PDA

View Full Version : Brand new to sabersmithing... need help.



Soulkeeper7700
11-06-2007, 09:23 AM
hey everyone, im AJ and im new to sabersmithing. ive been trying to find all the topics i need help with on the forum for a little over a month now and im still having some trouble. first off, how is the sink tube supposed to be used... is it a sort of inner tube that holds all the guts and batteries and then fits snugly inside of the outer tube? and if i use that, i have to get a MHS emitter and a MHS to sink tube adapter to hold the blade?
like i said i am very new.... but i got a darth maul saber staff converted to lux III led by Ultra Sabers last year and i thought it was the coolest thing... until i seen all the custom stuff people were building.. and now mine is no longer impressing. i have seen some really beautiful work by some of you and i want to jump in the mix and have some fun. this is actually a sort of art in my point of view. anyways thanks for taking the time to help out, and im sorry if what i asked has been answered a million times, but i did browse around to try to piece it together myself.. thanks to all.

TimeRender
11-06-2007, 10:30 AM
I don't mean to sound rude, but if you've been lurking for a month you ought to know by now how the MHS works. No, the sinktube is not a necessary part at all. Sink tubes fit over MHS parts, so if you're skilled with a dremel you can cut one into a nice sleeve. It can also be used instead of MHS pieces if you attach a sink tube/MHS adapter at each end. Go look in the store and you will better understand. Now I feel obligated to tell you what I know everyone else is thinking. 1st, learn to use the search feature on the forums, because I can already tell that you're going to have a lot more questions and that they have all already been answered. 2nd, scroll down near the bottom of the forum and read ALL of the posts in the tutorial section. It is there for a reason and it will be able to guide you through saber construction step by step. Third, welcome to TCSS.

Ghostbat
11-06-2007, 10:50 AM
To play devils advocate:

One of the things that isn't entirely obvious when you are going through this forum for the first time is the sink-tube and the role of the adapters. I lurked for quite some time before I thought I knew the answer and it wasn't really confirmed until I took an MHS piece to the hardware store and had both it and a sink tube in my hand at the same time.

The search is sometimes helpful, but try searching for sink tube adapter and you get 908 results very few of which are in any way relevant. The best tool in this case are the pictures in the store. Many items have more than one picture showing in a bit more detail how the piece is actually used but when you are first finding this place you go into a kind of ferret shock with all the cool stuff and a detail like that may not be noticed for some time :)

Welcome Soulkeeper, just keep reading and poking and asking questions and it will all come together!

Angelus Lupus
11-06-2007, 10:53 AM
ferret shock?
You must be a Sluggy fan; me too.

TimeRender
11-06-2007, 11:00 AM
One of the things that isn't entirely obvious when you are going through this forum for the first time is the sink-tube and the role of the adapters. I lurked for quite some time before I thought I knew the answer and it wasn't really confirmed until I took an MHS piece to the hardware store and had both it and a sink tube in my hand at the same time.

That's true, which is why I referred him back to the store. It may not be obvious exactly how the tube adapter and MHS parts work together, but it should be pretty obvious just by looking at pictures of the parts that the sinktube doesn't go INSIDE the MHS, especially if someone reads the item descriptions in the store. Again, I'm not trying to pick on him, but others here will get quite nasty if he makes it a habit of asking questions that are both obvious and that have been asked already. A single day of lurking ought to be enough to learn all but the most obscure details of saber building if it is time well spent. To be here for a month and not understand what a sinktube is for spells trouble down the line for this new saber builder.

Soulkeeper7700
11-06-2007, 02:49 PM
actually, i figured out alot of how the parts are supposed to be put together just by looking at them.. i did try the search, and i got over a thousand results, and went through a couple hundred of them and was still unsure. the biggest thing that was confusing me is, why would you put the hilt system pieces, which are machined to some nice designs, inside a plain chrome tube and cover them? which is why i thought that maybe they were similar to how my darth maul saber staff was built... the outer tube is all nice and has some cool designs, while all the guts and electronics are put together with a plastic tube that fits snuggly inside the outer tube... i say again, i do apologize for asking some questions that were answered already.. but forums are sometimes just too damn big and too vast to get a straight up answer. Also, im a very hands on person, so im sure i would better understand how to work with the parts if i just bought some. but on the other hand, who wants to spend 50 or 60 bucks on a few parts that im not even sure i can use. so im sorry i irritated some of you. but i do appreciate the knowledge that many of you possess that i just dont..... and i just recently got myself a dremel 300 and a 200 piece accessory kit to mess with. a very cool tool and i cant wait to put it to good use. thanks again guys... TCSS is awesome!

Ghostbat
11-06-2007, 03:44 PM
ferret shock?
You must be a Sluggy fan; me too.

Is it not nifty?




the biggest thing that was confusing me is, why would you put the hilt system pieces, which are machined to some nice designs, inside a plain chrome tube and cover them?

The two main ways a sink tube is used is as a replacement for most of the nice machined hilt pieces (IE as the base part of the saber) or as a cover. Typically if it is used as a cover it is cut in various ways to show the nice parts beneath.

Here is a good example of using the sink tobe as a major element: http://thecustomsabershop.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2741 or http://thecustomsabershop.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3725

Here is a great example of a decorative shroud http://thecustomsabershop.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2719

Soulkeeper7700
11-06-2007, 05:55 PM
Ghostbat, thank you so much for the pictures. they were very helpful. i now see the reason you would use sink tube as an outer covering... i really liked that black and gold (or brass for the technical guys out there) saber alot and i would really like to make something in that direction. thanks so much for the help all

vortextwist
11-06-2007, 06:25 PM
I must say the search feature is not the best. Looking through the gallery will give you some ideas of what people in the past have done with their parts.

TheCheeker
11-07-2007, 12:28 AM
in the end what we're looking for is a good way to add some detail to our designs to make them unique and a lot of people find the mhs pieces to be boring by themselves. listen to vortex and take a trip to the mhs section of the gallery. it won't take long to realize just how much a sink tube overlay or some o-rings or rubber grip material can improve the look of an otherwise bland saber.

Novastar
11-07-2007, 02:15 AM
Welcome, Soulkeeper.

What I can say is... let's cover some of the advantages and disadvantages to sink tubes and the MHS.

Sink Tubes... advantages:
* Lightweight
* Very inexpensive -- say $4 to $8 each?
* Thin inner wall, yet still strong
* Choice of 1.25" or 1.5" (in general)
* Easy to drill through (for switches, decor, etc.)
* Screw-on cap advantageous if you get the right sink tube part
* Simple to attach to a TCSS 1.25" black anodized emitter/heatsink/blade mount...
...or if you use a 1.5" tube, get the TCSS coupler + TCSS "main" emitters/heatsinks/blade mounts

Sink Tubes... disadvantages:
* Very plain-looking without paint, detail, texture work
* Lightweight could be bad for certain projects
* Not much variance off the shelf
* Not a lot of extra heatsinking--less surface area!

MHS... advantages:
* Aluminum is both lightweight and strong
* MANY parts/designs to choose from
* Screw on/screw together parts can make some tasks easier
* Parts can easily be "swapped" out for others later on
* Custom-made for saber parts, not just sink tubes!!
* Not really expensive per part, considering the workmanship, quality, selection
* Great amount of extra heatsinking--more surface area!

MHS... disadvantages:
* Thicker inner wall--can make some projects tougher
* Screw on/screw together parts can lead to wires being twisted off/apart unless certain precautions are taken
* Must order 2 or more parts to complete the saber body/hilt/pommel
* A little tougher to drill through... but not by much

I hope that helps! I know it is a lot of information, but... maybe it will also help others.

Soulkeeper7700
11-07-2007, 09:30 AM
thank you guys for posting all you have. i went out to home depot last night and got a 1.5 inch sink tube to see its potential for myself, but ran into another fork in the road, my imagination could not decide on a design to practice with. so i used the design that Ghostbat posted a picture of which was on this link.... http://thecustomsabershop.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2719

i drew it on a template i made out of computer paper and cut it out, then retraced it on the sink tube and FINALLY got to play with my Dremel. i will post pictures of it as soon as i can, but i was quite shocked at how it came out. its not 100% exact to the picture, because i felt it was a difficult enough design for a first time project for myself. but to be honest, i may redo it as close as i can to that picture, because that design is exactly the type of custom i wanted to build. i wish i knew that guy was selling it, because i would have bought it.

Novastar, i would like to say that it is quite an honor to receive a reply from you. i have read alot of your posts and find you are very knowledgeable in sabersmithing. also i am a fan of your work with Erv over at Plector Labs. and as soon as he gets a few of his sound boards in stock, i want to get my hands on it. so far its the best sound board i have come across. slightly more expensive than what i would want to pay, but i think it is worth it.
Anyway, thanks again to all of you for the help, this is looking like its going to be more fun than i anticipated.

AJ ~ Soulkeeper7700

Jonitus
11-07-2007, 10:48 AM
Soulkeeper,

If you want the template I used to cut that shroud, send me your email address in a PM and I'll email it to you.

The template has a few extra lines in case you want to change the shape of the section near the power button.

Soulkeeper7700
11-07-2007, 12:38 PM
hey Jon, great design. thanks for offering me the template, im going to mess around with a few other ideas before picking a final design. but thanks so much. i did want to know how you got the chrome off and made it into a mirrored piece of brass, what type of compound did you use.... i have a few other questions for you, but im in a big rush. i will get back to you at a later time.. thanks alot :)

Jonitus
11-07-2007, 12:43 PM
hey Jon, great design. thanks for offering me the template, im going to mess around with a few other ideas before picking a final design. but thanks so much. i did want to know how you got the chrome off and made it into a mirrored piece of brass, what type of compound did you use.... i have a few other questions for you, but im in a big rush. i will get back to you at a later time.. thanks alot :)

I sanded the chrome off with 80-grit sandpaper. After all was cut and shaped, I began sanding with 100, 200, 400, 600, 800, 1000, 2000, 2200 grit paper. The 400 through 2200 were wet sanded, so make sure to use wet/dry sandpaper. After final sanding, it was a lot or rubbing with Mothers Mag and Aluminum Polish with a soft cloth.

It's a big job, but worth it in the end.

Soulkeeper7700
11-07-2007, 05:39 PM
ok so i am going to attempt to add this image... its still rough. i got all the chrome off just about and i am going to start getting it to a pretty shimmer after i make all the lines smooth and even... http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h271/soulkeeper7700/HILT1.jpg

like i said, the measurements are not exact because i just wanted to mess around with it and see how difficult it would be for me. not bad for a first time i must say. what do you guys think?

ArkaiHalon
11-07-2007, 05:42 PM
looks really good.

Soulkeeper7700
11-07-2007, 10:44 PM
yet another update. finished making the straight lines as even as i can and got it sanded, and then wet sanded using 320 SandWet sandpaper. starting to get shiny.

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h271/soulkeeper7700/CustomHiltStage21.jpg

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h271/soulkeeper7700/CustomHiltStage22.jpg

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h271/soulkeeper7700/CustomHiltStage23.jpg

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h271/soulkeeper7700/CustomHiltStage25.jpg

Vazan Maceu
11-08-2007, 07:00 AM
Thatīs definitely taking shape. Donīt rush it, take your time... Sabersmithing benefits a lot from patience, aside from good planning and creativity. Just my two cents :)

Soulkeeper7700
11-08-2007, 08:30 AM
im not rushing, im on vacation this week so i have alot of time to mess with it lol. and i know it takes practice, like any hobby. i have too many hobbies actually... i paint and build all types of models, i play goalie for a hockey team, and im a drummer in a couple of bands... so whats one more right lol. anyways, i cant wait to get my hands on some MHS pieces (gonna start easy) and some lux III's and actually put together a saber. not even sure if i will even be able to use the piece im working on. it was just an experiment for myself actually. but ill see if i can figure out a way to utilize it. thanks for the comment :)

Ghostbat
11-08-2007, 10:58 AM
now that's one hell of a start! Watch those points, as I recall Jonitus paid the price of flesh on his points :)

Soulkeeper7700
11-08-2007, 10:59 AM
ok i have a new question.... if you look at the above photos, you can see a bunch of lines and scuffs.... ive been sanding the piece like crazy and it feels so glassy smooth, but the marks are still there... how do i make that go away?? will they vanish if i use compound and polish, or do i need to do something special with the sandpaper.. so far i wet sanded it with 320 and 600 sandpaper. was all home depot had at the time.... any help will be appreciated..

Soulkeeper7700
11-08-2007, 11:01 AM
lol... yes ghost, i too have paid the price in blood... while i was sanding. so i am part of the blood club now.lol.

Ghostbat
11-08-2007, 11:26 AM
ok i have a new question.... if you look at the above photos, you can see a bunch of lines and scuffs.... ive been sanding the piece like crazy and it feels so glassy smooth, but the marks are still there... how do i make that go away?? will they vanish if i use compound and polish, or do i need to do something special with the sandpaper.. so far i wet sanded it with 320 and 600 sandpaper. was all home depot had at the time.... any help will be appreciated..

600 is still a pretty rough grit. Try a smaller "real" hardware store and see what they have available. Or if you have a Tap Plastics they carry wet/dry sandpaper so fine it feels slick! (you won't need it that fine, but working your way into the thousands will help)