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Stinky Bantha
01-14-2008, 04:13 PM
Well, I've finally managed to finish my saber for the time being. It started out as a simple sinktube saber with just a sinktube adapter and MHS emitter, then it morphed several times into what it is today. I'm not really sure what I'm going to call it now, since Rancor just doesn't seem to fit anymore, but I'll come up with something for it eventually.

Now to the down and dirty. Here are the specs:

CF v 3.0
4.8 v (4 AAA cells) nimh battery
Green K2

http://img521.imageshack.us/img521/9377/saberpickf6.jpg

I'm particularly proud of the switches. They came out a lot better than I had hoped. They're 2 tiny tactile switches held in place by a small segment of sink tube that is supported by the 2 screws you see. It kind of sandwiches the switches between the sink tube segment and the inside of the hilt, and it's a really sturdy setup.

Anywho, hope you enjoy. I'll try to update this thread as I update the saber. Upgrades in the works are:

~Li-ion batteries
~Some sort of grip for the 5" double female section

strengthofrage
01-14-2008, 04:41 PM
That is very sleek, I like the design a lot. The switches are pretty sweet the way they are set up.

Lord Maul
01-14-2008, 04:43 PM
That's pretty cool. You did a great job countersinking those switches.

Vazan Maceu
01-14-2008, 05:16 PM
Nice one Stinky Bantha :) , IŽd definitely like to see it lighted...

Stinky Bantha
01-14-2008, 05:51 PM
Thanks for the kind words guys, it was a lot of fun to make. I'll try to get a video up in the next couple of days.

37H4N
01-14-2008, 07:04 PM
Now that looks like a realy good dueling saber. Looks great Stinky Bantha, lookin' forward to that vid.

DACOTA
01-14-2008, 07:17 PM
That reminds me of an mhs design I want to build. The only difference is it will have a 4 inch double mhs piece and a v-groove ribbed section for the bottom grip.

Looks really cool!

Novastar
01-14-2008, 08:50 PM
Ah, someone else who appreciates recessed switches as someone like myself... :)

Good job, Stinky.

...although it sounds weird saying it that way... :)

Hasid Lafre
01-14-2008, 09:06 PM
Well everyone wants recessed switches its jut they want an easyer use of these switches. something like what SB came up with may not work for other people.

I give him props cause I sure as hell couldent pull that off.

Looks good mang.

Any tips on doing what you did for your switch setup? Iam having issues with switch ideas and would love to do something like that but having a clue how to go about it. got a pic of the switch setup so I may get an idea?

Stinky Bantha
01-23-2008, 07:53 PM
Sorry, I didn't see that last part until today, Hasid.

I'd need to take it apart for you to see the switch setup, but in a nutshell I just drilled the holes for the tactile switches and the holes for the screws. Then I cut a piece of sinktube that was really small... only large enough to span the distance between the screws. After placing the switches in position inside the hilt, I put the sinktube section underneath them (if you think of the switches facing upwards) then I put the nuts onto the screws and tightened them until they were snug underneath the sinktube section. So the switches are resting on a little platform of sorts suspended by the nuts on the screws.

I'll take a picture of the setup next time I take the hilt apart.

Hasid Lafre
01-23-2008, 08:18 PM
Okay thats cool

valeon
01-24-2008, 03:22 PM
I really like how this turned out. It's very....smooth. Which looks AWESOME!

Stinky Bantha
03-02-2008, 05:53 PM
Hey guys, I just got a P4 LED in this thing, and I'm really impressed. Just thought I'd show it off a little.

Here's the newest video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ga3lk17pHws

and one with my green K2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqeQMAOb6f0

and finally a picture

http://i27.tinypic.com/opydqa.jpg

Obi-Dar Ke-Gnomie
03-02-2008, 10:01 PM
OK, I am definitely getting a white P4 now!

DACOTA
03-03-2008, 02:54 PM
After checking the stats on the p4 I assume that it is way better than a white k2? X-wing says it is so it must be true.;) Thats a great saber man. Oh and where did you get the switches? I want to do some small reccessed switches for a future saber but I'm in need of the switches. Are they both momentary or is one latching?

Stinky Bantha
03-03-2008, 06:36 PM
I got the switches from MCM.. I forget the shaft length of the button, but I just got a ton of the little tactile switches. They're both momentary.

DACOTA
03-04-2008, 01:50 PM
So with the momentary as the main power switch do you need to hold it down the whole time to keep the saber on or do you just tap it once for on and once for off? I was never really sure on this when you hook it up to a cf.

Stinky Bantha
03-04-2008, 04:04 PM
Just tap it once, and you're good to go... CF even has anti-accidental shut-off protection so you have to hold down the aux button in order for the main power to shut it off... it's a great little feature.

Count Malik
03-04-2008, 05:29 PM
I saw your vid. must say its a very very nice disign kinda like my saber only abit different. still all I can say is- I like. I like alot. LOL!

savyas
03-04-2008, 07:40 PM
I've gotta ask - with the 4 AAA's that you are currently using, do you have a boatload of extra space inside the hilt, or is the sinktube that's supporting the switches preventing you from utilizing that space for anything else?

I ask because I'm thinking of making something similar. I'm hoping to recess switches in the "choke point", a ribbed section, and a 3 or 4 inch double female threaded connector as a hilt. I'm trying to keep the hilt to somewhere around 13 inches or less.. and if I can keep either the electronics or batteries in the ribbed section, I think I can pull it off.

I'd prefer to put the electronics in the ribbed section and the batteries closer to the pommel in the extension to keep the weight distribution more even - but since I don't have a ribbed section in my possession yet, I don't know if that will be feasible.

Stinky Bantha
03-04-2008, 08:04 PM
Well, I have to say I did a really crappy job planning out the innards of this guy. The switch setup which is right across from the recharge port makes it impossible to have any batteries that can't fit in the 5" section along with the soundboard (although the double-male would have ensured that anyway). So basically from pommel to emitter it's: speaker, soundboard, 2 on top of 2 AAA setup, switches/recharge.. then the rest is just the thin neck section, etc.

Good luck trying to fit switches in the neck... the inner diameter is really small, but if you could pull it off that'd probably be a great place for at least one of them. You wouldn't want both though if you're planning on spinning too much.

DACOTA
03-05-2008, 01:26 PM
Just tap it once, and you're good to go... CF even has anti-accidental shut-off protection so you have to hold down the aux button in order for the main power to shut it off... it's a great little feature.

Thanks. I knew about the accidental shut off but I wasnt sure on the momentary with the cf. Thanks alot, that should really help.

Stinky Bantha
03-31-2008, 04:21 PM
Well, I'm sure you guys are tired of seeing this thing, but I've started to upgrade (sort of) my saber for the umpteenth time. This time, I'm going for an old, beat up, and much darker Rancor, as opposed to the sleek "executive" style of before. For starters I got a brand new piece of copper pipe so I could immediately start beating it up :P. Here's the result of the first bit of my transformation. I'm going to be adding similar copper accents elsewhere, but I'm not sure on the design just yet. I'll be following that up with some nice aluminum black finish weathering thanks to the tips from Dark Helmet. Anywho, enough talking... time for the picture:

http://i31.tinypic.com/2dl20ro.jpg

Stinky Bantha
04-01-2008, 01:03 PM
Alrighty, here's step two... after this that copper's starting to look awfully shiny, so I'll go on to weathering that a bit more after I've gotten the copper grips on. I'm not sure what I'm going to do for those, so any ideas would be appreciated.

http://i26.tinypic.com/rwm6c9.jpg

Hasid Lafre
04-01-2008, 01:09 PM
Holy crap thats a big change.

Er Dan Gill
04-01-2008, 05:56 PM
Holy crap thats a big change.
What more can you say.;)

Stinky Bantha
04-05-2008, 11:25 AM
Grips are done! They came out a lot better than I thought they would, and they're actually quite comfortable. Next I need to weather the covertech wheel, and get a red/orange LED.

http://i29.tinypic.com/30sescj.jpg

Hasid Lafre
04-05-2008, 12:26 PM
I like it but iam still not sure if the bladeholder bit fits with it.

Something in a crown style would look killer.

Stinky Bantha
04-05-2008, 03:43 PM
It's now got CF back in it, but I've still only got my P4 and my green, which would probably look better than the white, but I need a new lens holder. I'll be getting one with the red/orange when I get my next order.

As for the crown emitter, I was never really sold on them, but I think it could work with this... I might have to make one that I can change out with this forked shroud.

Corbin_Das
04-05-2008, 06:51 PM
Looks great.
I can attest that those type of grip rings are pretty comfortable. The saber I got from Jonitus is like that. Another thing I can say is that in my experience, copper sometimes tends to become more polished as you handle it, at least with any artificial chemical weathering like brass black. "Honest" weathering tends to last longer I've found. :)


Corbin

Stinky Bantha
04-05-2008, 07:12 PM
Thanks for the comments, and the tips. I was planning on doing something to the copper after I had the shroud done, but when I got the grips on I thought it looked pretty good, so I'll just see what happens over time, I suppose.

Dark Helmet
04-05-2008, 10:41 PM
very cool! you can use salt to rot the copper, it will get that green and black funk on it like an old penny....just a little moistened salt will do the trick in a short time, but maybe try it on scrap first to make sure it will match the rest of it, but i def dig the new look!

DarthFender
04-06-2008, 10:45 AM
ANother trick you can do with copper is to hit it with a blow torch at about a foot away. It will turn the copper that dark red color instead of that shiny new penny look. If you dont like the look, any metal polish will restore it.

DARTH KALEL
04-14-2008, 03:06 PM
I really like the design but i'm not a fan of the weathering, i personally think that a Jedi would cherish thier weapon and always keep it clean just like a soldier maintains his weapon and keeps it working and clean. but that's my opinion. But the design looks great.

Hasid Lafre
04-14-2008, 03:09 PM
Well a jedi inhiding dosent have time to polish his weapon every day.

Stinky Bantha
04-14-2008, 03:12 PM
I appreciate the compliment, but what's with this "jedi" nonsense :P. The weathering marked the beginning of my path down the dark side. I was originally planning on costuming a dark jedi, but I figured that I'd just go for sith, and so I changed my lightsaber to add a bit more menace and age.

DACOTA
04-14-2008, 05:21 PM
:shock: Maximum awesomness!

Count Malik
04-14-2008, 05:48 PM
:shock: Maximum awesomness!

Totaly!!!:-D

Sethski
04-15-2008, 06:50 AM
I like it!

Defintely going down the grungy, battle-scarred path.

Another thing that works on the copper is stuff called liver of sulphur (or sulfur) - it darkens and antiques it quite nicely (and smells really crappy, as you can probably imagine from the name).

DARTH KALEL
04-15-2008, 12:24 PM
ahhh ok well that makes sense then, I like the idea of everything a sith owns mutates with them, or reflecs thier alignment. Yeah and i've found that saltwater works very good to weather the copper, that and sunlight, I do alot of copper work sheet metal and rain gutter style stuff, I usually just take a rag with a high concentrate of saltwater, rub the copper and few times and leave it in the sun for a few hours, or if your getting ready for a rain storm just stick it outside overnight and walllllllaaaaa

Dandura
04-15-2008, 12:55 PM
SB thats a sweet hilt, It might look even better with a emitter vent inbetween the forks of the shroud. and perhaps a crystal chamber???

Stinky Bantha
04-15-2008, 01:16 PM
That emitter vent idea is intriguing... I might have to look into getting Tim to do that for me at some point. I'd probably get 3 or 4 to balance it out, though. I wish I had space for the crystal chamber... that would really be awesome. I'll have to come up with something.

Dandura
04-18-2008, 08:28 AM
I'd go with three, to keep its structural integrity intact.