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archammer2
03-01-2006, 03:31 PM
Eh, might move this to one of the other parts of the forum if necessary.

I've had this idea for a saber in my head for months. Even before I found TCSS. It's a bit unusual, but then again, so am I. I was wanting to make a saber based on something like a joystick, or a control stick in a starfighter, but heavily modified.

Now, gave in awe of my MS Paint graphical skills!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v392/JustPlainJim/sabers/dreamsaber.jpg

I got bored at work. :P

Anyway, I want something with more of a curve (maybe not this much) and a sort of guard at the top, like a sword. If you couldn't tell, it's the EL-blade wiring setup. But I'd like to have a trigger press the switch. Click-on, click-off. Now for the big question.
Can it be done?

Well, of course it can be done, but how? I've been going over it in my head off and on, trying to think of how I'd do it. First thoughts were to rip apart a joystick, but I'm too cheap to buy one just to tear it apart... and I like the one I have. :P
Other ideas have been to carve the thing out of wood or make a quick prototype so I could make another from resin (which I've never worked with before).
Or, beg and plead with some of my bosses and get them to let me use their 3D printer overnight. (Side note: Ain't gonna happen.)

So, I cast my idea to the experts and collective knowledge and experience of the Custom Saber Show forums!

Your thoughts, input, comments, and cake recepies are greatly appriciated!

bazuka
03-01-2006, 03:50 PM
You know, it's strange... My first lightsaber design is very close to what you have there. I have decided not to build it, but here's how I was going to accomplish it.

My first thought for the main part of the hilt was gold-sheen obsidian rock. Now, I've never carved before, so that's why I abandoned the idea.

My second thought was wood, but I couldn't figure out a way to hollow out the inside, keep it strong, and have a reasonably sized OD so it was comfortable to hold.

My last thought on it was using carbon fiber for the entire thing. You could sculpt foam to get the shape of the saber, then laminate some composite material on the outside. Essentially it's lost foam vacuum casting. Only problem with this is that it'd have to me a two piece design, and I didn't want that.

If I were to press on with it, I'd go the composite route. For some extra color besides black, you could use Kevlar (yellow mostly), or you could use a Carbon Fiber/Kevlar weave that come in Blue/black, yellow/black, and red/black types. The switch electronics would just be a push-on, push-off button. As far as the mechanism, you'd probably save a lot of time using some sort of prototyping plastic like Polymorph that they sell at Maplin in the UK. If you go with vacuum forming the casing of the hilt, you could also do some thermoplastic forming with a vacuum table.


AAH! Too many things to consider for me. Best of luck producing it though.

Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny. Consume you it will.

xwingband
03-01-2006, 04:28 PM
My personal saber I came up with years ago was having a saber the shape of a Clorox cleaning wand. I have since put it on the back burner for the same reason that I can't think of a way to do it without using 2-pieces. The wand itself is kept together so well that the only way to get it apart is to ruin it's shape.

If anyone here knows a way enlighten us please.[:)]

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supertrogdor
03-01-2006, 04:57 PM
The fun part is coming up with a design, that you have already done. The difficult part is getting materials to put it together. I will think on this and let you know what i find if it may be of any help to you.
cheers and good luck

archammer2
03-01-2006, 06:07 PM
*laughs* At least I got some good thoughts going!

I really don't mind using two pieces. I was kinda thinking of haing two pieces and maybe encasing those in a larger, but tight-fitting outter shell.

If I were confident in my soldering skills and that I'd never have to replace anything but the battery... I could carve out both pieces in wood, cut out what I need to hold everything, seal it together, and coat it all with plastic so the seams don't show.

See, I kinda want to have a crimson plastic look to it.

My biggest problem is that I want everything to be symetric. I'm weird about that. Plus, I wouldn't mind using a screw to hold in the end cap. I have oodles and gobs of wood laying about (it's freaking rural Illinois. Of course there's wood!) so.. part one is asking if there's a quick and easy way for it all to match up evenly.

... Last resort: I use Legos.

Side note:
Another idea I had from ages past was a Jedi Gunblade ( google it if you've never played Final Fantasy VIII ). A lightsaber atop a blaster that could be activates by a switch on teh side of teh blaster... and the saber detaches. Again, the wiring and switches would be easy! ... it's just buying a blaster toy, tearing it apart, moving everything around and

nich
03-01-2006, 07:07 PM
Ok if you want to go resin route its not that hard to do. Let me explain. The first thing that you need to do is get a big thing of wax about the size of your saber. Make it of of the wax. The next thing you need is cut it in half and then hallow it out. After that you need a wood box or two set the pices in and do a google search for molding with resin. I don't remember what is used for this part. Next fallow the in struction from what you find on google and the molding. Make the molding and then go a head and wait for it to dry cut line around it but leave it as one peace. Now that you have the mold and you should have an opening in the bottom. Now do a nother google search on the resin and where to get it. You will also need powder marble for the resin. Resin is light and needs something that will add some weight to it. Poor the resin in and wait for it to dry and then but it all together. Its a lot of work but you would be able to make copies pretty quickly after words. The down side is that you would not beable to duel with your saber. Even with the marble resin is not that strong and can brake pretty easily.
Nich

xwingband
03-01-2006, 08:22 PM
Resin is quite duelable (the majority of the movie sabers are resin) but the type you are talking about is not condusive to making a saber as it's not hollow.

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LAN-ED-TUL
03-02-2006, 02:39 AM
i dunno, i was under the impression what they used was made more from metal. machined or found parts. i would rather mock one up from something more solid myself, thats just me.

You dont know the POWER, of the dark side...

bazuka
03-02-2006, 05:04 AM
Resins can be surprisingly strong. Carbon Fiber laminated with resin can be as strong as steel in certain applications at a fraction of the weight.

Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny. Consume you it will.

desertscorpion
03-02-2006, 09:14 AM
Archhammer,

I really like your design. It's not one I would personally use, but it's cool. Actually, I always thought that someone who fights using the style Sidious does would benefit from a like saber handle shaped like that. It seems it would aid in running your enemy through. Cool. [8D]

archammer2
03-02-2006, 10:43 AM
desertscorpion:
Thanks! Like I said, it started as a flight stick idea, and... well, I guess when I was drawing it, it kinda changed into this. I love the more unorthadox things in the world. To me, it seems more... classical. Elegant, in a way. Then again, I thought the Edsel looked kinda cool.

Okay, here's an idea. There are some flexible, segmented metal tubes used for... well, I'm not really sure, but I think I saw 'em in the heating duct aisles in Lowe's. Could I maybe set up all the wiring and stuff in there and coat it with something to hold it at that shape and to fill it out to the form I want it? (again, maybe resin?)

Still thinking of how I'd make the guard. ... and the trigger...

xwingband
03-02-2006, 02:13 PM
I know the stuff you are talking about but I didn't know they came in those small of sizes. Resin wouldn't work for that, it's drippy before it drys and wouldn't apply evenly, which is why it's most often used in molds. I'd say fiberglass would work if you could make the shape you wanted and cover it. The kind of stuff they use to make custom car dashes and speaker mounts is what I'm thinking about. You'd have to sand and paint it but that's no big deal.

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archammer2
03-02-2006, 04:21 PM
I'd swear I saw some that was 1.5" or 1.25" ... Or maybe I'm crazy (I'm betting on the latter).

Ah, there'd be no way to hold the tube in the resin while it hardens, would there? Darnit.

Sanding and painting is no big deal, but where would I find the stuff? I'm guessing Autozone and places like that?

xwingband
03-02-2006, 04:28 PM
I guess... I've never used it but I know that's what you'd be looking for. If you do find some of that stuff at 1.25 or 1.5" then it also has the advantage that you could probably cut it out and have just the shell.

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bazuka
03-02-2006, 04:54 PM
Archammer
Here's my original concept...
http://img116.imageshack.us/img116/1361/woody1bz.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
If you read closely, you'll see that the spine of the curve was going to be an inlay made from bone. You can get a human skull for under $50 on ebay. My wife didn't like that idea at all.

And here's the new concept...
http://img116.imageshack.us/img116/2329/sintelone2fn.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
This one is slimmed down quite a bit, but you get the idea.

Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny. Consume you it will.

Tiberius172
03-02-2006, 08:57 PM
[:D] Bazuka, Dude! A human skull incorporated into a Sith Hilt! Now that's flirting with the Dark Side!!! ....Hee Hee Hee, I do Like it!

If you ever pull it off, you'd have an original for sure.

Tiberius

archammer2
03-02-2006, 11:06 PM
A... human... skull...

And I thought I had problems. o_O;

nich
03-03-2006, 12:53 AM
Xwing,
The resin that I have used has not been very durable. So im wondering what your experiances with it have been. I need to find what it was that I was using. Let me know so that I can at least learn a little bit about it. Thanks for the info so far.
Nich

supertrogdor
03-03-2006, 09:12 AM
when i was working with the white pvc that serves as a grip, i just finished sanding it when my wife commented that it looked like bone. You might give it a try as a section of it will run you about $2 from your local lowes or home depot, heck of a lot cheaper than skulls and you can heat and bend it at will, ends up plenty stiff too... just a thought

xwingband
03-03-2006, 09:23 AM
Resins come in all different hardness depending on what you want. I haven't used it much at all so I can't point you in any direction other than it's out there but I can tell you that they used ultrahard resins for the movies in the dueling scenes. They actually developed a way to plate metal onto the resin instead of painting.

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LAN-ED-TUL
03-03-2006, 11:12 AM
yep, i checked you can get a human skull on ebay, dang, what next?

You dont know the POWER, of the dark side...

xwingband
03-03-2006, 11:21 AM
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by LAN-ED-TUL

yep, i checked you can get a human skull on ebay, dang, what next?

You dont know the POWER, of the dark side...
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

Kidneys to the highest bidder.[:D]

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987654321a
03-03-2006, 08:57 PM
wow thats a sick saber, but dont u think itll be to hard to make, cause of the curves

The Dark Side will kill you
www.starwarscustoms.bravehost.com

bazuka
03-03-2006, 09:20 PM
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by LAN-ED-TUL

yep, i checked you can get a human skull on ebay, dang, what next?

You dont know the POWER, of the dark side...
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

I was surprised too. Apparently, you can buy Human skulls, but you can't buy Elephant Ivory that isn't artwork. There's one guy around there who has monkey skulls and wildebeest horns and stuff.

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by supertrogdor
when i was working with the white pvc that serves as a grip, i just finished sanding it when my wife commented that it looked like bone. You might give it a try as a section of it will run you about $2 from your local lowes or home depot, heck of a lot cheaper than skulls and you can heat and bend it at will, ends up plenty stiff too... just a thought
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

I may give that a try. I wanted a skull so I could cut the part out of the top center where the plates fuse together, but I can probably simulate that pretty well with just PVC.

archammer2: Sorry I hijacked your thread. Back to your hilt... Have you considered getting a pipe bent on a mandrel, then building up the outside with plaster or something like it? It may get uncomfortable for you to hold if you make it too big, but if it's just for display, I'd try it.

Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny. Consume you it will.

nich
03-03-2006, 10:56 PM
xwing,
Thanks for the information I'm going to have look in to that when I find out more I'll let you know what I find out.

archammer2
03-06-2006, 11:06 AM
bazuka:
S'okay. To be honest, I want to see just what I can buy on eBay now. Ya know, I could use a third kidney... Maybe another lung... OH! An extra heart!

Anyway, I've got ideas running through my head, but for now... My brain's stuck on my classes and my cheap second saber that just... Well, inspiration hit, so I have to do it. A much simpler idea. ^_^;

"Have you considered getting a pipe bent on a mandrel"

If I knew what that meant, I might. Care to explain it a bit?

xwingband
03-06-2006, 11:14 AM
A mandrel is usually much bigger and sometimes automated, but maybe the picture of a pipe bender will give you and idea.

http://www.diydata.com/techniques/plumbing/bender.jpg

Auto/Motorcycle shops usually have them for bending mufflers. They usually flatten one side to a degree. :/

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