Saber build log - Aegnor's Soulless

Hello!

I'm new to this hobby and I started a not-that-long-time ago to read the forum and search for ideas and technics. (And I'm not english native speaker, so I ask for mercy when my grammar is inconsistent ;) )

Well, then I decided to make a saber for a very good friend who get married soon. The saber is supposed to be related to a rpg character (a dark jedi) and the design reflects the twisted mind of the fallen hero.

Saber is built upon TCSS parts and a graflex clamp. I use a CF8 sound board with a lot of (usual) stuff attached to it: a recharge port, a RICE port, three accent LEDs and a Blade mimiking crystal (RGB LED). There are a power switch, an aux switch and a tangible font selector (a press button attached to the crystal holder).

I went into a lot of trouble designing the chassis as the parts are very narrow and I decided to use a 18650 Li-ion battary :) The saber is long (11") and I managed to place all the stuff in it, at least on the bluprints :)


For this first post, I provide the wire-design along with a inside-view of the saber. Don't hesitate to tell me if you notice something weird or incorrect in the wiring. It's my first work with sabers and I can't dodge every trap despite my reading of the forum ;)

Attachment 15276

See you soon for an indepth view of the saber design, chassis design and at last, when all is validated and printed... the build! :)

Anorr

Depending on what the exterior of the hilt looks like, that looks like an awful lot (pretty close to too much) to try to cram into your first saber. Things that look nice on paper rarely work out quite as well in person.

Hi!
Thanks for your note. You are right: that's maybe too much :) and I have to try hard to get all stuff in it. But I agree: I go in a real challenge :)
I first 3D printed a part of the chassis to probe for design failure and space issues... Then fixed a part of them :D
I eventually made use of old computer IDE cables to have all component related wires at the same place and very thin enough to place and go where expected.

The exterior is very simple, by the way: pure TCSS parts I have to weather a bit.

Attachment 15282 (cheap photo where the clamp is missing; not the best design ever, I confess, but it pleases the future owner ;) )

More soon!

Nice section cuts; thing is stuffed to the gills.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ls-event

Nice section cuts; thing is stuffed to the gills.

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Yes... I was supposed just to make a Crystal Chamber but I did not managed to stop my hand drawing... The CF8 cannot be left floating in the void, true? And so on... :D

Do you have the I.D. of the ribbed extension shown at 1.25 inches? If so, that is off, as the ribbed pieces have an I.D. of only 1.15 inches.

Yeah your gonna run into BIG (pardon the pun) space problems inside the ribbed section. Love the way they look but they make for some more interesting cram-fu. Oh and I like the simple look of the saber. Weathered it will have a nice Dark side feel.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Thalan the Exiled

Love the way they look but they make for some more interesting cram-fu.

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Main bodies have an internal diameter of 1.25" -- 31.75 mm.
Ribbed sections have an internal diameter of 1.15" -- 29.21 mm.
Chokes have an ID of 0.8" -- 20.32 mm.

That difference of not-quite three millimeters doesn't seem like a lot, until you actually start trying to get stuff into it.

Reference: Chassis Disk style 2 text

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jay-gon Jinn

Do you have the I.D. of the ribbed extension shown at 1.25 inches? If so, that is off, as the ribbed pieces have an I.D. of only 1.15 inches.

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Hi, yes, that's true! I initially made my first design with the provided dimensions and was surprised when the parts arrived to see that the ID was wrong. I rework all the chassis with my own measurments :)

For this purpose, I modeled the pieces in 3D with the "almost correct" dimensions and they are available in STEP/STL format for who asks.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jenny

Main bodies have an internal diameter of 1.25" -- 31.75 mm.
Ribbed sections have an internal diameter of 1.15" -- 29.21 mm.
Chokes have an ID of 0.8" -- 20.32 mm.

That difference of not-quite three millimeters doesn't seem like a lot, until you actually start trying to get stuff into it.

Reference: Chassis Disk style 2 text

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Yes! My prototype hardly entered the ribbed section the first time! I always take some margin for errors and with no paint and no sanding, it was hard to push inside. But don't worry, I'm new to sabersmith, not to crafting! ;D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Thalan the Exiled

Yeah your gonna run into BIG (pardon the pun) space problems inside the ribbed section. Love the way they look but they make for some more interesting cram-fu. Oh and I like the simple look of the saber. Weathered it will have a nice Dark side feel.

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Thanks for the message! More photos soon and a lot of cram-fu expected :P

Hello!

I tried and painted quickly the chassis prototype using technique depicted by Martin Bayer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrepVM8liF8). It's not perfect and it's not intended to. BTW, I'm not sure to be able to make a better job ;)

As said before: the prototype works well but is not perfect. For instance, chassis is "too big" to fit the TCSS parts and some scratchs are visible on the paint because of the attrition when inserting the crystal chamber in the tube.

Attachment 15321

The final part would be smaller about 0.2mm and I improved a lot of things that were not printable.

Attachment 15322

The crystal is supposed to change the soundfonts of the saber and a micro-switch is placed for this. It is triggered by a mobile crystal holder attached to a flexible piece of plastic. It worked fine on the prototype. In the actual crystal chamber, I may use a metallic part to be sure it won't break.

Attachment 15323

More news to come!

I actually used a similar technique with iron for a chassis. I ended up rubbing it down with my needle nose pliers, mostly on a whim. Most people are shocked that it's a 3D printed piece of plastic, even if I think it's obvious.

That's true: initially, it's plain grey, but when rubbing it with care (not on my pics ;) ) it ends up very... shiny and realistic :)

Wiring is likely going to give you the most trouble with a cramfu design. Wires rarely follow where you want as they tend to "spring".

-Denzil

Very cool!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Denz

Wiring is likely going to give you the most trouble with a cramfu design.

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Why are people still harping on this? He's clearly demonstrated that he knows what he's doing, and can handle whatever arises!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jenny

Why are people still harping on this? He's clearly demonstrated that he knows what he's doing, and can handle whatever arises!

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Haha! Thanks for the encouragements, but I'm not that sure of what I'm doing! ;) I have a good experience in wiring but not in such a confined space. As some arose before, it will be a very challenge to me :)

I start tomorrow... :)

I want to see your wiring diagram, please? I anticipate I'll learn something from it!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jenny

I want to see your wiring diagram, please? I anticipate I'll learn something from it!

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Hi! You can find it on the first page of this thread, but I place it there again: (or I don't understand your request ^_^)
Attachment 15276
I can make a clearer one, if you want, or a parted one with every feature on a single diagram :)

Regards

But that shows a tri-star; aren't you using a quadpod?

Hi!

Here is a new wiring diagram using actual CF8 board.
Attachment 15346

Nope: I use a triStar for this saber. I previewed to make use of quad (Cree XM-L as suggested in another topic) for another saber, based on CF8+CEx. I'll surely make another BuildLog for that one as it will be "miiine" and I have planned some weird interior design too... But actually, for the current saber, no. Just a TriStar... :| ;)

Ah, I guess I missed the QuadPod being for a different sabre. I'll watch for your wiring diagram on that one with interest!

CF8 just hacked to make it "single cell" complient. :)
The hard way: too big soldering iron, too short tin-sucker (I don't get the actual word for that copper bread ^_^)... About half an hour to make the bridge out of a steel-that-don't-want-to-be-tinned wire... :) And at last I use a cotton-bud to spread flux arround and it made lint I had to remove with pliers. :) A loooong day... ;)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Anoril

tin-sucker (I don't get the actual word for that copper bread ^_^)

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That's a new one for me. I've seen it called desoldering braid or desoldering wick. tin-sucker works, and is probably much better than what I would have come up with in French.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rlobrecht

I've seen it called desoldering braid or desoldering wick.

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Haha! I mispelled "braid" :)
Thanks for the correction! I'll go to sleep cleverer :D

Hello!

I eventually found time to go with wiring my CF8 and all the components for testing.
My wiring diagram was incorrect: power LED chan2 et chan3 were inverted! I placed the anode on the PEx of the chans and the kathode on the Pow- pad of the board... :P
Well, the LED did not fry.
Now, it works fine!

Any hilt progress? I wanna see the whole thing. Looks nice. Its like a cross of Luke's Empire and Jedi lightsabers in a way :P

Hi!
I'm done with the sound board settings.

I quite slow as I have to look after my newborn who is quite "time consuming" ;) :D

I'm waiting for a new drill (I broke the last one few weeks ago) to start with body modifications and screw placements. Actually I'm missing a dramatic part: the Graflex clamp, so I'm also stuck for this reason. I run into a lot of interesting adventures ;)

I'll check your saber references as they look interresting too :)

Thanks for reading!

Regards

Hi!

I'm not dead! Just lost in the outer rims...

Ho! And I made a hole! (and some scratchs)

Attachment 15635

:cool: ;)

I'm sure I'm close to the end!

... I'm... Not... Dead.

I have more time now and I at last received the graflex clamp to complete the hilt:
Attachment 15807

Here I now have to machine the hilt to get the internal led visible.

I also started to work the various chassis parts:
Attachment 15808

More to come.

Regards

I just read your entire thread, and I wish you luck on the install. I am excited to see the finished saber. Your engineering has been impressive here. I admire your ingenuity and tenacity on your first saber build! I was not quite as complex with mine. My first saber was crazy long, with tons of unused space. I am currently going back into it to fill much of that empty space with new gadgetry to make that saber better. Good luck!!!!

Tom

Hi, Tom!
Thanks for your encouragements! :)
I know it is challenging. Maybe too much, I would say... I got a lot of issues with 3D printed stuff that is not reliable enough and I have to replace some parts with metalic hand made tiny bits... :P

The lenght is an issue, too: I started with placing all that I wanted into the hilt, and did not realize the actual length... A number is very different from having a hilt of the given length in the hand... :D That may sound stupid but I'm always suprised to see how I'm not able to have an actual and realistic idea of a projected design into reality... Well... The saber is long but at the end, comparing with a graflex, it is "acceptable" :)

More images and videos to come. (nothing relevant for now: I only struggle with crystal chamber building and spend a lot of time sanding the plastic parts... ;) )

Anorr

Hi!

Here is where I am in the build: I tested my electronic and started to mount the crystal chamber.
Attachment 15841

I also aligned the saber parts...
Attachment 15842

I premounted the chassis to check structural consistency. It works. Many work to sand down stuff to correct size...
Attachment 15843

Then I started to paint the chassis using technics explained by Mike from MB Sabers.
Preparation :
Attachment 15844

First paint:
Attachment 15845Attachment 15846

Brushing/polishing:
Attachment 15847Attachment 15848

Weathering (using rusting solution adapted to iron-based paint):
Attachment 15849Attachment 15850

A simple before/after weathering:
Attachment 15851Attachment 15852

Now, I have to seal/varnish the paint, increase the hilt internal place using a rotating-tool because all this paint prevents the chassis to get in easilly... :(

At last, I'll have to cram all the electronic in this... And I noticed before: it will be very hard ^_^ Starting with the switches that I already have issue with: contacts are very hard to place due to very few space for mounting the graflex clamp and the switches and then to weld the wires from the inside of the hilt... Yes... Engineering/Design issue ;)

More photos of this to come.

See you all!

Anorr

That looks very old and neglected. Nice job.

Amazing chassis !

I'm close to the end.

I stuffed the châssis: it was hell! Too many wires, not enough place... As espected. I got an issue with the aux button that seams to trigger anytime and I sectioned the blue LED wire when closing the hilt... Got some rework...
Attachment 15872Attachment 15873Attachment 15874Attachment 15875

And I finished on the other side the hilt weathering. I'm a bit proud of it, for a first hilt weathering attempt! Many thanks to the forum for the technics!
Attachment 15876

Once I fixed my problems, I post a video of the saber!

See you all, and thanks for the support!

Hello!
I'm done with the saber and it has been offered!

Here a show video (in french) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfbaH8yPlXk

Now. I'm working on a classic ESB Graflex :)

Thanks for all your advices!

Paul