Anikan / Obi Wan Synthesis

[hapki]

I am frustrated with my Temple Guard pike (http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com/showthread.php?21247-Temple-Guard-Pike&p=267891#post267891). This is supposed to be fun, so I'm taking a break from it to work on a different project.

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This looks like a synthesis of Annakin's and Obi Wan's sabers. I didn't really plan this saber. It just sorta happened. I used aluminum black for the weathering. (I didn't do it right, because the black stuff kept rubbing off. I finally just sprayed it with matte clear spray paint.)

I need to create a card to go in the activation box, and that's probably going to involve two tactile switches. I don't know what I'll do about a kill switch or R.I.C.E. port yet. I probably won't use a R.I.C.E., and may have an internal kill switch / charge port.

As for the sound board, I have an unused Crystal Focus and an unused PRIZM. I'd like to use the Crystal Focus, but I'm reluctant to put it in a hilt that doesn't have lots of blinky stuff, or at least a crystal chamber. Not sure where this one is going....

[hapki]

By the way, I'm curious about how people use MHSV1 Blade Holder Style 20 (http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/MHSV1-Blade-Holder-Style-20-P633.aspx). There are various rectangular holes and two 10-32 crew holes. What are these used for, generally? Obviously, one of the holes is for a blade retention screw, but that leaves another.

[Silver Serpent]

Those holes exist because that is an MHS representation of the Graflex flash gun. The Graflex has them, so this part does as well.

[Lord Zen]

I think it is typically used with the 10-32 red button and glass eye thumbscrews to create an ANH or ESB graflex styled saber.

I put mine in a lathe, cut it up, applied some decorative marks and paired it with some 7/8 ID aluminium tubing:


http://i1273.photobucket.com/albums/y420/LordZenSaber/IMG_2428_zpstbaidazg.jpg (http://s1273.photobucket.com/user/LordZenSaber/media/IMG_2428_zpstbaidazg.jpg.html)

http://i1273.photobucket.com/albums/y420/LordZenSaber/IMG_2429_zps8xjcfhia.jpg (http://s1273.photobucket.com/user/LordZenSaber/media/IMG_2429_zps8xjcfhia.jpg.html)

The above is made of two parts, with the deeply chamfered style 20 blade holder acting as a sheath over some custom turned tubing.

[Therion Jinn]

Certainly a unique blade holder now

[hapki]

This is going to be my first attempt at a crystal chamber. Here is a rough cut:

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The piece that will hold the crystal used to be a brass water hose nozzle.

The main LED will be independent of the blade holder, sorta like the prototype I created here:

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Except this one will be more detailed, if all goes well.

[hapki]

Another shot of the prototype. I actually used this in a Luke ROTJ inspired saber.

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[hapki]

I have been wanting to make a two-speaker saber for a long time. I think this is going to be it. The first speaker placement will be the usual pommel spot. The second will be placed in the innermost tube of the chassis design. This is a 2W bass speaker. I'll probably place a TCSS bass speaker in the pommel. Here is a shot of what I have so far.

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Here is how it fits in the hilt:

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[hapki]

The wiring for the crystal chamber will be unique. The innermost brass tube is very thick. I've sanded a flat area into the tube, and it is just big enough to get the main LED wiring between this tube and the middle layer of tube. I'm using 30 aug wires, which helps. The rest of the wring will be inside, like a normal build. It is hard to see, but here's what it looks like.

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The brass tube is a little too long right now. I've preserved the length now so it fits in a vise, and so it is easy to hold onto while I work on it.

[hapki]

Here's an update on the second attempt at a crystal chamber. I'm slowly making progress...
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[hapki]

I couldn't wait to see what a crystal would look like. Lots of work to do still, but here's the general effect. It won't be red. That's just the color I had on hand.
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[rlobrecht]

Nice reveal. Very clean.

[Greenie]

Asthetically pleasing. :mrgreen:

[Rampant]

I couldn't wait to see what a crystal would look like. Lots of work to do still, but here's the general effect. It won't be red. That's just the color I had on hand.
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Very nice chamber. Looking forward to seeing the finished product.

[hapki]

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It's a very large, quartz crystal.

[hapki]

Here's a shot of the underneath side, showing the CF and battery. The yellow box of the CF just barely fits in the pommel. I've chipped those things off before, so I'll definitely need to be careful with it. My plan is to leave the pommel screwed on once the saber is completed. I should have access to the disk and the battery through the pommel. The speaker will be held in place by the aluminum inner core. It will slide out when the pommel is removed, giving access to the CF.

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I don't have a plan for a recharge port or R.I.C.E. port.

If I understand correctly, the sleep mode on the CF works well. I'll rely on on that to turn the saber off when it's not in use. But, just as an added layer, I'll be able to disconnect the batter manually if I need to. I'm not sure if it's a good idea to forego the recharge port though. Has anyone else done this?

[hapki]

I"m excited about this development. The control box for this saber now has two switches under the card. They are attached to a piece I ordered from Shapeways. I also secured the crystal to the brass tubing.
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[rlobrecht]

That core and crystal chamber look fantastic. Nice job.

[Ridire Fíréan]

This looks like a synthesis of Annakin's and Obi Wan's sabers.

Well PHOOEY! Ya beat me to it. I call mine Obi-Wan Graf-Luki. A combination of Obi-Wan's and Luke's ANH lightsabers.

I can't tell you how deflated I am right now, this is the first time I've checked out the "General hilt building" part of the forum and here sits my great idea in someone else's post.

I've been waiting for Bunny Ears to come back in stock for over two months!!

Oh well, great minds think alike and all that.

The only thing I have planned that is different from your vision is that my clamp will be silver instead of black. Though I haven't totally decided if I want to go with a Roman's blank clamp or the "Activation box style 1"... which is also still out of stock.

I had originally intended to leave the end of the grenade cubes section silver, but my GRAFLEX "MHSV1 Blade Holder Style 20 V2" is a totally different color silver than all of the other TCSS parts I've received so far. Like 6061 vs 7071 or something. I don't know, it just looks weird because it's much brighter aluminum and the rest looks chromed/steel-ish.

Did you have any differences in the colors of your parts? And did they take the aluminum black differently?

I'm glad one of us is this far along with their build, I hope I can catch up to ya soon! In the meantime, I'll keep drawing up crystal chamber ideas and sanding my quartz crystals.

Good Luck finishing yours off!

[Lilac]

I really love the aesthetics of the saber.
Very clean, very elegant.

[hapki]

I tried the q-tip etching method on this one, because muriatic acid wasn't working very well on brass. It wasn't as deep as I'd like. I applied some aluminum black, and I got this interesting finish. It's shiny.
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Still lots more work to do on the crystal chamber.

[hapki]

I rubbed some of the oxidation off with fine steel wool. This looks better. There's a strange iridescent thing going on.
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[rlobrecht]

Very nice etching.