I want to build a complete saber but i'm quite confused.

[Petary791]

Seeing as i'm getting a job soon (lazy 17 year old,) i'm gonna actually buy all the crap i've said that i've always wanted to get. So a lightsaber would be awesome (I would for sure carry it on my belt everywhere including to class and at gigs and everything.) So on to the components!

-It appears to me that LED seems to be the best, so I think i'll go that route (if you disagree throw something at me.)
-I like this (http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/pc-865-33-double-threaded-hilt-style-4.aspx) hilt, because any time i've tried the Sink Tube route, it always looks real stupid.
-I kinda like this (http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/pc-695-31-screw-on-led-blade-holder-style-3.aspx) blade holder, but if you think another one would look more comfortable lemme know.
-This (http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/pc-936-32-mps-pommel-style-4.aspx) pommel looks cool, and this (http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/pc-906-32-mps-insert-style-1.aspx) insert is neat too. Would I need this (http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/pc-874-32-mps-clip.aspx) to keep it in?
-I would like to change the color of the blades (unless there's a big drawback to it)
-Sound would be cool as long as it's not cheezy.
-A strap button would be cool.

So am I leaving anything out? Any advice? Thanks!



And FWIW, if possible, duelling would be great.

[987654321a]

Seeing as i'm getting a job soon (lazy 17 year old,) i'm gonna actually buy all the crap i've said that i've always wanted to get. So a lightsaber would be awesome (I would for sure carry it on my belt everywhere including to class and at gigs and everything.) So on to the components!
Good to see you really are into it.


-It appears to me that LED seems to be the best, so I think i'll go that route (if you disagree throw something at me.)
-I like this (http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/pc-865-33-double-threaded-hilt-style-4.aspx) hilt, because any time i've tried the Sink Tube route, it always looks real stupid.
That will be fine as long as you get a pommel and blade holder.

-I kinda like this (http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/pc-695-31-screw-on-led-blade-holder-style-3.aspx) blade holder, but if you think another one would look more comfortable lemme know.
Ooooo. Good choice, I love that Blade Holder, I have used it more than 3 times and its comfortable enough to use.

-This (http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/pc-936-32-mps-pommel-style-4.aspx) pommel looks cool, and this (http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/pc-906-32-mps-insert-style-1.aspx) insert is neat too. Would I need this (http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/pc-874-32-mps-clip.aspx) to keep it in?
They are all cool. And no you do not absolutely need that to keep it in, you can use glue but i find that clip to be best to hold it in. And plus its only like .79 cents.

-I would like to change the color of the blades (unless there's a big drawback to it)
We have found that with EL technology just changing a blade with different colored el wires changes the colors easily. But an even easier way with LED is to get a luxeon K2 LED. You can also get a set of LEE filters but I have heard they are a pain to get now. But you can always get the colored disks in tims store.

-Sound would be cool as long as it's not cheezy.
You have 4 routes here. Hasbro, Master Replica Sound board. Ervs Crystal Focus V2. Ultrasound.

The Hasbro is kind of more primitive in sound meaning its not as realistic as the MR, or CF, or Ultrasound. The visual effects are more primitive but its still a good sound board.

Master Replica's sound board is a good option which I am currently running in my main saber. it does not have any visual effects but you will notice it fades in. It doesnt sharply turn on like a saber with a resistor.

I would go with Erv's Soundboard or Ultra's Soundboard, they are both amazing.

-A strap button would be cool.
What is a strap button? A slider switch you mean?


So am I leaving anything out? Any advice? Thanks!

Are you good with soldering? You dont need to be really good but if you know how and wear safety goggles you are absolutely fine.

Hope that helped

[Lord Maul]

Are you good with soldering? You dont need to be really good but if you know how and wear safety goggles you are absolutely fine.

oops, I never do that. I guess it's a better safe than sorry kinda deal, in case the solder "pops" on you. Guess I better start wearing them. :lol:

CD, that was a great post, I don't think you can say it much better than that.

[TheCheeker]

another option for changing colors would be to buy the quick connector kit here:
http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/pc-649-21-quick-change-led-kit.aspx

this gives you the option of swapping out your LED for another color without the hassle of resoldering. you use the quick change kit on the led of your choice now and then if you want to change colors later on you just buy another led and quick connector kit.

oh and it probably would be a good idea to go with a board other than the master replicas or hasbro if you don't have much soldering experience. i'm using a master replicas board with corbins driver and its a lot more hassle spending $35 or so on a busted fx saber, tearing out the electronics, spending another $30 or whatever on corbins board, and resoldering everything to work the way you want it to than it is just to buy the ultrasound board for example for about the same price and you get a lot less of a headache when it comes to wiring (at least from what i can see since i've never used it).

[987654321a]

Are you good with soldering? You dont need to be really good but if you know how and wear safety goggles you are absolutely fine.

oops, I never do that. I guess it's a better safe than sorry kinda deal, in case the solder "pops" on you. Guess I better start wearing them. :lol:

CD, that was a great post, I don't think you can say it much better than that.

Safety Goggles are an absolute must. Even if the solder doesnt pop. It is still like 500 degrees and the solder falling on the skin is hot! let alone if it pops on your eye.

[Do-Clo]

Are you good with soldering? You dont need to be really good but if you know how and wear safety goggles you are absolutely fine.

oops, I never do that. I guess it's a better safe than sorry kinda deal, in case the solder "pops" on you. Guess I better start wearing them. :lol:

CD, that was a great post, I don't think you can say it much better than that.

Safety Goggles are an absolute must. Even if the solder doesnt pop. It is still like 500 degrees and the solder falling on the skin is hot! let alone if it pops on your eye.

Solder is much hotter than 500 degrees when it is molten most irons are at least 600+ degrees and 700 degrees is pretty common, then you have guys like me that use an 800 degre soldering iron. :twisted:

[Hasid Lafre]

Hi and welcome.

I would like ot point out that safty is a big consern when soldering.

As for the hilt I think you got a great idea going on here. If you want to add some accent design to it you can take some orings(the ones in the store should work) and wedge them in the grooves of the bladeholder.

As for colot changing. we all use a basic setup with the quick connectors for easy color changing.

A colored led will alwase be brighter than a filtered white led.

As for soldering herees some helpfull info from our frendly giver of the toast erv.

soldering guide by Erv (http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=AOdnGUMi7lQ)

[Petary791]

-Sound would be cool as long as it's not cheezy.
You have 4 routes here. Hasbro, Master Replica Sound board. Ervs Crystal Focus V2. Ultrasound.

The Hasbro is kind of more primitive in sound meaning its not as realistic as the MR, or CF, or Ultrasound. The visual effects are more primitive but its still a good sound board.

Master Replica's sound board is a good option which I am currently running in my main saber. it does not have any visual effects but you will notice it fades in. It doesnt sharply turn on like a saber with a resistor.

I would go with Erv's Soundboard or Ultra's Soundboard, they are both amazing.

-A strap button would be cool.
What is a strap button? A slider switch you mean?


So am I leaving anything out? Any advice? Thanks!

Are you good with soldering? You dont need to be really good but if you know how and wear safety goggles you are absolutely fine.

Hope that helped

Very nice. Thanks. And I wouldn't consider myself "good" at soldering but yeah I can solder. I have safety goggles too. I think, due to brightness, i'm just gonna go with a blue saber. And by strap button I mean a covertec clip (sorry i'm a musician and a strap button is what you attach the guitar strap to.)

I feel like I had another question but I just forgot.

[Jay-gon Jinn]

If you really want to be able to change the color, just use a couple of these: quick change kit (http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/pc-649-31-quick-change-led-kit.aspx)

[987654321a]

Are you good with soldering? You dont need to be really good but if you know how and wear safety goggles you are absolutely fine.

oops, I never do that. I guess it's a better safe than sorry kinda deal, in case the solder "pops" on you. Guess I better start wearing them. :lol:

CD, that was a great post, I don't think you can say it much better than that.

Safety Goggles are an absolute must. Even if the solder doesnt pop. It is still like 500 degrees and the solder falling on the skin is hot! let alone if it pops on your eye.

Solder is much hotter than 500 degrees when it is molten most irons are at least 600+ degrees and 700 degrees is pretty common, then you have guys like me that use an 800 degre soldering iron. :twisted:


Ouch that would hurt... :shock:

[goldsaberwarrior]

My soldering iron slipped once and tipped my finger for a split second. Still burned a small bit but didn't really hurt that bad. Still safety is a must when you're building/modding or repairing a saber. As far as color change goes you'll never have the same brightness as a colored LED if you use a white filtered LED instead. Never saw much use for that but if you like it and want to use it go for it. As far as sound boards go I would recommend an ultrasound or an erv. If you want sound changability go for an erv crystal focus. They can change their sounds out if you have more than one font. Everything you would need for it is on erv's site such as sound fonts. The ultraboards are also another good choice. They can't change their sounds like a crystal focus but they're a good board in the under $100 dollar market (or so I've heard, never been able to get one to see for myself.) The ultras have blaster deflection and some good sounds on them. Don't know if any of this helps you but I hope it does. Anyways I hope your saber works good and how you want it to.

[Petary791]

Onto the blade, i'd like to get a blue one. What would I need? I see that there are 3 types. Like stated before, if I can duel i'd like to. And i'd like it to do the extendy thing so it looks like it goes up and goes down.

EDIT: And what would I want my length to be? FWIW, i'm 5'7".

[Jonitus]

Everyone will have a different opinion about blade length, but I ask my customers to give me their body measurement from the middle of their palm to the top of their ear. That's how long I make their blade. I've found it works well to get a length you can spin around easily.

I am 6'0" and take a blade that is 37" long

[Novastar]

There's some thread around here somewhere about this. Everyone likes a different length (and it differs for blade thickness), but one thing that needs to happen is a decent balancing.

[ArkaiHalon]

Everyone will have a different opinion about blade length, but I ask my customers to give me their body measurement from the middle of their palm to the top of their ear. That's how long I make their blade. I've found it works well to get a length you can spin around easily.


I have to try that.

[Jedi-Loreen]

Onto the blade, i'd like to get a blue one. What would I need? I see that there are 3 types. Like stated before, if I can duel i'd like to. And i'd like it to do the extendy thing so it looks like it goes up and goes down.


You realize the blade itself's not colored , it's the LED that does that, right? :wink: Some people who were used to EL blades in the past actually had different blades for for changing the color. :P

If you want it to look like the blade extends and retracts, you will need a Corbin style blade and one of the drivers for that.

"They feature a special double wrapped film diffuser that gives the optical illusion of a central "core" within the blade. When combined with our Driver board, this blade will appear to extend and retract when turned on or off."

Whether you plan on dueling with or just wanting it to look nice at conventions or parties or whatever, will determine the blade thickness you should get. Just look at the descriptions of the blades in the store.

Some people get a battle blade, (I just use one of the TCSS style blades for that), and a show blade (mine has the Corbin film in it).

[Petary791]

Onto the blade, i'd like to get a blue one. What would I need? I see that there are 3 types. Like stated before, if I can duel i'd like to. And i'd like it to do the extendy thing so it looks like it goes up and goes down.


You realize the blade itself's not colored , it's the LED that does that, right? :wink: Some people who were used to EL blades in the past actually had different blades for for changing the color. :P

If you want it to look like the blade extends and retracts, you will need a Corbin style blade and one of the drivers for that.

"They feature a special double wrapped film diffuser that gives the optical illusion of a central "core" within the blade. When combined with our Driver board, this blade will appear to extend and retract when turned on or off."

Whether you plan on dueling with or just wanting it to look nice at conventions or parties or whatever, will determine the blade thickness you should get. Just look at the descriptions of the blades in the store.

Some people get a battle blade, (I just use one of the TCSS style blades for that), and a show blade (mine has the Corbin film in it).

Yep, I realize that it's the LED that matters. So it seems like i'll get a Corbin blade.

This is what it looks like i'm going to be getting so far.
3W Amber LED
Driver Board
5 Degree Lens
Hilt Style 3
Emitter Style 4
Pommel Style 4
MPS Insert Style 1
MPS Clip
Corbin Battle Blade

What am I missing to make a complete saber?

[goldsaberwarrior]

Not much except for mabey a retention screw unless you already have something to keep the blade from flying off or rattling while you duel. As far as blade length goes you'll have to play around with that to find a good length. Something that helped me is this. Use a yard stick, grip it at various lengths and see what length works best for you. See what measurement you can spin and use your blade best with. Don't know if that would work for you or not but it works good for me when I need to determine a length I need.

[Petary791]

Alright well here's the update.

3W Amber LED
Driver Board
5 Degree Lens
Hilt Style 3
Emitter Style 4
Pommel Style 4
MPS Insert Style 1
MPS Clip
Corbin Battle Blade
Retention Screw
Machined Button
Covertec Clip
8-32 Socket Head Screw
Thumb Screw of Sorts? What kind of screw would I need?

[Jedi-Loreen]

This is a thumb screw.
http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/images/PRODUCT/medium/617.jpg

They are on the Screws page, strangely enough. :wink:
http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/c-8-screws.aspx

I prefer the 10/32 screws to the 8/32 screws. They get a bigger "bite" on the blade (more surface area pressing against it).

Guess you changed your mind about a blue blade, huh?

You might want to go ahead and install a Quick Connector while you're at it, they are only 45 cents.
http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/images/PRODUCT/icon/651.jpg
Or you could always go back and put one in.

But if you do it now, you won't have to take the saber apart again. Then you just put one on the next LED you get, to change blade colors. I always install the male end inside the hilt, and the female ends on the LEDs.

You will either need to drill and tap the hole in your blade holder for the thumb screw or add that service to your order. If you do it yourself, you will need the proper sized drill bit and tap set for whatever screw you get.

[ArkaiHalon]

This is a thumb screw.
http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/images/PRODUCT/medium/617.jpg

They are on the Screws page, strangely enough. :wink:
http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/c-8-screws.aspx


Ok, I almost spit my tea all over my keyboard. That was funny.

[Jedi-Loreen]

It was meant to be informative. http://www.thesmilies.com/smilies/mad0265.gif
http://www.thesmilies.com/smilies/rolleye0012.gif

[ArkaiHalon]

And it was. Just made my day.

[Madcow]

If J-lo here ever falls to the dark side... it will be because of a newb.

MC

[Jedi-Loreen]

Oh, but I already have......

This is my Sith alter ego: http://www.thesmilies.com/smilies/winking0044.gif


http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b8/JediLoreen/Miscellaneous/lp.jpg

[TheCheeker]

the only other thing i see that's missing is sound which you originally mentioned but isn't in your list there. did you scrap the idea of doing sound?

[Novastar]

Well, he said non-cheesy sound.

That calls for an Ultra or Plecter. If he chooses Plecter, he'll have sound fonts coming out of his EARS if I have anything to say about it... :) I've finished an Episode II sound font, and I'm nearly complete with an Episode IV font as well! Additionally, I'm making a "Force Effects" package where people can plug in lightning, push, pull, heal, jump, absorb, and whatever suits their fancy for whatever secondary button action they like.

I think that would cover "non-cheesy".

[pockets]

nova, i want to buy a plecter just so i can play with your 10,000 sound fonts haha

[Novastar]

lol... thus far it's only Nova, Black, Ancient, Steel, Kung Fu, Chainsaw, Ep II, Ep IV, but who's counting? :)

[goldsaberwarrior]

I'd like to see an ancient font for dark side. The one that you have now nova seems lightsided to me.

[Hasid Lafre]

The topics starters list looks good.

As for sounds I would love to see true luke ep6 sounds.

My favy is the ignition where it sound slike something metal inside the hilt breaks open and releases the energy trapted within.

[Jonitus]

Well, I messed around in SoundForge this weekend and made up some ACCURATE Episode VI sounds. They are as close as you're gonna get without sampling from the movies themselves. I promise. I'll finish it up and get it to Erv so he can get it on the website.

[gundamaniac]

Ooh. somehow I get the feeling that this is turning into a sound thread. Nova, I can't wait til Erv gets more toast in so I can pick up some and play with your fonts. They sound awesome (ba-dum pshhhh!!!!!)

:roll: bad pun. Anywayyyyyyy....that looks like a good starter for a first lightsaber. I've got 5, but only the last two light up and the last one has MR sound...so I consider the last of those five to be my first "true" saber. Incidentally, that's also a TCSS handle. Knock yourself out, have fun, and....POST PICTURES when you're done! :D