I've decided to do a PVC saber as a warm up project. Blade holder dimensions?

[MadeByMonkeys]

I know that it should be a nice snug fit with a 1" blade, but how deep should it be for a nice stable fit that might stand up to some dueling? Can it be TOO deep? (What I mean is, is there some safety issue with making the blade "too stable" within the handle? Not that I'm planning on cracking anybody over the head or anything...)

Thanks again for the help! This forum has been an incredible resource (and frankly I'm relieved to have finally found a saber supplier that appears to have NO google/forum drama surrounding quality/sourcing/fulfillment issues!!!)

[Forgetful Jedi Knight]

1 1/2" - 2" Deep should be a good depth for your blade.

[MadeByMonkeys]

Thank you!

Now I just have to learn how to put a blade retention screw into PVC that won't slip. :-)

[Silver Serpent]

http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com/showthread.php?3266-Jay-gon-s-PVC-Hilts-Full-tutorial-on-last-page&p=138540&viewfull=1#post138540

Scroll down to the 7th pic or so, and Jay-gon will show you a pic of a threaded insert to handle that issue.

[MadeByMonkeys]

You guys are outstanding. Nothing but exactly the right help and I've yet to see any snark on here.

[Sevinzol]

you could also try a Tee-Nut (http://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-8-32-Coarse-Zinc-Plated-Steel-Tee-Nuts-4-Pack-18861/202704505?N=5yc1vZc2a4). If you make a shroud or collar around the emitter, you could sandwich this between the 2 layers of tubing.

[Gnar-Gnar Gin]

As an alternative to the nut (because none of my local hardware stores have them) I've also threaded into the PVC directly... Haven't run into any issues yet

[Silver Serpent]

You guys are outstanding. Nothing but exactly the right help and I've yet to see any snark on here.

We have snark. It just doesn't usually come out until we have to spoon-feed for a while. :)

[MadeByMonkeys]

I hope I haven't been coming off that way. If I have, my apologies! There's an intimidating amount of information here and the threads are sometimes hard to follow once they span a few months of posts... :-)

[Silver Serpent]

Nope! You seem to be doing just fine: reading, looking for your own answers first, etc. Please post pictures of your saber when you get it finished. We love to look at sabers, no matter the skill level. I've seen many interesting innovations by newbies that I'd never have considered otherwise.

[MadeByMonkeys]

It's far from finished, but here's some early shots of where I'm going with the PVC hilt. I know it's a little fat for a saber (and the grip really is too short (not that much shorter than a Graflex though, really) but I'm messing around with some ideas to make it unique for Connecticon in 2015 (can't go this year, did a family vacation to Disney and my con budget went with it. :-) )

http://imgur.com/a/WOHQL

I've also got a vintage Graflex 3-cell that I've been holding onto for *years* out of timidness. I tried messing with it a long time ago but my skills and confidence weren't there and it didn't get far (plus I got ripped off by a few eBay sellers...) This morning I riveted a (not screen accurate, but psshaw) D ring to the base of the hilt and I'm unreasonably proud of myself over that. I riveted! I know it sounds silly but years ago I put it away and stopped working on it largely over fear that I'd screw it up if I tried riveting stuff to it...

The red button is snapped off in such a way that even the little metal collar underneath is broken, which is bumming me out. I'll probably just leave it that way and go with a "battle damaged" look or something. I'm an obstinate kinda guy and don't really want to make an ANH/ESB faithful saber that looks like everybody else's faithful reproduction.. ;-)

[Forgetful Jedi Knight]

The PVC saber looks good so far.

[Dethlore]

I used the same part as you for the base of the hilt. haha hard not to - it already looked like it was supposed to be on a saber instead of a sprinkler system :)
I've found some funny tube that fits perfect inside 3/4" thick wall pvc, and 1" fits perfect inside 1.25" thick wall pvc. If you can shave the 3/4" OD just ever so slightly, it will fit perfect inside the 1" thick wall pvc. (Haven't tried 1" thin wall yet... that might work too) And I think this could open a whole slew of possibilities to some pretty snazzy pvc designs! You'd be able to use a lathe or something and make smooth transitions from one layer to the next. ALMOST like milling out a solid round stock of PVC, except you can deliberately leave open sections inside for components.