/pictures/new_hilt_02.jpg
http://www.goth-customsabers.ftl-network.com/pictures/new_hilt_03.jpg
I had to sand the newly received 4" extensions in order to have a proper alignment between parts. after all, that wasn't hard to achieve. Then I painted the part in black.
And I'm pretty happy with the coupler so far!

http://www.goth-customsabers.ftl-network.com/pictures/new_hilt_04.jpg
Now I'm not sure yet how I'll proceed for the switches, but this could be an idea.
What I already know is that I'll make new shroud parts (same color style as before of course), new internal chassis with MHS chassis disks and make a bargraph for each side.

All that is going to take time, but now that my "Glorious Hunter" build (http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com/showthread.php?16086-G-O-T-H-quot-Glorious-Hunter-quot-MHS-custom-build-with-Spark) is finished, I can fully get back to this staff :)

[SithArts]

both your builds are amazing... i would like a staff version like this one day myself. but not exact of course. that coupler i would love to see in a vid etc. may i ask what it took to get that part made from a prototype and the possibility of others getting one too?

edit:
and just my opinion. i like the switch boxes but i would flip their directions. just a thought

[Forgetful Jedi Knight]

both your builds are amazing... i would like a staff version like this one day myself. but not exact of course. that coupler i would love to see in a vid etc. may i ask what it took to get that part made from a prototype and the possibility of others getting one too?

edit:
and just my opinion. i like the switch boxes but i would flip their directions. just a thought

The coupler is something that should be in stock in the store sometime in the future. If I recall correctly, that is one of the prototypes that Darth Ryo gave feedback on in order to improve upon the design.

[Darth Ryo]

Been too long since I last updated this thread, so it is time to give some progress on this build :)

Ok, I changed the plan a bit since last update :) I will do a reveal crystal chamber in the back 3? extension. So I had to find a solution for the main and aux switches, that would be located in "the front" section, allowing me to unscrew the rear.

After some time debating, I have decided to use those covertec/switch bezels done by Saberforge (coupled with a 12mm AV switch with red ring), even if that would make the install more difficult. And I had to ditch the possibility to manually retract/extend the front shroud? no biggie really.

http://www.goth-customsabers.ftl-network.com/pictures/forums/redshadow/Chassis_V4_01.jpghttp://www.goth-customsabers.ftl-network.com/pictures/forums/redshadow/Chassis_V4_02.jpg http://www.goth-customsabers.ftl-network.com/pictures/forums/redshadow/Chassis_V4_03.jpg

I had Delrin 20mm speaker holders custom made, that lock in place between the ribbed extension and the choke!
http://www.goth-customsabers.ftl-network.com/pictures/forums/redshadow/Chassis_V4_04.jpg

And the chassis begins to take shape, again... It?s actually the same kind of chassis I used on my other saber (with the Igniter Mini on top of the battery, just the perfect fit for the 1.15? ID extension).
http://www.goth-customsabers.ftl-network.com/pictures/forums/redshadow/Chassis_V4_05.jpg
http://www.goth-customsabers.ftl-network.com/pictures/forums/redshadow/Chassis_V4_06.jpg

Both staff halves will have a custom bargraph, and those blinkies are bright indeed :P
http://www.goth-customsabers.ftl-network.com/pictures/forums/redshadow/NewBuild04.jpg

Once those bargraphs tests done, I could complete the upper hilt for both the staff halves, and it looks good so far ^^
Here is one "completed" upper hilt, side by side with the other "completed" upper chassis.
http://www.goth-customsabers.ftl-network.com/pictures/forums/redshadow/NewBuild01.jpg
http://www.goth-customsabers.ftl-network.com/pictures/forums/redshadow/NewBuild02.jpg

And both upper staff halves completed
Note that the AV switch is the aux switch, and the red thumb screw (coupled with the tiny tactile switch beneath, with a custom made solution) is the main switch
http://www.goth-customsabers.ftl-network.com/pictures/forums/redshadow/NewBuild05.jpg

Finally, time for the ?first? crash tests (again) which went pretty well, including the duel with the GF :P
http://www.goth-customsabers.ftl-network.com/pictures/forums/redshadow/NewBuild06.jpg http://www.goth-customsabers.ftl-network.com/pictures/forums/redshadow/NewBuild07.jpg http://www.goth-customsabers.ftl-network.com/pictures/forums/redshadow/NewBuild08.jpg http://www.goth-customsabers.ftl-network.com/pictures/forums/redshadow/NewBuild09.jpg

Next step, design the reveal core, got some nice ideas I want to implement and test (all 3D printed ^^). This will likely take quite some time again tho, I?m glad I didn?t set any deadline for this saber, but more to come later anyway ;)

[Silver Serpent]

That covertec/AV bezel is interesting. Is the covertec button still functional in a clip, or is it just decorative?

[Darth Ryo]

That covertec/AV bezel is interesting. Is the covertec button still functional in a clip, or is it just decorative?

It is indeed meant to be a functional convertec button, as well as a blinky switch.
For now I use a Parks' metal belt clip, here a quick pic:
http://img.techpowerup.org/140203/Capture.jpghttp://img.techpowerup.org/140203/Capture2.jpg

It has already been tested before I bought those, but I confirm the switch isn't pushed/activated when the button is locked into the clip (as the "half half" hilt on the pic was on when I tested the clip).

So the future plan for the Sith costume is to have 2 covertec clip and carry the staff in its saparated version, so that it would be more confy than having the whole staff on one convertec only :)

[Symbiant]

Colour contrast is slick. Totally dig it

[Silver Serpent]

It has already been tested before I bought those, but I confirm the switch isn't pushed with the button is locked into the clip.



That would've been my next concern. Good to know. That saber is looking better all the time.

[Mandalorian]

Very cool. Can't wait to see what you come up with for the reveal.