First time build: A saber needs a name

Figured I should kick off a build thread of my own as I start working on putting together my first ever saber build.

I spent about a month and a half just playing around with the MHS builder debating different designs, and browsing different builders' sites for inspiration. I've taken ideas from a lot of different builds and that's culminated in the design that I've commited to with the parts I've ordered.

I'm based in the UK so I've ordered some parts from JQ Sabers while some other stuff that's not available, or custom is coming from TCSS directly. The big piece I'm hoping works out like I'm envisioning is the custom coupler I'm getting machined. Essentially, it's a pommel style 5 with a male thread on each end. I'm hoping it will add a nice visual element to my saber. Here's the rough mock-up I've done in the MHS builder.

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So far the parts have arrived from JQ but I had a minor issue where they accidentally sent me a style 13 blade holder instead of a style 25. It's a really easy mistake to make, and they've been absolutely wonderful to deal with so I really can't say anything negative about them.

My impression on the parts when they arrived were 2-fold. First, wow the detail on the fluted section looks way better in person than in the photos. Second, wow these parts are smaller than I expected. I mean I knew that it was a 4" fluted section and that the ID is only 1.25" but seeing it in person really does feel a bit intimidating. The positive discovery was that my pommel continues at the same ID as the fluted section for about an inch and I think that means I can get my full chassis into the 4" fluted section and just barely into the pommel, leaving room for the recharge port in the pommel insert.

I'm still debating the finishing touches for my saber. I was thinking maybe some brass accents, but lately I've been thinking about copper. I've pinged Tim again to see if he could machine up an MPS insert and some trim rings in copper and we'll see if that flies. I'm also thinking of trying to make some kind of shroud for the blade holder but I've not gone too far down final designs in that regard yet. I'm going to wait for the 3" double female section to arrive before I start mocking up some shroud designs.

There's likely nothing more for me to report until more parts arrive.

I like your design, especially the custom coupler you are having machined. I looked at the picture before reading your post and my immediate response was "where is he getting that piece done!?"

Bullnose. Thats the name that comes to mind.

G-7

German WWII torpedo.

There ya go.

Tom

Thanks for the encouragement. I wish Tim still did the partial powder coating since I think that woudl look really cool on the fluted section and the coupler. I may have to look into how much it would cost to get done locally once the stuff arrives.

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Originally Posted by adacey

Thanks for the encouragement. I wish Tim still did the partial powder coating since I think that woudl look really cool on the fluted section and the coupler. I may have to look into how much it would cost to get done locally once the stuff arrives.

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If I remember correctly, Tim would powder the whole part, and lathe (turn) off the power coat after curing, to expose the aluminum. I don’t think he masked parts. The issue with doing so, was that enough pieces didn’t turn clean (and ruined/chipped the power coat) and it made it time consuming and cost prohibitive to continue.

Another option to remove powder coating is to sand it off in the places you want aluminum to show, though you need to be careful not to damage the are you want to leave powder coated.

Just giving you a heads up before contacting a local company, as to what it might take to do (depending on what you want done).

Yeah, I'd only come up with the idea recently, after ordering a while back, and I was thinking about possibly powder coating the inside of the grooves, the only way I could see doing that without masking would be if he cut the grooves but left the OD slightly thicker, powder coated the piece, then finished turning the OD. I get that's a ton of work.

Obviously I'm still doing a bit of designing as I go, especially since I'm stalled at the moment until the rest of my pieces arrive, so now of course my brain is going to things that I could have done to pimp it out.

Ooh, just got the shipping notification from TCSS so that should mean I'll be able to put together the basic hilt soon and start planning the customisations.

Parts finally cleared customs and showed up today! I am thrilled with how the custom coupler has turned out, it looks fantastic, and I'm so glad that my design worked out as I imagined it would.

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The folks at JQ Sabers also sorted out the correct blade holder with no trouble at all, so that meant I have nearly all of the hte pieces for my hilt. The one minor issue I have is that I forgot to include a button screw for the activation box, but I have a few other bits that I have to sort out soon anyway so I'll pick that up at that point. I did take the time today to clean and grease all of the threads and do a first fit. The saber looks fantastic already, and I'm now almost wondering how much extra customisation it would need. Obviously, the clocking is completely off in spots and I'll need to address that in the final build.

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I still need to sort out my pommel. I'd been debating asking Tim to machine a custom MPS insert out of copper, but in the meantime, I'd stumbled across vaping mods and found these two really cool looking copper pieces. The site was a bit thin on dimensions, but they did say 22mm in some spots so I figured that since it was only a few pounds for both pieces that I'd take a chance on them fitting. It turns out they're slightly smaller than the OD of the pommel and blade holder so with a bit of work I think I could attach them. I think that the thicker solid copper piece would make a great accent to the pommel, as long as it doesn't block the sound too much. Meanwhile, the other threaded part looks like it would make a cool accent on a custom blade plug.

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