My first saber build for my sith character Darth Malefica

[Tahn Zelik]

Being a woman and not having overly large hands I have always been frustrated with the large grip size of most light sabers I've seen. Also most of the dark themed stuff mostly seems too clunky and massive. So I decided to design something that fits my hand well and has a certain degree of elegance while still feeling fairly dark.

And I'm pleased to say that ( at least for me) my results are just what I set out to do. I still need to order a crystal focus board and a few internal parts yet. I have also built an internal chassis with a crystal but I'll post photos of that once the electronics are installed.

The main parts are TCSS components which I have modified a bit. I also used various brass parts and a rosewood ring which I hand carved for mounting the activation and aux buttons on.

Anyway here are a few photos of the saber in its current state:

http://i1159.photobucket.com/albums/p632/Gwenydd/Mobile%20Uploads/DD4CEC35-1655-4978-BD01-0770D9EC20FB_zpspkm9kjrr.jpg (http://s1159.photobucket.com/user/Gwenydd/media/Mobile%20Uploads/DD4CEC35-1655-4978-BD01-0770D9EC20FB_zpspkm9kjrr.jpg.html)

http://i1159.photobucket.com/albums/p632/Gwenydd/Mobile%20Uploads/46711C14-739E-459D-A4BC-822674D57777_zpskaphum40.jpg (http://s1159.photobucket.com/user/Gwenydd/media/Mobile%20Uploads/46711C14-739E-459D-A4BC-822674D57777_zpskaphum40.jpg.html)

http://i1159.photobucket.com/albums/p632/Gwenydd/Mobile%20Uploads/6C7CF8FB-77DC-4894-AA63-C951F7EBC349_zps5r2xddru.jpg (http://s1159.photobucket.com/user/Gwenydd/media/Mobile%20Uploads/6C7CF8FB-77DC-4894-AA63-C951F7EBC349_zps5r2xddru.jpg.html)

[AckAck]

That's beautiful, and very Sithy. Very well done!

[Silver Serpent]

Intriguing. I am curious how you mounted those bits on the emitter? Did you use epoxy?

[Ackocin]

This is beautiful. The rosewood really sets it apart and the emitter is awesome. I've been toying with similar design issues trying to plan a build for my son. Can't wait to see this with the internals finished.

[Starwinder]

Really cool look! I like all the custom bits you did with the blade holder. And the wood really sets it apart too!

[MandoJoe]

Wow. Those claws are...oddly not claw-like. I love it. The wood is gorgeous as well. I'm curious how the extension feels as a hand grip. As a guy with small-ish hands, I've considered it.

[amwolf]

Very nice. I like the greeblies a lot, understated but add a lot of character... and the wood trim is fantastic.

[Tahn Zelik]

That's beautiful, and very Sithy. Very well done!

Thank you!

[Tahn Zelik]

Intriguing. I am curious how you mounted those bits on the emitter? Did you use epoxy?


No, I used a jeweler's piercing saw and cut three small channels into the blade holder about 3/16" deep and just wide enough for the three blade parts to fit snugly into. Then I used a rectangular punch and a small hammer to force the parts into the slots. This also had the effect of slightly spreading them into the slots making them fit tightly. Essentially they're inlaid... No glue needed =)

[Tahn Zelik]

Wow. Those claws are...oddly not claw-like. I love it. The wood is gorgeous as well. I'm curious how the extension feels as a hand grip. As a guy with small-ish hands, I've considered it.

Thanks for the kind words. The long choke is a perfect fit for my hand and I love the feel of the extension piece for a left hand grip... Still fairly small and the fluting gives it a nice positive grip.

[snilam]

Nice build! Your jewelry making skills really helped you make a unique saber. Post more pics after you get your electronics installed

[Quixotic Jedi]

Really intrigued by that rosewood switch enclosure.

[Tahn Zelik]

I decided to go ahead and post a WIP photo of the work I'm doing on the internals. The second photo shows it assembled with the kill plug installed.

http://i1159.photobucket.com/albums/p632/Gwenydd/Mobile%20Uploads/3618EC28-DCA1-41E9-AEB1-D5FE2D97A9AA_zpsms7rsqeg.jpg (http://s1159.photobucket.com/user/Gwenydd/media/Mobile%20Uploads/3618EC28-DCA1-41E9-AEB1-D5FE2D97A9AA_zpsms7rsqeg.jpg.html)
http://i1159.photobucket.com/albums/p632/Gwenydd/Mobile%20Uploads/4D32367D-CED2-4A2D-B4B1-16E88D3FDABB_zpscggvjykt.jpg (http://s1159.photobucket.com/user/Gwenydd/media/Mobile%20Uploads/4D32367D-CED2-4A2D-B4B1-16E88D3FDABB_zpscggvjykt.jpg.html)

[cannibal869]

No, I used a jeweler's piercing saw and cut three small channels into the blade holder about 3/16" deep and just wide enough for the three blade parts to fit snugly into. Then I used a rectangular punch and a small hammer to force the parts into the slots. This also had the effect of slightly spreading them into the slots making them fit tightly. Essentially they're inlaid... No glue needed =)

whoa... nice work! I'm diggin' all of the greeblies.
:cool:

[AckAck]

That is a nice crystal chamber! I really like it.

[Quixotic Jedi]

Am I the only one that doesn't see enough room for a soundcard, battery or speaker? I suppose you can fit a battery in the choke, but that still leaves a sounds card and speaker.

[Tahn Zelik]

It's a tight fit but I'll be able to fit a crystal focus card and color extender below the crystal chamber, a pair of 18500 batteries in the choke and a standard speaker with a bit of space for a sound chamber in the pommel. I did all the measurements and math before I started =)

[Forgetful Jedi Knight]

It's a tight fit but I'll be able to fit a crystal focus card and color extender below the crystal chamber, a pair of 18500 batteries in the choke and a standard speaker with a bit of space for a sound chamber in the pommel. I did all the measurements and math before I started =)

In the saber you have pictured? How big is that bottom section again?

[Tahn Zelik]

In the saber you have pictured? How big is that bottom section again?

The fluted extension is 4" long.

I have 56mm from the bottom of the crystal plate to the inside surface of the chassis bottom - the CF board is 51.4mm long. The width of the CF board is 23.5mm which is right about the same distance between the center lines of the chassis supports. I might possibly have to thin part of the thicker inside surfaces of those supports to get enough room but that's not a problem if I need to. And I have right at 2cm between the bottom of the chassis and the end of the pommel in which to mount the speaker. Maybe not quite as much room as I'd like but it'll work ok.

[Johannes Huber]

Really like the design. As a person with a short grip, I'm also a big fan of the long style 3 choke (built my first saber with one) Very nice design with the very interesting addition of wood as alternative design element (I'm really starting to want to add wood to the materials I use after seeing this and a few other sabers). The one thing you need to check is that there is enough room for the wires in the choke with the big 18500 batteries, I found it an incredibly tight fit. If not, you could file a channel for them but I don't know how much metal there is at the center (presumably the thinnest part of the choke). I do know that the 14500 will fit into the choke if you can figure out a way to keep it stable in there. Again grat work and great design!

[Tahn Zelik]

Thanks for the positive feedback and for the advice Johannes =)

[HugeC]

Looks really great!

[Tahn Zelik]

So I damaged one of the chassis supports while working on it and then decided to redesign the chassis completely using an aluminum tube. Here's what I have so far including a quick and dirty test of illuminating the crystal. I am able to run at least 4 wires through each of the three aluminum tubes you see in the crystal chamber so I shouldn't have any wires showing there. You can see the wires for the activation and aux buttons coming out of one of the tubes.

http://i1159.photobucket.com/albums/p632/Gwenydd/Mobile%20Uploads/BF4FC35C-4023-4B40-99C2-B427DB6AB991_zpsvgnpgcku.jpg (http://s1159.photobucket.com/user/Gwenydd/media/Mobile%20Uploads/BF4FC35C-4023-4B40-99C2-B427DB6AB991_zpsvgnpgcku.jpg.html)
http://i1159.photobucket.com/albums/p632/Gwenydd/Mobile%20Uploads/333D4495-AADE-43FF-B09B-1F26C92566ED_zpsxrdsyyxz.jpg (http://s1159.photobucket.com/user/Gwenydd/media/Mobile%20Uploads/333D4495-AADE-43FF-B09B-1F26C92566ED_zpsxrdsyyxz.jpg.html)
http://i1159.photobucket.com/albums/p632/Gwenydd/Mobile%20Uploads/D474E4E5-C384-4A98-B69A-32F047D16948_zpsacrhfzj6.jpg (http://s1159.photobucket.com/user/Gwenydd/media/Mobile%20Uploads/D474E4E5-C384-4A98-B69A-32F047D16948_zpsacrhfzj6.jpg.html)

[Quixotic Jedi]

Very interested to see how you wire this up. It's going to get really tight in there, especially if you're running a Cex.

[hazydavy]

Awesome design....elegant yet deadly. :)

Wish I had your skillz.... :)

[Tahn Zelik]

Very interested to see how you wire this up. It's going to get really tight in there, especially if you're running a Cex.

I guess we'll see soon.

Maybe I should call you Sancho Panza =P

[Noyl Wendor]

Very cool build. I dig ;)

[Tahn Zelik]

I added a greeblie between the wiring conduits on the hilt as well as a trans-illuminated 4 segment power level indicator on the lower grip area. Also made a few tweaks to the crystal chamber to improve appearance. You can see the filed down tops of the PLI LEDs on the removable chassis door. The door will be held in place with two magnets.

http://i1159.photobucket.com/albums/p632/Gwenydd/Mobile%20Uploads/F8DE37C3-C230-4FA2-90EC-4B9137005A9B_zpsbkzvvbet.jpg (http://s1159.photobucket.com/user/Gwenydd/media/Mobile%20Uploads/F8DE37C3-C230-4FA2-90EC-4B9137005A9B_zpsbkzvvbet.jpg.html)
http://i1159.photobucket.com/albums/p632/Gwenydd/Mobile%20Uploads/CE13523E-6D97-4AD2-B3D3-D63F300445DE_zpsuwp9przh.jpg (http://s1159.photobucket.com/user/Gwenydd/media/Mobile%20Uploads/CE13523E-6D97-4AD2-B3D3-D63F300445DE_zpsuwp9przh.jpg.html)
http://i1159.photobucket.com/albums/p632/Gwenydd/Mobile%20Uploads/99046A79-1272-429F-8DD6-84195C74CFAE_zps8yfh60hp.jpg (http://s1159.photobucket.com/user/Gwenydd/media/Mobile%20Uploads/99046A79-1272-429F-8DD6-84195C74CFAE_zps8yfh60hp.jpg.html)

[Zacharyah]

That's a good-looking saber. I'm rather partial to the concept of building a weapon that fits the wielder instead of trying to adjust one's style to a standard weapon concept. Great build!

[Tahn Zelik]

That's a good-looking saber. I'm rather partial to the concept of building a weapon that fits the wielder instead of trying to adjust one's style to a standard weapon concept. Great build!

Thanks =)

[Johannes Huber]

You know, I was thinking about how you could wire the CEX and a PC /CF and I wonder if you could stack them vertically behind the crystal chamber by modifying some of the chassis acrylic disks with a file to hold them. The speaker may be a tight fit, but if you can run the wires through some of the pipes in the crystal chamber and then to the batteries in the long choke and use those momentary switches that appear to be in the wood section it might work. The two problems might be (depending on the heatsink you use) the momentary switches running into the the heatsink (I did this once and frantic heatsink filing ensued...) and how to stuff in a recharge port. One possible option would be to not have a recharge port but have the batteries accessible by unscrewing the blade holder and having them on a JST (unpluggable) connection to the sound card and a second JST connection to the CEX. I've never tried this, but it might work. I would suggest checking with Forgetful Jedi Knight and/or Silver serpent before trying this, they're incredibly knowledgeable and helpful (or with Mr. Plector, who is, needless to say, also incredibly knowledgeable and helpful). I know that the JST plug to the main board seems to work (I did need a JST adapter on my recharge unit) because I did that once and nothing exploded ;) but I don't know how it would do with the CEX added to the mix and the wiring will be a little crowded but... Will look forward to seeing your final approach to it. Long choke fans unite! :)
Zacharayah, I think you have a good point: If I recall, each Jedi/Sith/etc designs and builds their own saber so it only makes sense that it would fit to their particular physical, psychological and methodological requirements... Makes for some very interesting thinking about designing sabers...

[Tahn Zelik]

Johannes,

Definitely some good thoughts there, thanks. Though I actually took most of this into account in my basic design.

The reason the tactile switches are mounted on the wooden ring is to prevent any interference with the heat sink and the threading at the joint there. The switches are entirely external to the choke part and do not extend inside. The reason for the two aluminum tubes below the wooden ring is to allow me to run the switch wiring into the hilt below the heat sink. And I already have all these parts installed now... The LED die, heat sink, switches and wiring for batteries, LED, and switches are all already in place now. The only parts not installed now are the batteries, the CF board, the color extender board, the speaker, and a single RGB LED to illuminate the crystal. Though it's a snug fit, there is now room for a pair of 18500 batteries in the choke. And there is plenty of room in the lower part of the hilt, below the crystal chamber to install the two PCBs and a speaker at the lower end. I should have no trouble keeping the recharge port where it is. Of course I will need to keep my wiring nice and neat but I don't anticipate any real problems. Of course now that I said that I'm sure something unexpected and very silly will crop up at the last minute.

I really do appreciate the input though and am certainly not above asking for advice if feel I need it. I'll be sure to post photos of the installation once I have all the parts. Hopefully I really have planned as well as I think I have =)

And I too agree with your comments on saber design philosophy. I think a lightsaber should be a reflection of, and complementary to, the one creating and wielding it.

[Tahn Zelik]

I just posted some photos in the stickied costume thread of me in my Sith Lord costume. My partner shot them for me today on our way back home to the bay area from the Northern reaches of California.

[Tahn Zelik]

I wanted to add a few interesting details on the chassis so I did a bit of engraving with a hammer and chisel...

http://i1159.photobucket.com/albums/p632/Gwenydd/Mobile%20Uploads/03621F91-B683-4649-A446-2E474336A47B_zpsstpwstev.jpg (http://s1159.photobucket.com/user/Gwenydd/media/Mobile%20Uploads/03621F91-B683-4649-A446-2E474336A47B_zpsstpwstev.jpg.html)
http://i1159.photobucket.com/albums/p632/Gwenydd/Mobile%20Uploads/484596E3-2ADF-4AEF-83D5-C829C0D2D76E_zpsvtyx4guj.jpg (http://s1159.photobucket.com/user/Gwenydd/media/Mobile%20Uploads/484596E3-2ADF-4AEF-83D5-C829C0D2D76E_zpsvtyx4guj.jpg.html)

[Tahn Zelik]

For those concerned about space for wiring my saber here are a couple shots of my wiring ready to install the CF and CEX boards. Leads with a yellow quick tie are for the batteries, red is the high power LEDs, and white are the two switches. The recharge port is pulled out in the photo but you can see the hole for it at the bottom of the chassis.

http://i1159.photobucket.com/albums/p632/Gwenydd/Mobile%20Uploads/A52B4EB2-A3E1-4C00-AD65-792A8CEB2F7F_zpswqicjlyf.jpg (http://s1159.photobucket.com/user/Gwenydd/media/Mobile%20Uploads/A52B4EB2-A3E1-4C00-AD65-792A8CEB2F7F_zpswqicjlyf.jpg.html)
http://i1159.photobucket.com/albums/p632/Gwenydd/Mobile%20Uploads/1DC86E0F-0A36-438D-BEC8-660365C1B647_zpsy8mru505.jpg (http://s1159.photobucket.com/user/Gwenydd/media/Mobile%20Uploads/1DC86E0F-0A36-438D-BEC8-660365C1B647_zpsy8mru505.jpg.html)