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Flyby Knight
11-13-2013, 02:56 PM
I got all the machined aluminum parts in yesterday, and I'm amazed. I had seen plenty of videos and so forth but holding YOUR saber in your hand is a different story altogether. Everything fits perfect and is beautiful.

I went with a fairly simple design, but I think I managed to get some nice touches in there. I'm really digging the trim rings and graflex-replica knob.
9270

More parts are on their way. I'm getting a pommel disk with the D-ring attached. As for electronics, I'm going with a royal blue Rebel and a Nano Biscotti.

Feeling happy and excited :)

Yoshi-Taka
11-13-2013, 03:20 PM
I like the design. The trim rings give it a classic "sword hilt" design. I'm sure it will grow on me, but the big thumb screw looks really clunky. But I can let it go because of my extreme bias toward the box you chose. Also, your choice is blade and board.

MedicineMan
11-13-2013, 04:15 PM
Nice, simple design. Haven't used the trim rings yet, but definitely gives a nice look. Can't wait to see it all finished!

Flyby Knight
11-13-2013, 07:33 PM
I like the design. The trim rings give it a classic "sword hilt" design. I'm sure it will grow on me, but the big thumb screw looks really clunky. But I can let it go because of my extreme bias toward the box you chose. Also, your choice is blade and board.

Thanks :) The idea was to give it a slight hint of the original Graflex saber, without making a copy. Others have done that, far better than I could. So the angled emitter, knob, and black PC'd flutes.. It's my saber, not Luke's or Anakin's; it just has a similar "feel". That's what I was going for, anyway.

Flyby Knight
12-07-2013, 09:33 PM
Everything I need to complete this saber should be here by Wednesday. I'm excited :) I'll be posting pics of the internal chassis and of course, of the completed work.

Ty_Bomber
12-07-2013, 11:46 PM
Thanks :) The idea was to give it a slight hint of the original Graflex saber, without making a copy. Others have done that, far better than I could. So the angled emitter, knob, and black PC'd flutes.. It's my saber, not Luke's or Anakin's; it just has a similar "feel". That's what I was going for, anyway.

Those are the best sabers.

Flyby Knight
12-09-2013, 04:58 PM
Got my Nano Biscotti, chassis parts and Corbin battle blade today. That should be pretty much everything.

Chassis test fit:9308

plenty of room for the chassis inside the 4" grip section. I just need to figure out how I want to anchor it into the forward section.

Flyby Knight
12-11-2013, 01:22 PM
So while puttering around with wires and such, I got to thinking... always a dangerous idea.

See the markings, the little boxes (I think they're cutouts) and the teeny pinstripes, on these graflex clamps?
9315

I wonder if I could reproduce that... maybe etched, or engraved.

Silver Serpent
12-11-2013, 01:48 PM
Possible? Certainly. Easy? Well, that depends on your methods and personal skillset.

If you're going to try, start on scrap pieces rather than the expensive ones.

Flyby Knight
12-11-2013, 07:46 PM
Possible? Certainly. Easy? Well, that depends on your methods and personal skillset.

If you're going to try, start on scrap pieces rather than the expensive ones.

Sound advice. It seems to me that engraving would be the way to do it, but I tried it once and holding anything like a straight line is pretty hard. Not sure if this will happen, but I can finish the saber while I'm thinking it over.

Flyby Knight
12-14-2013, 10:24 PM
Well. Got my wiring finished and... nada. My switch lights up, and I get a weird sort of clicking sound from the speaker, but nothing else, I've read what others have said, about how when this happens you feel like you're gonna be sick. It's true.

I tried re-formatting the sd.. didn't change anything.

Gonna go back through all the wiring, maybe I did something obvious wrong and can fix it. I'm really afraid that my NB took a static shock or something though.

We'll see.

Eco
12-15-2013, 04:20 AM
Try it first without your recharge port. Often times, that's where mistakes happen. If it works just fine with the charge port taken out of the equation, that'll isolate the problem.

Yoshi-Taka
12-15-2013, 10:27 AM
If you showed us pictures of your wiring, we might be able to help you out. I'm curious of what's going on myself.

Flyby Knight
12-15-2013, 07:55 PM
It's pretty hard to get a pic that would be worth anything, the wires are pretty short. I was trying to keep them as tidy as possible. Sadly, that means that troubleshooting is pretty difficult. Today I learned... lol. I'm going to pull it apart and see if wiring without the recharge will make it go, that seemed like an worthwile test. Tomorrow afternoonish.

On the bright side, I got my blade plug in the mail. That makes me happy.

9320

Yoshi-Taka
12-15-2013, 11:05 PM
Tidy is good. As I'm sure you've discovered, checking the wiring before putting it all in the hilt is a good idea. I do a small checklist before I finish my saber:

1 - Does everything work properly outside the board?
2 - Does everything work with the pommel and emitter off?
3 - Does everything with with the pommel on and extensions, choke, and emitter off?
4 - Does everything work with the pommel, extensions, and choke on and emitter off?
4 - Does everything work with the whole saber put together?

That way if something goes wrong, I know when and probably how. That's the best advice I can give (and I get the feeling that is gonna be my catchphrase).
Also, the blade plug is nice. Is that a razor plug?

Flyby Knight
12-16-2013, 01:12 PM
I'll hopefully have time to go through it all this afternoon. Hopefully, I'll have some answers soon, if not a functioning saber.



Also, the blade plug is nice. Is that a razor plug?
Yes :D

Flyby Knight
12-16-2013, 07:39 PM
OK, well, I pulled it apart. I was somewhat relieved when I saw that the negative wire coming from the switch had apparently pulled loose; I thought maybe that was the cause of all my troubles. I set about cleaning up the terminal and wired the whole thing over again, outside the saber and without the recharge port. Unfortunately nothing improved. I plugged in the battery and I heard the same odd, rapid clicking sound, I then tried the switch and the main LED lit for a brief instant, I heard what might have been the powerup sound but at very low volume, and then nothing. Further punching of the button does nothing. Unplugging the battery allows you to repeat the experience, but it gets old. The royal blue Rebel is pretty though.

Unless you guys have any other ideas, I will proceed on the assumption that my NB is borked. I'll have to wait until after Christmas to try and get a replacement.

I'm not gonna let this get me down, BTW. I'm committed to finishing this project; moreover, to doing a good job on it. Merely a setback :)

Yoshi-Taka
12-16-2013, 09:22 PM
Is the NB itself wired correctly? Have you tried a different MicroSD card on this board? Are any of the pads on your NB bridged? Is the recharge port wired correctly?

That's about all I can suggest without being able to see your board or setup.

Flyby Knight
12-17-2013, 04:20 PM
Perhaps I'm giving up on this board too quickly. It's hard for me to show you guys pics, my camera phone really, really sucks (my phone flips open, if that tells you anything). However, my Dad has some experience with soldering, maybe he'll have an idea fo what's wrong. It's a good enough excuse to go see my Dad anyway.

Yoshi-Taka
12-17-2013, 04:43 PM
Win-win, I suppose.

Another question which I forgot to ask: is the battery fully charged? I mean, forgetful jedi knight has suggested that to me several times and it's solved a lot of my problems.

Flyby Knight
01-07-2014, 11:05 PM
Here's an update, courtesy of my new little Sony Handicam:


http://youtu.be/SE0wxEegShU

I hate the way my recorded voice sounds. I assure you, the voice I hear is much better.

Yoshi-Taka
01-07-2014, 11:44 PM
Ahh bridged connections. I've done that my fair share of times. It's easy to clean up, luckily.

The completed design looks darn good. I really like it. How do the trim rings feel while holding the lightsaber? They look like the would keep your hand nice and centered in the grip. The huge screw looks a lot better than I expected as well; I take back any negativity I expressed toward it.

Strydur
01-08-2014, 11:26 AM
If nothing else send it in and I will clean it and test it.

Flyby Knight
01-10-2014, 12:29 AM
The grip with the trim rings is super comfortable. The grooved peice really is too; I neglected to mention that. The combination of the two really works well.

I ordered some stuff today, including a different pommel; the shorter version of the one I have now. I think it'll tighten up the design just a little. For some reason, it always looked a little too long to me.


If nothing else send it in and I will clean it and test it.

I haven't ranted enough about how awesome you are, Tim. I'm gonna try cleaning it myself once, and if I can't make it work, I'll take you up on it. Thanks so very much.

Flyby Knight
01-11-2014, 08:20 PM
A small change, but it made a huge difference.

94259426

Yoshi-Taka
01-11-2014, 08:34 PM
It looks remarkably smaller with the new pommel. Still looks good, though I like the old pommel as well.

Flyby Knight
01-24-2014, 02:15 AM
This project certainly has taken longer than I had thought. No worries though.

I sent the blade holder back to Tim last week, because originally I had forgotten to ask him to make a flat spot for the Graflex knob. It wasn't very noticeable, really... except to me. It bugged me. Well, it's fixed now. Tim did a beautiful job as usual, and now all is right with the world.

Before: 9524

After: 9525

There was also the matter of getting a D ring setup into the new, shorter pommel. Even with snap-ring pliers, the original wasn't coming apart. I tried and tried... and then I gave up and bought a second D-ring insert. No big deal really.

9526

So now if I can get a full day off work (rare) I can put the time into wiring the NB, and It'll finally be finished.