I will NEVER, EVER, do this again. >=[

[Kagetora]

I made this:

https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2911/14470189685_3d79740d48_s.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/o3Fvg4)

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5551/14469032304_49ab19c79f_s.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/o3zzdd)

UNFORTUNATELY, IT WAS AFTER THIS:

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3909/14283738377_df653bbcc7_s.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/nLcTMk)

I want to fall on the saber at this point. Or beat my head against the wall. I rolled that >insert expletive of your choice here< gift wrap 10 times. 10 TIMES. Trying to clean a blade beforehand...ARRRRGHHH! There is not a clean room on the planet dust-free enough for this task! Then I got one in there perfectly...AND SCREWED IT UP WITH TOO MUCH HOT GLUE!

I have more blades to make. When I am done with those, I AM DONE. Next time, I will just order completed blades. The frustration just isn't worth it. Especially after I play with these for a while, they get wrinkles in them, and I end up doing it again.

There is no point to this post. I just needed to vent. Badly. I love you guys, and all of the help given around here. But, AAAAHHHHH! Blade construction will turn me to the Dark Side...

:p

[RavenXp]

I figured it'd be like that, that's why I decided to buy a complete blade. Not going to bite off more than I can chew on my first build.

[Kagetora]

I figured it'd be like that, that's why I decided to buy a complete blade. Not going to bite off more than I can chew on my first build.

You were wiser than I.

I just have this thing about doing things myself. :-? Sometimes it comes back to bite me.

On the bright side, the SECOND one took only TWO tries. :D

https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2917/14467077761_742be01c9d_s.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/o3pycc)

[Twigz]

For what it's worth, it seems you did a fantastic job! Those are some great looking sabers, sir!

[Sidd]

For the record I hate making blades too, but I hate spending money just a little bit more so I make my own blades.

Here is a little blade making tutorial I wrote up some years ago I hope it helps


I suppose I should start with my building techniques.

You will need some simple supplies:
-Blade tube
-Blade tip
-cellophane gift wrap about 6 feet long by 40 inches wide
-Hot glue gun
-saw or tubing cutter-scissors
- 1/4 inch by 4 foot dowel rod

I always build my own blades, I don't mind it and some times its even kind of fun. I also cut them to a length that best suits my height and techniques. Usually I will cut them with my electric cut off saw since its quick and always makes a straight cut. The down side is that it puts sawdust into the blade. the easiest way I have found to clean the inside of the blade tubs is just take a wad of paper towel and force it through(I have a piece of steel conduit I use).

Then after the Tube is cut I will clean off the end with either a file or sand paper.

Now its time for the tip. Personally I like the bullet tips as it has more of a sword like shape to it. In order to get the tip to light up I drill a hole in the center of the mirror to let the light pass through it and illuminate the tip. This doesn't illuminate the tip as well as I would like, but it still looks pretty good in the dark.

Then of course you will need to glue the tip on to the blade tube. Lately I have been using super glue, but I would not recommend this. There are several good clear epoxies available(I just didn't have any) they should be able to stand up to heavy dueling.

After the blade is assembled I will sand down the end that goes into the blade holder to the point that its has a nice snug fit. Also you might want to stuff a bit of paper towel or shop rag or something into the end to keep sawdust out of the blade. Just keep in mind what ever you stick in the end you will need to be able to fish out with some needle nose pliers so don't jam it in too far or use so much material you plug it too tightly that when you are pulling it out it tears. As far as honing the blade end down I will use a flap wheel on my Dremel and keep test fitting it till it fits in the blade holder snug enough that I am happy. Keep in mind go slowly you can always take material off but its impossible to put it back.

Then after the blade fits into the holder the way I like and the tip is secured in place I will take a piece of fine grit sand paper 300 or more and lightly sand the entire outside of the blade. I find lightly sanding the outside helps avoid the "light in a tube" look where you just see the defuser on the inside with a tube around it. I prefer my blades to look like a single piece.

Now its time to remove that dust plug we put in earlier and cut the film. Personally I just use some clear cellophane gift wrapping, its cheap and works well. Now the key is to find a clean spot in your house where you can lay out the roll to wind it up to be inserted into the blade. Dust on the film make the blade sparkle.

I roll out about 3-5 feet of the cellophane depending if its a thin or thick walled blade and the color of the saber. to my eye it looks like about ~3 foot is the magic number but I know other people have differing opinions on this. After the film is rolled out and cut to length, i grab my trusty dowel rod. I think the one I have is 1/4 inch thick by like 4 feet long. I take the dowel and start rolling it up in the film till I have about 6 inches on, keep brushing it off with your hand to avoid dust and hairs from the carpet. Once I have that first 6 inches or so I will sit back to save my back and hold the dowel in the air horizontal with the ground and keep twisting it to roll of the rest, all the mean while brushing dust and hairs off the film.

Now that the film is all tightly wrapped around the dowel slide the dowel into the blade and twist it the other way to get the film off the dowel onto the walls of the blade. Pull the dowel out and then tape the tip of the blade against the ground the get it all seated properly. Unless you are using a 40 inch blade there should be some film sticking out the end. Now you will want to take note of where the end of the blade is on film and then slide it out about 1/2 an inch and cut. Now take a hot glue gun and put a small bit of glue around the edge of the film inside the blade. I find the best way to get it to adhere to the walls evenly is to roll the blade between my hands to force the glue against the walls with centripetal force until the glue is cooled.


Now you have a completed blade to terrorize your friends and family with, enjoy.

[Kagetora]

Thanks, Twigz and Sidd. :)

Sidd, I read your tutorial (I thinks its one of the stickied ones?), but the problem for me was just...practice, I think. The problems I had:

--finding a dowel straight enough to wrap evenly
--getting the gift wrap started evenly on the dowel without any corner folds or wrinkles or anything
--wrapping the film perfectly even with the end of the dowel
--not putting too much film in the wrap
--keeping it all clean in a house with two cats
--unrolling the wrap slowly and evenly in the tube
--tapping everything enough to align it, WITHOUT crinkling it at the end
--getting overly aggressive with the hot glue gun

In the end, I used up an entire 100' roll of clear gift wrap and came out with five blades...the two full-sized thick-walled blades I already posted a pic of, two 30" blades for when I connect the hilts thusly:

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3852/14471968334_6340746b3f_s.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/o3QBZq)

And a single thin-walled show blade. I had a second show blade to do, but ran out of gift wrap...after trying twice with it.

It was weird...sometimes the blade would just, well, come together. The film would roll on evenly, unroll off the dowel nicely in the blade, and light tapping would align everything perfectly. Other times I couldn't have wound it on the dowel evenly with heavy machinery and the Force, the film would stick to itself (static buildup?) while unrolling, wouldn't even budge while tapping the blade tip (or even slamming it on the floor, lol), etc. I would end up yanking it out and starting over. I tried many times to get these failures wound back on the dowel for realignment...sometimes I could get them to rewind, but only one time did I actually manage to pull one out, salvage it, and get it inserted properly.

In the end, for the five blades, I went through the 100' of wrap, 20+ attempts, 7 hours of my time, and every last shred of my patience. And I still have one blade to finish. :-?

I also screwed up 3 of the tips. I was trying to make them light up a bit. I trimmed the outside edge of one reflective disc, drilled a hole in the middle of another, drilled a few smaller holes through a third...in the end, they all look odd. Wrong. The tips light up all the way to the edge, unlike the poly tubes, so it looks like a mushroom sitting on top of a stick. Or a penis. :shock: So now I'll have to make another order to get a few new reflective discs at some point. The tips aren't permanently attached yet, so fortunately I can pop them off and replace the discs, then permanently attach them.

Anyway, the trials and tribulations of the padawan. I only lost my temper a couple times, and I didn't break anything. ;)

[Sidd]

Practice is your friend and go slowly


yes finding a straight dowel is harder than it should be :(

my secret for the lighted tips is us the mirror for the 3/4 inch blades on the one inch blades

[Jay-gon Jinn]

Here's another tutorial you might want to look at...it has pictures: http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com/showthread.php?7274-How-to-construct-an-LED-Blade-%28or-at-least-how-I-do-it%29

An alternative to dowel rods is polycarb tubing in a smaller size....for 1" blades 3/4" polycarb blade stock works well for rolling polypropylene film (clear gift wrap).