Goodman's Obi Wan TPM Parks LedEngin 5W Lightsaber Build Thread

Phew, that's a mouthful.

Last week I bought a Parks Obi TPM saber from Kurosawa on Fx-sabers. Apparently this one is an "artist proof" of sorts, made by Jeff Parks himself (I'm still trying to identify it's clear history).

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...h_cf6c8fd9.jpg

I've always liked the Parks Obi TPM, even though to some it has certain inaccuracies. It's certainly no AceRocket/Zenkai, but I love it, and I'm all that matters on this one :). I've never seen a Parks Obi TPM with sound AND a 1" blade (only xwingband's without sound and a 3//4" blade), and when I received the saber, I discovered why: There is only a 3/4" ID in the saber, which is less than the 1" width of, say, a USv2.0. I was determined to reengineer the saber to fit a soundboard without marring the outer finish, and while also maintaining durable-worthy structural integrity. If anything, I thought I would be the first to pull off all four on a Parks 8). I'm a big proponent of dueling with my sabers, so this one will probably never see the inside of an acrylic case in its life.

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...h_f3d4d797.jpg

Within two hours of receiving the saber, I set about converting it. About seven hours later, I was done. Basically reengineered the entire interior of the saber to fit everything --makes me respect Yoda even MORE for his amazing Negotiators (which I still want to buy, btw). I've been playing with this saber ever since and haven't had time to post pictures. No matter, since I have since decided to "re"-convert it with certain upgrades from its current version. I'll post pics of this process the second time around. Stay tuned over the next couple of weeks...

For now, a teaser of its current state:

Parks Obi Wan TPM
USv2.0
LedEngin 5W Blue (brightest blue LED currently available)
Rechargeable Li-ion In Hilt
TCSS Premium speaker
1" UltraBlade

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...h_1d4f5957.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...h_55e8a509.jpg

Planned upgrades:
Steel core for added strength
Integrated copper heatsink
USv2.1
QD LED system for either a LedEngin 5W or a CCW Tri-Rebel with momentary clash (buck/AAA li-ion for W)
3W titanium cone speaker in new custom machined pommel
1" UltraEdge

And a picture of it next to a few others on my workbench, which shows its scale size against typical MHS sabers:

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...h_4bf6f815.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...h_06624b82.jpg

Any questions, feedback, requests... just shoot.

That hilt is not the same as the the older parks OB1s. That version was made specifically to fit the phase blade and batteries ONLY. It's scaled down so that other electroncs do not fit. You might have noticed that the top third, emitter seems larger than the rest - that part is still the same the rest is actually much smaller than the older versions. X-wing's, Yoda's, Jonitus'... all those are the larger-scale parks OB1 TPM.


If you can pull this off, you're a better sabersmith than I... seriously.

Yeah, I noticed that the second I took it out of the box. I used to have one of the older ones, the EL version, and the silver tube on the back sat much closer to the black grip shroud, meaning obviously that there was a lot more space inside. On this one though...like I said, < 3/4" !!! If I can pull it off, it would be the first of its kind, literally. IF...

What complicates things (beyond the whole sound board issue), is that I don't want to simply make a display saber or a show off saber, but an actual beat-to-a-pulp saber. For a saber this..."delicate"... that requires some considerable reinforcement.

Removing enough material in the neck to situate the USv2 board left me with a neck too thin to take the brunt of my strikes (I'm an avid duelist), which is what has prompted my redesign to replace the entire black shroud piece with a custom machined steel piece. Even though the neck wall will be thin, it will definitely be more resilient than the current aluminum neck.

I was going to try and get away with a simple insert, but the forces upon impact needed to be dispersed across essentially the entire saber, which is why I decided to replace the entire black section.


'Also, do you have any idea why Jeff would have scaled down the saber like he did? I've got to put this Parks Phase next to my incoming MR and Larbel OWK TPM sabers this weekend and see exactly where the changes were made. As this one sits though...it's really just for poops n' giggles, since I know it's such a challenge to pull off.

Yes, that would probably not be the best hilt for dueling - just because of the inherent weak-point: neck joint. Even a steel insert would hurt it, structurally, because it would still have to be wide, yet roomy enought to fit LED, heatsink, optics etc...

If it IS possible, I don't know how to do it.

And I don't know why this hilt is scaled like this.

That what I was thinking, which is why my latest redesign has me replacing the entire black shroud piece, which extends from the speaker break by the covertec wheel, all the way to the red/brass control button, into one single piece. Also, I'm thinking I'm going to integrate the neck, which is currently a sleeve extending down from the emitter to the grip checkpoint, into the one piece black shroud. That entire section will be steel, which should give me the rigidity I need.

As for the optics/LED/heatsink, the sink is a solid copper insert set screwed into the top of the steel tube. The LED is bolted to it, but the lens itself is sitting on a "shock absorbing" setup above the LED, to help absorb the hits while still allowing a little "give" without transferring the energy to the LED. It's complicated to articulate in writing...I really just need to get home and finish it so I can post pics.