Noob questions for my first saber build

[darth.maledous]

Hi everyone. I'm building my first saber as part of a Father/Daughter project and we had a couple of questions. Please forgive me if this has been covered before..

1. What's the difference between TCSS sink tubes and the sleeving material that they offer? Which is better for making blade shrouds, grips, etc. ?

2, When using either a sink tube,or sleeving, for grips, are screws needed to hold it in place or does the pommel hold it?

3. When wiring up a 5mm RGB LED for a crystal chamber, for a saber that will have also have an RGB blade, is it OK to wire the 5mm LED in parallel with the blade LED ? I ask because I'm not comfortable with using one of those tiny resistors on the accent LED pad of the soundboard.

Thanks in advance,

Mike

[darth_chasm]

Sink tubes are just that, sink tubes. Thin nickel plated brass. Sleeve material is much thicker aluminum. I don't mind sink tubes for sleeves because it's thin and doesn't bulk up the handle much. I like the sleeve material for shrouds because it's thicker and has a more substantial presence. More durable too.

Screws, glue, magnets. Some type of fastener is going to be needed. I've seen many different solutions.

Short answer is yes, you can wire a crystal led in parallel with the blade.

[PhoenixHawk]

Welcome new guy....


1. The Sleeve tube is thicker then the sink tubes....and witch is better? .....to each his/her own. ;)

2. Yes, you will need screws to hold them in place.

3. Yes, many do that so the crystal chamber lights the same color as the blade....just make sure you use the right resistors or you will blow your LED's.

[darth.maledous]

Sink tubes are just that, sink tubes. Thin nickel plated brass. Sleeve material is much thicker aluminum. I don't mind sink tubes for sleeves because it's thin and doesn't bulk up the handle much. I like the sleeve material for shrouds because it's thicker and has a more substantial presence. More durable too.

Screws, glue, magnets. Some type of fastener is going to be needed. I've seen many different solutions.

Short answer is yes, you can wire a crystal led in parallel with the blade.

Thanks Darth_Chasm and Phoenix Hawk. I have some additional questions if you don't mind; My daughter wants to go for a StarKiller TFU build; I'm thinking since this is my first build ever, I'll use the shroud from a Graflex 2.0 scratch & dent kit from TCSS. What are the sizes/dimensions/diameters of the Graflex parts? Are any of the parts from the Graflex compatible with the MHS parts? Or, would it be better to just cut my own shroud from the TCSS sleeving material?

Thanks,
Mike

[minorhero]

It might be easier since this is your first build to use blade holder style 20 v1 or v2 for this kind of build.

[darth.maledous]

It might be easier since this is your first build to use blade holder style 20 v1 or v2 for this kind of build.

I thought of that, but, I I like the idea of the shroud because it goes past the emitter.

[darth.maledous]

I was able to get the custom shroud work taken care of.. actually, we're gonna practice, practice, practice, on some PVC first. I do have another question; if I wanted to use the MHS activation box 3 or 6 on the back of the shroud, and have the shroud wrap around both blade holder style 1 and the MHS v-grooved ribbed extension; would I need to cut out a box section into both the extension and the shroud? Or could I get away with having a 16mm switch hole cut in the extension and a box section cut into the shroud? I hope I'm making sense..

thanks,

Mike