LED + Replica Graflex

[petriomelony]

Has anyone used the Graflex LED blade holder in a Sinktube that's been turned into a replica graflex? I'm thinking of making a replica graflex, but also wanted to have a nice LED blade with it, and it would also reduce the need to construct an emitter piece.

So yea... do you think it would work? Or would i need to go with the sinktube LED blade holder?

[Lord Maul]

yup, it could be done if you found a sink tube with the right ID for the blade holder. someone on here has done it, i think it might of been jonitus

[petriomelony]

thanks for the quick reply :) do you (or does anyone else) happen to know the OD of the graflex LED blade holder? i guess i could just order one and just try fitting it at the hardware store...

also, if anyone has built a graflex replica, is it better to use some sort of industrial grade tubing like some sites suggest or a simple sink tailpiece?

[Lord Maul]

for your blade holder are you using this (http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/pc-668-35-led-graflex-adapter.aspx)? if so, it doesn't come with the bunny ears and stuff and i have no clue how you would make them.
are you dead set on graflex or would you be okay just using the ani conversion kit (http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/pc-750-25-mr-anakin-conversion-kit.aspx)? i think that that would be easier for all concerned even though slightly less accurate.

[petriomelony]

yea, that's the one i was thinking of using... i just realized that the bunny ears are attached to the replica emitter, though there is another way to attach the ears without the emitter ring... except that will create a problem because there will be screws and metal on the inside of the tube, reducing the ID, at least at a small area.

would it be possible to grind down a little of the blade holder in that case to make it fit? like a slot to slide it in, kinda, or would that be a bad idea...

i suppose i could find a way to attach the ears on the outside of the tube instead, using glue or something, though less secure.

here's a picture of the ears
http://members.aol.com/ctlawmore/g2/real5.jpg
and the inside
http://members.aol.com/ctlawmore/g2/real6.jpg

[jjshumpert]

well first off if your doing a replica graflex then using that method of fins will leave a large open space in the s curve. the fins are supposed to be the ends of a ring inside the s curve that bolt to a H cutout on the top of the hilt. the blade holder would acutally fit behind this ring and would be spaced by rubber sleeve that would seat inside of the fin ring... ill upload some pics later of the originals when myspace quits lagging

http://a661.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/22/l_4e4b60b3fc813f4d8f56e16de53cbd24.gif
http://a524.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/20/l_009c79880d7092051c462d733a5a566b.jpg

[Ryma Mara]

http://community-2.webtv.net/MDChubb/SabreCraft/page6.html

[LAN-ED-TUL]

i made sinkpipe graflexs, a solid one parter, and a actual midband, bottom and top. fabbed up the ring and ears as one piece, then curved the ring. i used the patterns from graflica to make mine.


on the other hand, i have installed a led holder in a REAL graflex, it was a plain one, and not tims new one, which i beleive could be turned down to fit inside a real graflex if its a lil to big. i dont know on that one, but tim would.

used a hasbro board to run it with sound. if it were me, and i was going to make another scratch made graflex, i would get the right size in dairy pipe, like the pipes we have here at bama that carry all the liquids for the dough making and such.

use that, and follow graflicas patterns and instruction, and you will have a really nice and durable hilt to run a led in and duel with.

thats just me, but check out online metals for some stainless pipe in the right ID and OD

[Jonitus]

If you want to use the Graflex emitter and cut your own Graflex, I would suggest 1.5" OD, 0.065 wall stainless steel tubing from Onlinemetals.com. Then, find yourself a good Graflex template for the holes and cuts, and you should be well on your way to making something nice.

[petriomelony]

mkay, thanks to everyone for the replies :) especially for the diameter measurement, and pictures, those are super.

LAN, did you use the graflica technique for the midband? i guess i have to be careful when reshaping the cut piece of tube to make sure it stays nice and round... i'm also having trouble finding parts for the actual clamp, though i'll keep looking (i guess the hardware stores feel that we Canadians don't need as many hardware supplies as Americans :P)

and you said you made the ears and ring in one piece... the site has the ears separate, right? was it a lot harder to shape the thing properly with it all together? (i presume you still made the smaller middle bits separate from the large ring)

Oh, and that reminds me... I was looking for 1.5" diameter solder-type extension tube (where most of the tube is 1.5" and then the end has about an inch and a bit designed to have another 1.5" OD tube inserted into it) and was thinking of using a couple of those larger bits for the midband, cuz then i wouldn't need to do reshaping and such cuz it's meant to fit around. except it's kinda difficult... i scoured quite a few brooklyn plumbing stores when i was in the area, and i came up with one that fit the specs i needed... most of them were raw brass or 1.25" or slipjoint :(

and thank you for the clarification about the placement of the emitter, jj... i thought that the blade holder was gonna stick out and look like the ring part, but now i see what it actually is like... do you think that the Graflica technique of making the ring/ears would work for my purposes? it looks alright to me at the moment, but maybe not.

oh, and the rubber sleeve is to create space between... the blade and the metal ring? or the metal ring and the emitter? or what? i wasn't so clear on that part of the post.

thanks again, everyone (and sorry about my constant questioning/etc)

[edit] Jonitus, with that ID (1.37"), you're *sure* the emitter will fit? I saw a site saying that the ID of a graflex was 1.16 or something o_O but i'm definitely thinking your answer is a little more real at this moment. the other guy's measurements kinda feel like republic credits.

[Lord Maul]

i'm also having trouble finding parts for the actual clamp, though i'll keep looking

try graflexshop for the clamp parts. :wink:

[xwingband]

i'm also having trouble finding parts for the actual clamp, though i'll keep looking

try graflexshop for the clamp parts. :wink:

Why? they have none of that. "king of parts" on ebay usually has some.

Just little tidbits now... Yes, tow pieces is correct for the ears. It's bent to keep them in tension with each other.

The Graflex is slightly larger than an MHS and less than a sinktube so I'd say Jonitus is correct.

[petriomelony]

hmm, i saw some links on the net saying that one guy "Gavidoc" had perfect instructions for making the clamp, but none of the links work for this... does anyone have a copy of the instructions or anything? hrm...

[LAN-ED-TUL]

mkay, thanks to everyone for the replies :) especially for the diameter measurement, and pictures, those are super.

LAN, did you use the graflica technique for the midband? i guess i have to be careful when reshaping the cut piece of tube to make sure it stays nice and round... i'm also having trouble finding parts for the actual clamp, though i'll keep looking (i guess the hardware stores feel that we Canadians don't need as many hardware supplies as Americans :P)

and you said you made the ears and ring in one piece... the site has the ears separate, right? was it a lot harder to shape the thing properly with it all together? (i presume you still made the smaller middle bits separate from the large ring)

Oh, and that reminds me... I was looking for 1.5" diameter solder-type extension tube (where most of the tube is 1.5" and then the end has about an inch and a bit designed to have another 1.5" OD tube inserted into it) and was thinking of using a couple of those larger bits for the midband, cuz then i wouldn't need to do reshaping and such cuz it's meant to fit around. except it's kinda difficult... i scoured quite a few brooklyn plumbing stores when i was in the area, and i came up with one that fit the specs i needed... most of them were raw brass or 1.25" or slipjoint :(

and thank you for the clarification about the placement of the emitter, jj... i thought that the blade holder was gonna stick out and look like the ring part, but now i see what it actually is like... do you think that the Graflica technique of making the ring/ears would work for my purposes? it looks alright to me at the moment, but maybe not.

oh, and the rubber sleeve is to create space between... the blade and the metal ring? or the metal ring and the emitter? or what? i wasn't so clear on that part of the post.

thanks again, everyone (and sorry about my constant questioning/etc)

[edit] Jonitus, with that ID (1.37"), you're *sure* the emitter will fit? I saw a site saying that the ID of a graflex was 1.16 or something o_O but i'm definitely thinking your answer is a little more real at this moment. the other guy's measurements kinda feel like republic credits.




i tried but it was darn hard to make one look right, so i ended up getting a replica clamp from romansempireproductions.com

he has them, and if your doin a ep. 4 obi- hes got all the parts to make a hilt with, not one you can el or led with though.

or try lookin on ebay for clamps, youd be alot better off gettin one than tryin to make it, trust me it was difficult to get the bends right, and when it come out, it was slightly warped lookin. so save some greif, buy a replica clamp.


and yes i modded the pattern. the graflica pattern i used had the band in the middle connecting the ears. i had to mod the length till it come out right. but yes, i ciut it out as one entire piece of sheet metal, then using a round object pulled it around it causing it to curve a lil at a time till it was almost a circle. then bent the ears up at a 90 degree at the right spots, finished the curving to get the band right.

then just bent the lil tabs over on each ear. drilled the holes throu them.

then you just squeeze then together shove it up thro the h hole. align and stick a rivot or whatever through there and the tubes holes. and you just made a full band and ears in one piece.


i know what hes sayin on the blade holder and rubber thing. but on real graflex, there is no rubber ring there, its actually a piece of steel.

look at a real graflex ears section. one ear has this spring like piece curving round, and the other has that wide piece with edges bent over sides slightly. when together, you squeeze the ears, and the wide piece pushes out against the spring piece.

thats a real one. on mine i sunk the holder down in the emiiter end far enough and i drilled the center out of a real graflex end core piece. my blade holder butts up on inside against this real drilled out core part. so when blade is in, and turned on, you see the blade light up through the glass eye. cool lookin effect. but this was with a EL setup.

on my led real graflex i left the holder flush with the bottom edge of the S curve. the ears are free swinging.

i put blade in by squeezing the ears, sliding blade through the ring, down into the blade holder and let go, then tighten my blade tension bolt.

works great for me.

[Jonitus]

I've got one of Tim's Graflex LED holders for a Graflex I got as a gift from a loyal customer of mine and it fits kind of sloppy in the Graflex. By measuring, the wall thickness of the Graflex I have is right around 0.035.

Looking at onlinemetals.com, the closest thing that would maybe fit decent would be the 1.5" OD, 0.049" wall stuff.

You could always ask Tim for the specific measurement of the Graflex LED holder to make sure you buy the right material to base your replica upon. I would recommend it, in fact.

When I recommended the 0.065" wall stuff, I may have been thinking about fitting the Anakin MR emitter to a tube.

Check with Tim.

[xwingband]

If your graflex was vintage it probably had more corrosion. Mine fit perfectly.