Okay!!! Here we go!

[J-door8]

Okayyy so I have been wanting to do this for over a year now, and I think I'm finally just going to give it a shot and see what happens. I went with the thread LDM made and only selected the items he advised me to but I cant help but feel like there are some things missing, so I will list what I have in my basket and hopefully someone will be able to help me out!

Screw on LED blade holder #25
MHS choke style 1
Hilt style 3
Pommel style 4
Pommel insert style 6
8/32x1/2" Blade retention screw
Rebel Star LED and MHS heatsink module

Should I be ordering batteries, switches, and resistors? If that's the case, then I have attempted to figure out which ones I will need...

16mm Latching amber ring switch
4- AAA 1000mAh NiMH Rechargeable batteries
150ohm 1/4w Resistor

Okay well hopefully this is right and all I need. I'm actually not really worried about getting a blade just yet so I left that part out just want the hilt itself.

Oh and I have a question about the covertec wheel and clips... How do they work? Do I need to machine a hole in the hilt of the saber to put a wheel on it or is it done another way....?

Thank you so much for any responses/feedback... It is greatly appreciated...

[Johannes Huber]

Hi!,

Welcome to the fun! You'll also need a battery holder for the Nimhs and a charger specific to them as well as either a buckpuck or resistor for the Rebel star. The resistor or buckpuck for the star will depend on what color star you are getting (Red or amber rebels can't generally go above 700Ma).
Also need a blade if you don't have one, Tim's are very nice.
Yep, covertec wheels do need a threaded hole to be attached as well as a specific screw (I can recall which).
I'm sure others will also chime in. Most important: Have fun with it.

[Starwinder]

First of all, welcome! Once you start on the fun, you won't want to stop! :)
To add to what Johannes was saying, you'll definitely need to drill and tap a hole in the hilt for a covertec wheel. 8-32 should do it. The screw holds the wheel in place. You can use http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/8-32-x-38-socket-head-P414.aspx or http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/8-32-x-14-socket-head-P107.aspx

Don't forget to order the machine AV switch hole service if you don't plan on doing it yourself - the 16mm AV switch won't fit the standard or guarded switch holes.

Also, just fyi, your blade retention screw will stick out quite a bit at 1/2" with that blade holder...

Happy building! ;)

[Silver Serpent]

http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/MPS-Clip-P72.aspx to hold your pommel insert in place.

To attach the covertec button, you'll need a hole drilled and tapped for an 8-32 screw. The 8-32 socket head screws are used to attach the button. They come in varying lengths.

You already have the right resistor for your switch LED. You'll also want a resistor for your main LED. If your Rebel is one of the warm colors (red, amber, orange, etc) then the 3.9 ohm 2 watt resistor is appropriate. I think there's a 5watt in the store that will do the job. If you're going with one of the cool colors (cyan, green, blue, white) you're looking for a resistor closer to the 1.5 ohm 5 watt resistor in the store.

Since you're not getting a blade at this time, I highly recommend getting a blade safety plug. http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/1-Hilt-safety-plug-P571.aspx It'll keep you from blinding people with the LED.

[J-door8]

Wow thank you all for responding so quickly!

Okay so I added the resistor for the main LED, I have another question though what the heck is a buck puck? Is it like a resistor for every thing? So instead of having a handful of little resistors inside the saber you just have that bigger one?

For the AV switch service, is this what I'm looking for?
http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/Machine-recessed-AV-switch-hole-P552.aspx
I do want the switch to be flush with the rest of the hilt so I think that's right...

I also had a question about being able to change from 4-AAA batteries to a pack with a recharge port etc. at a later date. Would that be too much to re do the inside of the saber or can it (and sound) wait to be installed at a later date??

I changed the blade retention screw from the 1/2" to the 3/8", will that make much of a difference or should I go with a shorter screw?

Another question - Should I buy my own extra wiring if I have nothing like that here at home? Or does everything come with enough of its own wiring?

[Silver Serpent]

A buckpuck is a fun little device that takes the guesswork out of using resistors. You feed it a minimum of 5v, and it will output a set current to your LED (either 1000mA or 700mA, depending on which one you get.) There are some plusses and minuses to using one.

Plus:
More efficient. You get more runtime on a single battery charge.
Constant current output. Your blade stays at the same brightness with a fresh charge, or a nearly drained battery.
Less heat. This is related to the "more efficient" listed above.
Works with different power sources. You could change the battery pack to a different type (e.g. alkaline to li-ion) and it will still work fine.

Minus:
You need a minimum of 5v to run it properly. A 4.8v NiMH pack *might* work. Then again, it might not.
More expensive than resistors.
Takes up more room in your hilt. Space inside your hilt fills up FAST.

I prefer resistors for simple builds. You really need a 6v alkaline pack or a 7.4v li-ion pack to run the buckpucks.

The AV switch service you have chosen is correct. It's actually listed as an option on the Hilt Style 3.

Sound can always be added later. Many of us started with soundless sabers, and upgraded them later.

If the blade retention screw is too long, you can always shorten it a bit. Grinding, cutting, filing, sanding, whatever you have available to you.

I'd definitely get some extra wire. Unless you're going 100% with MWS parts, you're going to need some extra.

[J-door8]

Okay cool so I will stick to individual resistors for this one then.

If the hilt already comes with the recessed AV switch hole as an option, I do need to select that service and put it in my cart still right?

Annnd gotcha, Ill grab two feet of black/red wire.

Oh I added two feet of heatshrink too, I don't know how much of that I will actually need but I am pretty sure I will need some, right?

[Silver Serpent]

When you add hilt 3 to you cart, there's a list of options on that page. One of those options is for the recessed AV hole. If you've selected that option, you won't need to add it again.

Two feet of black and red wire should be plenty. Heatshrink is always a good thing. You just need to use it over any exposed solder joints.

[J-door8]

Sweet! So then that should be everything? I can't think of anything else but that's because I've never done this before!

So this is it then I'm ready to get it all and go!

Oh will a dremel rotary tool work for drilling holes in aluminum? I should buy the tap you guys have here too.

Other than that I think I'm good to go!

[Silver Serpent]

You can use a dremel and drill bits to drill holes in aluminum, if you have steady hands. I don't really recommend it, unless it's your only tool available. A regular drill is better. A drill press is the best solution.

If you're going to tap the hole, you will need a tap. You can get them here, or at your local hardware store. Don't forget a tap handle. And read this first: http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com/showthread.php?5724-The-Basics-of-Thread-Tapping

[J-door8]

oh okay well I have a regular drill as well, but no drill press. Hopefully its good enough!

Awesome I'll add the tap handle to the cart too then so that I just get everything at one time.

I think I'm ready to checkout now! Thanks so much for the help!

[Lady Eshley]

Tons of great information here, thanks to you both! I have a question about switches for a stunt hilt. I am working on the design for an LED saber with no sound. Can I use any of the switches on the market? Standard, guarded or AV? And if I am considering using a buckpuck would I have to use a latching switch? I am just trying to make sure I am starting to understand everything, thanks Guys!!!

[Forgetful Jedi Knight]

Tons of great information here, thanks to you both! I have a question about switches for a stunt hilt. I am working on the design for an LED saber with no sound. Can I use any of the switches on the market? Standard, guarded or AV? And if I am considering using a buckpuck would I have to use a latching switch? I am just trying to make sure I am starting to understand everything, thanks Guys!!!

You would need a latching switch for the stunt. Other than that, any of the latching switches should work for you - as long as you have the right hole drilled for what you select. ;)

[Lady Eshley]

Excellent!

[Ty_Bomber]

Another thing to note: latching switches are pretty long. You may want to get a bezel for it so it doesn't bottom out on the inside of the hilt.

[Silver Serpent]

There are short latching AV switches as well. The old ones were all really long, but some newer ones have been added to the store that take up a lot less room.

[J-door8]

Okay so I got the parts and did my best at putting the saber together.. The led for the switch broke cuz I suck really really bad at soldering... But I got the main led to work so I guess that was the important part!!! I can't say I'm excited to try building another saber because I spent quite a bit (relatively to my income) on that saber and it just turned out pretty bad tbh... Thanks for all the help with ordering the parts though! I wish I coulda had one of you guys over my shoulder during the process haha :)

I'll add pics tonight but not much to see :/

[Forgetful Jedi Knight]

Like everything else in life that is worth doing, it takes time, patience and practice.

[J-door8]

Haha too true I suppose. Sucks that as soon as I finished I just wanted to gut the whole thing and start over again though... I have a question, how are you supposed to solder wires to that led switch? I had to run all the damn wire through the hole in my hilt and solder from there and it was extremely difficult :(

[Forgetful Jedi Knight]

Yes it is. It all depends... based on what I remember of your project, that is what you would have to do. You would just have to leave yourself enough wire. That's where a little skill and practice is required.

[J-door8]

Guess I'll have to get better at it then... Better at soldering all around. Actually how do you sugges I just practice soldering? Buy wire cut it apart and then just practice soldering it back together?

[Johannes Huber]

Don't get discouraged. I had to rebuild the electronics on the second saber I built 4 times to make everything work (outside the saber was easy, inside the saber, with much less room, not so much) but in the end I was pleased with it. Good thing Nano-biscotti boards are incredibly tough;). FJK is right: Practice and patience... The whole "...don't think your lightsaber is a project to be put together in a couple of hours..." Luke Skywalker qoute from one of the Star Wars books (I forget which...). First one I built took me 8 months of reading, experimenting and practicing soldering on cheap circuit bread boards, second one 5 months, 3rd one 3 months and I'm wanting to take as much time as it takes on #4. Keep at it, when it finally meets your expectations it will all be worth it.

[Forgetful Jedi Knight]

Guess I'll have to get better at it then... Better at soldering all around. Actually how do you sugges I just practice soldering? Buy wire cut it apart and then just practice soldering it back together?

There are many things you could do, you would need to practice soldering wire to boards if you ever decide to do sound, if you can get your hands on some old circuit boards and wire that would be a good place to start. Also, finding soldering videos on youtube are helpful, I know that several were made from people in the lightsaber community. Search you must and you should find what you seek.

[WookieeGunner]

You can buy practice kits such as http://www.makershed.com/product_p/mkel2.htm

[J-door8]

I'll start watching more soldering videos then! I appreciate all the help and encouragement and stuff I really want to keep at it, it was just a sort of rude awakening haha I guess I had it coming to be honest.. Here's the pictures of what I got if they don't upload this way I'll have to figure something else out because this is all being done from my phone ATM.


http://s968.photobucket.com/user/j-door8/media/image_zps71f5b794.jpg.html

[Silver Serpent]

Here's the one I used when I started out here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOdnGUMi7lQ It's done by erv of PlecterLabs, the same guy who designed all the sound boards here at TCSS.

[J-door8]

How good/bad of an idea is it to buy everything from TCSS pre-wired? Realistically speaking, how much soldering can I -not- do, next time I go to build a saber? If/When I give it another go I kinda just want to gut my first one and re-do the inside, this time with a chassis holding everything in place and with sound etc etc. How much soldering can I get away with not doing?

[Forgetful Jedi Knight]

How good/bad of an idea is it to buy everything from TCSS pre-wired? Realistically speaking, how much soldering can I -not- do, next time I go to build a saber? If/When I give it another go I kinda just want to gut my first one and re-do the inside, this time with a chassis holding everything in place and with sound etc etc. How much soldering can I get away with not doing?

That all depends on you. Tim is adding more pre-wried options, but you would still have to do some soldering. If you are going to continue in this hobby, and do more advanced builds, decent soldering skills are essential.

[J-door8]

That all depends on you. Tim is adding more pre-wried options, but you would still have to do some soldering. If you are going to continue in this hobby, and do more advanced builds, decent soldering skills are essential.

I have read in a few threads that those jst connectors fill up space in the hilt fairly quickly, would that be much of an issue for me if I'm just getting the NB soundboard?

Also, I understand that I will need those soldering skills I just don't want the fact that I can't solder well to hold me back... I would like to start out doing as little as possible and as I get more comfortable kinda ease into it..

[Forgetful Jedi Knight]

The JSTs will take up room, especially the more you use. If you are using a NB, and leave yourself enough room and/or do a good job at planning and designing your hilt to make installations easy on yourself.

[J-door8]

The JSTs will take up room, especially the more you use. If you are using a NB, and leave yourself enough room and/or do a good job at planning and designing your hilt to make installations easy on yourself.

Haha that's exactly what I was planning on doing right now, I was going to post some graph paper drawings tomorrow or later tonight to hopefully get some more help or suggestions from you guys... Thanks for all the help so far!

[J-door8]

Sorry for the double post but I wanted to ensure that people saw I had more questions... Haha otherwise I would have just edited the post above.

So what I want to do right now is throw a list of parts together and have them approved so that I can work on taking their dimensions and putting them down onto a few drawings... So, this is what I'm going to try to go with this time, keep in mind I'm just going to gut the hilt i have now and start over haha

NB sound board
Amber rebel star LED w/ a 2.7 ohm 10w resistor (correct me if I'm wrong, I tried to use that calculator in Silver's sig)
16mm Short AV switch
Single 18650 Li-Ion battery
Recharge port
Premium Speaker

I'm sure I'm missing some things up there but I also wanted to focus on making a chassis because I want everything to be snug inside the hilt this time (I didn't do one for my first since the only thing in there was a battery pack haha).

Acrylic chassis disks for NB and single 18650 battery
2- 4-40 Threaded shafts
MHS Speaker mount v4

Will I need anymore chassis disks or will those two work just fine?
Also, the shop says that the chassis disks will not work with a pre-wired NB, if I decided to go w/ pre-wired, can I just use my rotary tool to make room for the connector in one of the disks??

[Silver Serpent]

Resistor value looks off. I plugged in 3.7v source voltage, and 3.2v forward voltage @ 700mA for your Amber Rebel LED. I got a 1 ohm 1 watt resistor.
You should be able to use a rotary tool to mod the chassis discs for use with the prewired NB. Cut slowly, and try not to break the discs.
Make sure your AV switch is a momentary for use with the NB.

Everything else looks fine to me.

[J-door8]

Resistor value looks off. I plugged in 3.7v source voltage, and 3.2v forward voltage @ 700mA for your Amber Rebel LED. I got a 1 ohm 1 watt resistor.
You should be able to use a rotary tool to mod the chassis discs for use with the prewired NB. Cut slowly, and try not to break the discs.
Make sure your AV switch is a momentary for use with the NB.

Everything else looks fine to me.

Hey thank you! I didn't know exactly what one of the values were so I clicked on the help thing and used 2.1 for what the site gave me haha.

Oh and that's cool I will have to order two pairs of the disks then just in case haha ;)

Well awesome I'm going to start drawing stuff and come back in a while! Thanks a ton!

[Silver Serpent]

No problem. I always grab the LED values from the Rebel page in the shop: http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/Luxeon-Rebel-Star-P523.aspx

[J-door8]

Would a 1 ohm 2w resistor work? Or would I have to go looking somewhere other than TCSS for a resistor? Because I don't see a 1ohm 1w resistor in the shop.

[Forgetful Jedi Knight]

Yes, that would be fine.

[J-door8]

okay so I will post this really messy drawing as soon as I can find somewhere to scan it, but I before I do I think I am not seeing where one of these JST's will go from the pre-wired NB.

I have the one that goes to the switch, and the one that goes to the speaker, and the one that goes straight to the recharge port.
I think this last one is supposed to go somewhere leading to the LED but I don't understand how exactly it will fit in...

[J-door8]

http://i968.photobucket.com/albums/ae170/j-door8/1381539820_zps79dedef8.jpg


I know I'm missing something someone help me figure out what it is! I tried to make the drawing as close to scale as possible but w/o all the dimensions it was a bit of a guessing game. Underneath it is a wiring diagram that is essentially the same thing as the saber hilt drawing...

[Forgetful Jedi Knight]

okay so I will post this really messy drawing as soon as I can find somewhere to scan it, but I before I do I think I am not seeing where one of these JST's will go from the pre-wired NB.

I have the one that goes to the switch, and the one that goes to the speaker, and the one that goes straight to the recharge port.
I think this last one is supposed to go somewhere leading to the LED but I don't understand how exactly it will fit in...

If you are talking about the pre-wired AV switches, you would have to do the soldering of the other half of that JST yourself. the pre-wired NB's haven't taken the AV LED wire into account... yet, but I'm sure Tim will be working on it.

[Silver Serpent]

The main LED will connect to the (LED-) and the (+) on the board. See page 9 of the NB manual. Don't forget to wire in your resistor.

The switch only connects to the board. You don't connect the main LED to your switch. Any accent LEDs (like the LEDs inside an illuminated AV switch) will have to be wired separately.

[J-door8]

If you are talking about the pre-wired AV switches, you would have to do the soldering of the other half of that JST yourself. the pre-wired NB's haven't taken the AV LED wire into account... yet, but I'm sure Tim will be working on it.

Okay wait so should that jst I have hooked up to the switch spot for the nb be hooked up to the jst for the led?

[J-door8]

The main LED will connect to the (LED-) and the (+) on the board. See page 9 of the NB manual. Don't forget to wire in your resistor.

The switch only connects to the board. You don't connect the main LED to your switch. Any accent LEDs (like the LEDs inside an illuminated AV switch) will have to be wired separately.

Oh so I shouldn't wire the switch to the main led, I should wire both Jsts to the board, and then the led to the board as well. Do I need a resistor for the AV switch like I did for before I got the sound board?

[Forgetful Jedi Knight]

Oh so I shouldn't wire the switch to the main led, I should wire both Jsts to the board, and then the led to the board as well. Do I need a resistor for the AV switch like I did for before I got the sound board?

Are you using a pre-wired AV switch?

[Forgetful Jedi Knight]

Oh so I shouldn't wire the switch to the main led, I should wire both Jsts to the board, and then the led to the board as well. Do I need a resistor for the AV switch like I did for before I got the sound board?

No, you can't wire the switch to the LED like you did before you got a soundboard. Also, is the switch that you have a momentary or latching?

[J-door8]

No, you can't wire the switch to the LED like you did before you got a soundboard. Also, is the switch that you have a momentary or latching?

Sorry yes pre wired and okay so both ends of the switch go to the board then I'll fix that. The soundboard needs a momentary right?

Also, I think I just realized what you guys are trying to tell me sorry, the jst for the AV LED needs to be cut off and I need to solder those two wires to something else... Is that what you're saying? I saw that the NB has room for one power indicator LED, would that be what I wired the AV LED to? Or would I have to splice the negative and the positive into something else?

[Silver Serpent]

You can connect the AV LED to the power indicator spots on your board, or you can wire it parallel to your main LED. If you wire it to the power indicator location, then the switch LED will be on all the time. If you wire it parallel with your main LED, then the switch LED will turn on and off with the blade. You'll need a soldering iron for this, as the prewired NB doesn't have a location to plug in AV switch LEDs.

And yes, the soundboard needs a momentary switch.

[J-door8]

You can connect the AV LED to the power indicator spots on your board, or you can wire it parallel to your main LED. If you wire it to the power indicator location, then the switch LED will be on all the time. If you wire it parallel with your main LED, then the switch LED will turn on and off with the blade. You'll need a soldering iron for this, as the prewired NB doesn't have a location to plug in AV switch LEDs.

And yes, the soundboard needs a momentary switch.

Awesome so I'll get back and make some changes on this drawing and ill post what I have tonight! I think with what you just gave me, I'm good to go, but we will see!

Edit: the nb manual says the negative of the accent led (AV led) can be wired to the negative of the battery or to the pad labeled gnd which looks like the negative of the switch. Is there a difference?

[Silver Serpent]

Not really, no. The saber will function the same either way.

[J-door8]

Alright got another drawing up, how's this look?

http://i968.photobucket.com/albums/ae170/j-door8/null_zpsf8df0bc7.jpg

[Silver Serpent]

Looks like you have the right idea now.

[J-door8]

Looks like you have the right idea now.

Awesome! Thank you and fjk so much you two have been so helpful it's so greatly appreciated!

[Rough Trade]

your pictures are great - that's a sharp looking saber you've built (even if it wasn't 100% the way you imagined it would go). It's nice to read build stories - I'm in the process of gathering parts to build one myself.

[J-door8]

your pictures are great - that's a sharp looking saber you've built (even if it wasn't 100% the way you imagined it would go). It's nice to read build stories - I'm in the process of gathering parts to build one myself.

Hey thanks man I really do appreciate it, and yeah these guys are great help couldn't do it without them!