Sink tube durability

[Spiritchaser]

After building a few sabers for the kids, I've decided to make myself one too (of course it's a given that the kids will use/abuse it).

One requirement is minimal outside diameter of the grip. At 1.25" diameter, sink tube looks great, plus it has a large enough inside volume for the electrical bits I need.

A question though: will it be tough enough? Is the junction created between the sink tube and the mhs adapters with sink tube tough enough for a rough life?

The sabers I've made so far have been screwed together from 1" aluminum pipe. With the exception of some early polycarbonate end cap failures, these have been bombproof, even when my son decides to throw his saber at a tree. Even when he misses and hits the road.


Unfortunately this stuff is just too small inside for what I want to do.

Mhs v2 looks good on outside diameter, nice and small, but it too has a small inside diameter.

Any comments or suggestions appreciated

[JakeSoft]

I have built a few sink-tube based sabers with the 1.25 inch sink tube blade holder. I like them in general. It's practically an instant saber! Sabers built with them can be pretty durable, but you have to be very precise when drilling your holes in the sink tube so that they match the holes in the blade holder or adapter. If your holes in the sink tube are off or too big by even a little bit, you can get some slop when the blades clash because the blade holder will rattle a little bit inside the sink tube. It won't fall apart or anything, but it's not a nice feeling. Also, if you duel with them, tighten down the mounting screws really really well.

A little trick I've discovered is to cut the end of the sink tube with a pipe cutter and apply enough pressure during the process that the lip at the end of the tube will be curled inward slightly after the cut. Then file down the lip so that the blade holder just barely fits through. If you drill your holes so that the lip of the sink tube is flush with the blade holder then it'll stay super stable and you won't have any problems. Some sink tubes are better than others, even from the same manufacturer, so your mileage may vary.

TCSS used to pre-drill and tap holes in the 1.25" sink tube blade holder, but they stopped doing that at some point (I noticed it the last time I bought one). So, be aware that you'll have to drill and tap your own holes. It's a useful skill to learn anyway and the tap sets are sold right in the store.

I hope this helps. Good luck with your build.