PDA

View Full Version : Twigz' "Nemo"



Twigz
06-16-2014, 02:53 AM
Hello all! It's been a while since I've posted anything. Here goes. This will be the third lightsaber I will have constructed, as well as the most difficult (for me, anyway). The hilt will be based off of a 1.25" sink tube, and be littered with what shroud work and ideas I have to offer. I'm going to be etching, cutting, drilling, tapping, sanding, and soldering my project every which way to get what is currently stuck in my head. Now, my dremel-fu and soldering skills are pretty sub-par, due to my shaky hands, but I'm going to do my best to fix what I can. I'll also do my best to keep this thread picture heavy, seeing as I'm not too great at keeping text interesting. :P> The picture below is a very rough sketch of what I plan to create. I apologize for my MSPaint skills being a little sub-par, as well. xD>
10137

I'll be using a 1.25" sink tube, a 1.5" sink tube, an MHS sleeve, some old sleeve material, an MHS to 1.25" adapter, and O-rings to create this.
10138

The electronics are just a standard stunt set-up: a cyan lux rebel with a 1000ma buckpuck that runs off of 4 AA's.
Today I managed to cut my middle shroud out, though I plan on removing the chrome finish from the pipe to reveal the brass and need to fix the odd edges and mishaps.
10139

Twigz
06-17-2014, 03:26 PM
Today I got around to removing the brass and fixing my edges a bit on the middle shroud,
1014310144

Forgetful Jedi Knight
06-17-2014, 03:28 PM
Good work so far! ;)

Twigz
06-19-2014, 01:40 PM
Thanks FJK! (sorry, didn't see your post earlier)


Had time for some more work on the shroud today. I ran into a small design flaw: the shroud wouldn't fit over the O-rings neatly (O-rings were too large).
10149

Therefore, I split the shroud one way and cut out another piece of sink to somewhat close the gap (to make it more comfortable to grip all around).
10150

I sanded the chrome off of this piece as well, and epoxied it to my hilt.
10151

There is much more to come later- hopefully tomorrow I can get started on the emitter piece shaping (maybe even get started on some of the etching).

Twigz
06-21-2014, 01:18 AM
This was a decently (saber)productive day! My friend and I managed to solder the guts today and got a sneak peak at what the blade color will look like (got a Cyan rebel).
10152

Other than that, we decided on a very basic design for our bottom sleeve and did some etching.
1015310154

Now I just need to shape/etch the emitter piece (unsure as to when I will do so) and start attaching what I can to the main hilt. Let the first drill and tap saber session of my lifetime begin.

Twigz
06-22-2014, 03:01 AM
Made a bit more definite progress today, drilled and tapped for the first time ever and attached my pommel to the rear of the saber, as well as my clip.
1015510156

Tomorrow I hope to sure the electronics and blade holder in, as long as my drill doesn't crap out on me. xD> Still unsure as to when I will cut and install the emitter shroud.

Askew Wai
06-22-2014, 04:02 AM
I like this so far! The last photo has a post-apocalyptic feel to it. The second-last looks more high-tech. I look forward to seeing where you go with this.

Twigz
06-22-2014, 01:06 PM
Thanks, Askew! The saber is built off an idea of an old, sort of 'ancient' saber that an old Jedi Master had left behind. Rather than simply weathering it, I wanted the pieces to look somewhat dated, but still containing the power of a lightsaber. I'm not sure how I feel about it being used in duels, as I prefer smaller hilts, but I will more than likely be satisfied in it being a saber for show.

Twigz
06-24-2014, 11:18 AM
Hello, all!
The past few days have been a bit crazy, so I was unable to upload progress as soon as possible. The following will be the last set of photos during the build before I post photos of the complete saber.
What was left was to cut and etch my emitter, and drill and tap the rest into place. Unfortunately, my phone died before I could take a photo of the drilling and tapping. xD> Here is the emitter work!
I planned on the 1.25" sinktube having revealed brass as well, so I did that while my friend helped me cut out my emitter.
10177
Once I finished sanding all the chrome off of that section, we used nailpolish, tape, and rubber bands to create our etching resist.
1017810179
Once it dried, the piece was off to a late night etching session.
1018010181

The following morning, we drilled the switch hole and installed our electronics, drilled and tapped the emitter piece to the top of the hilt, and drilled and tapped a hole for the blade retention screw. As I mentioned before, my phone died before I could document any of this with photos. Final build photos will be up soon!

Twigz
06-24-2014, 11:56 AM
It is done! I've certainly learned a decent amount from this build concerning sink tube sabers and the such. I definitely need to improve on the dremel fu, but there will definitely be time for that. I also think it would be a good idea to utilize a drill press the next time. xD> Enough talk, here are the final build pictures!

10182

10183

10184

10185

10186

Twigz
06-24-2014, 11:58 AM
(final build pics continued)

10187

10188

10189

A big thank you to the wonderful members and information I've discovered on this site, as well as to the one good friend who helped me through most of the build!

Silver Serpent
06-24-2014, 12:21 PM
The saber is built off an idea of an old, sort of 'ancient' saber that an old Jedi Master had left behind. Rather than simply weathering it, I wanted the pieces to look somewhat dated, but still containing the power of a lightsaber.

I think you totally nailed it. It's got a solid mix of sinktube and MHS parts, good looking weathering from the etch. The brass is going to age wonderfully from the oils in your hands, so it's just going to look better with time.

Dethlore
06-24-2014, 03:05 PM
Fantastic work! Think the etching will work on my PVC? :D maybe acetone or something....

Twigz
06-25-2014, 03:01 AM
Thanks, guys!

I think you totally nailed it. It's got a solid mix of sinktube and MHS parts, good looking weathering from the etch. The brass is going to age wonderfully from the oils in your hands, so it's just going to look better with time.
I really hope so! I'm very glad and actually a little relieved that someone can actually see the concept I tried to express. :P>
Dethlore, I used saltwater etching (used for metals usually) to etch my parts, so I'm not sure it would do much of anything to PVC. However, I definitely think it would be cooler if you found a technique to perform that sort of thing to PVC! That would be pretty awesome for grip/shroud work and the such.

Silver Serpent
06-25-2014, 04:30 AM
Etching PVC with acetone? Well, it'll certainly eat into the PVC, but I have no idea what you could use as a resist. Any adhesive would dissolve quickly, as would paints.

georgestanley032
07-29-2014, 04:39 PM
Congrats on finishing it. Amazing work! How long did it take for you to finish this?

Twigz
08-01-2014, 12:39 PM
Thank you! It was probably a solid week with my friend, late nights and such. It really wasn't as complicated as I thought it would be, and honestly only took about 2 days planning in my head. xD>