The MINIMALIST Noob Saber Sink Tube

[Darth Abominor]

Well folks, the first build is done. Now, before you say.. ummm, ok.. keep in mind this:

1. I have NO skills with metal work.
2. All work was done with a basic hand drill and alot of quess work. No vice or other stabilizing devices were on hand.
3. It took less than 65 minutes to produce.

Soooo... I give you my first saber build. A basic 1.25 Sink Tube with TCSS parts as follows:

Build Your Own Lux3 Cyan LED kit
1.25 Sink Tube from Lowes
1.25 Sink Tube Blade Holder
Emitter Plug (to save all those with sight)
correct: no sound as of yet, if it ever will have sound

Just goes to prove that ANYONE can build a saber, even with limited time, skill and tools on hand.

She'll be used as a Stunt saber once my blades are back from the shop over at Saber Forge. :)

http://lasersportsusa.com/images/lightsabers/sinktube1001.jpg
http://lasersportsusa.com/images/lightsabers/sinktube1002.jpg
http://lasersportsusa.com/images/lightsabers/sinktube1003.jpg
http://lasersportsusa.com/images/lightsabers/the_minimalist_04_wp.jpg
http://lasersportsusa.com/images/lightsabers/the_minimalist_05_wp.jpg

[Lonewind]

Congrats on your first saber build!

What kind of blade do you have for it?

[Titoshi]

it is very basic, but that is a great way to start. Your holes lined up quite nicely for not have a vise and using a hand drill. Good work! Nice thing about 1.25" sinktube is it can be easily modified further with PVC and Mhs parts. Again, great first saber.

[Darth Abominor]

Thankx. I will be shrouding the hilt with a 1.5 sink/PVC combo some time soon, and yes.. a damn good line of screws without a vice or drill press. :)

Note: For those that ask.. Painters/Masking Tape with the holes marked directly from the Blade Holder then applied to the Sink Tube for drilling is the simple way to do it without any strict measuring tools. I just eyeballed it and made sure it was as close to 90* from center as I could guess.

For the record, the 1.25 Blade Holder from TCSS is a very, VERY tight fit in a Sink Tube. It took me x2 tries to line up the holes as I had to use a saber blade to force the emitter into place and pushed a tad too far in the first time. I then had to run the Blade Holder all the way down and out of the saber hilt and try a second time. Add the slightly uneven holes (inside the saber after drilling and not having a long enough file to sand down the burs) the Blade Holder has a few stray scratches on it, but they cant really be seen from it's installed position as of now.

The blades I have coming back from Saber Forge are basic 1/8? Polys that he grinds a bit on the lathe in order to get that sanded look. I find that it adds a nice line of pure color up the 'center' of the blade and offers smooth and even lighting to the surface/whole length. You can see the 'sanding' on the blade made by the lathe work here, and the color effect of that work below:

http://lasersportsusa.com/images/lightsabers/mos_imperator_04.jpg
http://lasersportsusa.com/images/lightsabers/mi_saberforge_01.jpg

[Titoshi]

I do that to the outside of my blade (with 600 grit sandpaper) and leave the diffuser in. It is not quite that nice, but it still gives a nice soft look to the diffusion without needing a lathe.