"EL-Ready" Larbel Qui-Gon Jinn Hilt?

[SteveWindu]

Greetings, fellow enthusiasts! I hope someone out there can help me with a vexing question I have.

I recently acquired two Qui-Gon hilts on eBay, both supposedly made by HK Larbel. One is solid aluminum and has a socket for a blade, but no room for electonics. The second one I bid on precisely because it was billed as "EL-ready." The black shaft of the hilt is made of a hard plastic and can be disassembled. There is a little room in the upper end of the hilt for electronics, but the red button is just a plastic screw, and the lower portion of the grip (the scalloped "energy cell" section) is solid.

Does anybody out there have experience in mounting an EL blade in one of these hilts? I've never seen one with a working blade. I own a Larbel-like Obi-Wan Ep I & II with an EL blade, but I can't figure out how anybody would mount the works for an EL blade in the Qui-Gon grip. The space available is small and the red button is actually in the solid part of the handle, so replacing it with a switch would be tough. Has anybody attempted this? Would it be possible to perform "radical surgery" by drilling a channel in the solid half of the lower, scalloped part of the grip? [?] [?]

Thanks for any help or advice anybody can provide. I'd love to have a working Qui-Gon, but have very little idea how to modify the Qui-Gon hilt.

--SteveWindu, Jedi Arms Master

[Madcow]

Hey Steve,
First of all welcome to the forum.

Although I have no experience with EL, I have done a few sabers with LED that all fit into a one inch inside diameter machined aluminum tube. I would be happy to help if I can.

Ultimately - if you are patient enough, and willing to try creative solutions - there is almost ALWAYS a way to do it.

Post some pics of your saber issues, and we'll see what we can come up with.

Regards,
MC



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You want to go home and re-think your life

[xwingband]

There shouldn't be a need to cut into it if it is one of Larbel's "EL ready" sabers. It's a bloody tight fit but entirly possible. The EL ready ones came apart right? (especially if you snagged the ones I saw on ebay)

5 inches would be possible if you budgeted your space super tight.

<center>Read the FAQ (http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/sabers/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=552) or x-wing won't be happy. :(
Before posting did you check the Thread Index (http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/sabers/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=577)?.

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[Jedi-Loreen]

<font color="green"><font size="3">5 inches? I honestly don't know how that would be possible. That would be an awfully tight fit, not to damage the wiring and connections.

You have the female connector, the inverter, and switch. Those all take up roughly an inch of space each. Then the 9V battery is, what, about 2" long?

So I suppose it's theoretically possible, but it sounds like a nightmare, logistically! I don't envy you that task.

The smallest EL saber I've made was from a 1.25" tube and the "guts" took up about 8" of space inside, but that was with a 2" blade holder and I left space around things so I didn't damage the connections.

I call it a "lightdagger" and I made 20" long, 5/8" diameter blades for it on purpose so that it can't take a full sized saber blade. I was making "youngling"-like sabers before most others had thought of it, so once again, I was ahead of most everyone else. [:p] And I haven't heard of anyone else custom making smaller diameter blades. [;)]

Good luck and let us know how it came out!

I've actually seen one of these already set up and working, but I never saw how the "guts" were installed. I doubt that the owner wants to open it up and mess with any of it. Or let me look at it myself.

I think I'd be afraid to open it up anyway. If something fell out, I'd probably never get it back in! [:0]</font id="size3"></font id="green">

In order to see the Light, you must sometimes risk the Dark.

[xwingband]

I assumed 5 inches as: 2" for blade (reverse the standard using a female part on the blade), 1" for the inverter, and 2" for the 9V. If you were careful it'd fit, but yeah AWFUL tight.

<center>Read the FAQ (http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/sabers/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=552) or x-wing won't be happy. :(
Before posting did you check the Thread Index (http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/sabers/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=577)?.

http://img508.imageshack.us/img508/6703/xwing8az.gif</center>

[Jedi-Loreen]

<font size="3"><font color="purple">But what about a switch? He said the red button is just a plastic screw. Wasn't that supposed to be the activator on the movie saber?</font id="purple"></font id="size3"> [?]

In order to see the Light, you must sometimes risk the Dark.

[xwingband]

Beats me... I'm not the one with the saber.[:D]

<center>Read the FAQ (http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/sabers/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=552) or x-wing won't be happy. :(
Before posting did you check the Thread Index (http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/sabers/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=577)?.

http://img508.imageshack.us/img508/6703/xwing8az.gif</center>

[Madcow]

I've messed around with mounting the swich/button through the heat sink (drilled a hole)... or into the housing for the lense. I am just not happy with having a switch in the middle of the saber - where you are gripping it.

MC


http://rpetkau.photosite.com/~photos/tn/88_348.ts1141004694072.jpg
You want to go home and re-think your life

[GFORCE13]

Yeah I could see that getting really annoying in the middle of dueling you hit it and off goes the blade.
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"> The smallest EL saber I've made was from a 1.25" tube and the "guts" took up about 8" of space inside, but that was with a 2" blade holder and I left space around things so I didn't damage the connections.

I call it a "lightdagger" and I made 20" long, 5/8" diameter blades for it on purpose so that it can't take a full sized saber blade. I was making "youngling"-like sabers before most others had thought of it, so once again, I was ahead of most everyone else. And I haven't heard of anyone else custom making smaller diameter blades. <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote"> Nice to know it can be done, I am planning on building a small saber for my good friends son, but I have time since he is only 6 months right now.

<center>
" I am a Jedi like my Father before me"
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c237/G-FORCE13/th_DCP_1240.jpg
</center>

[Jedi-Loreen]

<font size="3"><font color="blue">Tim's made it easy to make a youngling saber, with all his part available. They are cute with a shorter blade.

I had to figure everything out for myself back in '03. I made my blade holder out of PVC pipe I cut a piece out of to make it smaller, and an end cap Dremeled out to hold it.</font id="blue"></font id="size3">


http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b8/JediLoreen/Lightdagger.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b8/JediLoreen/FusionandLightdaggerlit.jpg

In order to see the Light, you must sometimes risk the Dark.

[LAN-ED-TUL]

i wonder if there would be room to do a simple led lux in there. i dont know if there would be room, but maybe a thought to consider.

<center>http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c291/LAN-ED-TUL/LANSIG.jpg</center>

Lan-Ed-Tul
The Brotherhood Of The Sith

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

[Zhi-don]

Get the rubber boot for it and it won't turn off as easily. you can get a special switch from Tim, which I had him order. If you accidentally touch the button, the blade won't wink out. It's just the opposite of the normal on/off latching switches. If you touch them with the blade on, even if you don't hit it hard enough to unlatch it, it winks out. The only problem I can see with this new switch is if you lean it up against something with the switch off, it could light up. Otherwise this is the best switch for dueling, I've ever seen.

Zhi-don Aquintas
XO RL Sunrider Base
Treasurer/Head Instructor
Lightsaber training OCSWS

[Hitogiri]

Steve I recently sold my obiwan that the guy said was el ready as well. It was the same as he qui gon, I would have had to do some major modding to make it el or led. I gave up on it, I hope you have better luck.