1st Saber, need help.

[Sage]

Hey guys, starting my first saber and need a little help to make sure Im getting what I need.

Im trying to make a green saber thats equally bright throughout the blade. I see lots of pictures where the glow just diffuses half way through and I dont want that.

This is what i currently have in my "basket"

1: Double threaded hilt style 2
2: 2" Double female threaded connector
3: Screw on pommel style 5
4: Screw on LED blade holder style 3 (that comes with...)
a. 4-40 Nylon Screw
b. MHS LED Mount/Heatsink
5: Double ended male threaded connector
6: Build Your Own Luxeon K2 Electronics Kit
7: LED "Corbin style" Battle blade 1" OD (38 inches)
8: 3/4" Aluminum adhesive disc
9: Shouldered 1" thick walled blade tips

Would this work out for what im trying to get?

From what Iv read i believe i need a thumbscrew, but there seems to be a few different sizes and Im confused as to which one ill be needing.

Whats the Aluminum adhesive disc do? Im assuming it makes it brighter in someway, but im probably wrong.

Oh yeah, and how hard can you hit these things?

Any help would be great. Thanks

[Obi-Dar Ke-Gnomie]

I'm not the most experienced builder here, but there are a few things I can help you with.

If you buy the complete blade, it comes assembled, and you don't need to buy the tip and mirror separately. The mirror or reflective disc help to send some of the light back down the blade to light it more evenly.

I have a blade holder #3, and I recommend the 10-32 thumbscrew. It's the biggest one, and gets a better "bite" on the blade. If you drill and tap carefully in the grooves of the bladeholder, it will actually make some extra threads on the fins themselves for extra security. I can post a picture of this if you would like.

Your green K2 will be plenty bright, and the Corbin film looks good in there. If you want the blade to be even more evenly lit, try rolling a few feet of cellophane gift wrap in there. I found that it made a huge difference. There should be some threads around here about the technique. Look in the LED Blade section.

As far as how hard you can hit these things, if you get the 1" thick wall, (or battle blade,) you can hit them as hard as you like. These things will stand up to full out dueling and come back for more.

Hope that helps.

[Darth_DevilGuy]

I'm looking into creating better evenness myself, I saw a comparisson between luxeon and hyperblade styles on the LED blade discussion forum which had a couple luxeon's that looked very even, but I think they require a custom made/DIY blade, I'll ask how it was done over there.

[Obi-Dar Ke-Gnomie]

The cheapest and easiest way to get your blade more even is with cellophane. I picked up a roll in Wally-Mart for $1.99. Cut two or three lengths as long as your blade and roll them length ways around a small dowel, secure them with some tape and shove 'em in.

Here's a picture of my blade before I converted to green:
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2007-1/1236148/sand-blade3.jpg

There's a little bit of flare at the base, but to the naked eye, you can hardly see it.

[Sage]

Wow thanks dude, that was a fast response.

Yeah id love to see a pic of that if you could

[xwingband]

Yeah, if evenness is a big concern you'll need to look at the LED blade section. You can get the complete corbin blade, but you'll need to add some other films (PolyP, cellophane, acetate, something...) to get it "even".

[Sage]

Is there any "best" kinda filter?

I actually have some cellophane in my closet for whatever reason at the momment

[Ashron]

There really is no "best" its more a matter of perspective, and what you want to achieve.

Cellophane with the Corbin Blade does look very nice from what I have seen. Some people sand the blade with 400 grit sand paper to help make it even. Not sure how it will look on the Corbin blade though.

[Hasid Lafre]

Iam liking the look of the tcss style blade with the polyp or cellophane inside that.

http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb168/Sidneyious/Lightsaber%20Pics/TCSSstyleBladewithPolyPinlitroomnof.jpg

TCSS Thick walled 33" blade tip to end.

http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb168/Sidneyious/Lightsaber%20Pics/MRMaceDiffusertubeinTCSSblade2.jpg

Thin walled tcss blade MR diffuser tube and a double wrap of corbin film on the outside of the blade. Theres a little bit of play between the mr tube and blade tube and the corbin film matches up pritty good but carefull putting the tube in.

I wouldent suggest this setup for dueling as mr tubes have a tendancy to bend and fold and look like crap afterwords.

[Obi-Dar Ke-Gnomie]

Here's that close-up of my thumbscrew hole for you.
(Man, I love the macro setting on my camera!)

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2007-1/1236148/screw_hole1.jpg

[Darth_DevilGuy]

slightly unclear on the cellophane Idea over here, we're talking about the rolled non shrink stuff right? and you wrap it arround a dowl to insert it into the blade and then remove the dowl correct?

[Sage]

PolyP and cellophane = same thing?

[Lord Maul]

Yup. PolyP, Cellophane, and Ultrafilm are all basically the same thing.

[Sage]

Cool, thanks a lot guys

[xwingband]

The minor differences are going to be thickness and static. You have to deal with it no matter what though.

For me I do quite a few blades so it's worth it to buy a large roll of PolyP vs. getting the cellophane "gift wrap" in a small quantity.

[Hasid Lafre]

Which one has less static?

[DarthFender]

Here's that close-up of my thumbscrew hole for you.
(Man, I love the macro setting on my camera!)

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2007-1/1236148/screw_hole1.jpg

Obi-Dar, is that something similar to Rhino-Liner in the grooves on that hilt? Ehat ever that is it looks really cool.

[Jedi-Loreen]

I think that's foam, probably with a sticky back. That's what it looks like to me.

[Hasid Lafre]

Yeah but sticking foam in the small grooves of that bladeholder would take more patiance than I would ever see in a person.

[DarthFender]

I think you're both right.

[Obi-Dar Ke-Gnomie]

I think that's foam, probably with a sticky back. That's what it looks like to me.

Yeah, that's exactly what it was. It's like an open cell neoprene that came in a sheet. I just cut it in thin strips with an x-acto knife and a ruler, and laid it in the grooves. Wasn't that hard at all. The only problem I had is that it shrunk away from itself a little where the ends met. You can see it in the photo.

I may end up replacing it with o-rings, but I'd have to cut one and glue the ends where the screw hole is.