Newbie -- sorry if repeat question -- helping kid w/ last minute build!!!

Trying to get ready last-minute for Boston ComiCon -- doing a maglite saber. Got everything from here, and using a 2D-cell 168 lumen LED maglite. Put a blue disc in, and while we can see the light hitting the mirror on the blade tip, color is still only effecting about 6 inches of the blade. Is there a fix? Thought of cellophane -- afraid blue will just dim it with the disc and have considered using it w/o the disc. ?? Are also considering just the bulb and opalescent cellophane??? But would prefer to avoid just a bleh white saber -- since plain isn't really even white, it's just a clear tube with a light in it.
Are we doomed with the maglite we have? Too weak? Limited funds and a week and a half to get this thing looking as spiffy as possible!

Hey, Mellex! Welcome!

I haven't done a maglight saber myself, but my understanding is that if only the first few inches are illuminated, your beam may be too wide. Is there a focus ability with the maglight blade holder?

if your doing one with no sound- you might be able to get a buckpuck and a LED and wing the rest.....? I don't know that the light in a maglight will give you what your looking for.

Adding cellophane may help to diffuse the light better. When it comes to even blade illumination, there are multiple important factors:

1. the focus of the beam needs to be appropriate, and it does sound like your beam is too wide.
2. your blade needs things inside of it to capture the light, like cellophane.
3. Have you sanded the outside of your blade? That can help capture and diffuse some more of your light.
4. Alignment of your beam down the blade, the beam must shine directly down the blade to hit the mirror head on.
5. LED brightness, which is also an important factor in even blade illumination.

So, try to focus the beam to a fine a point as possible with the maglight head. I don't think you have time to work on a lens system for the beam. Get a narrow dowel (wooden) that fits inside your blade. Wrap the dowel with about 40" or more of cellophane at a width equal to your blade length. Keep the cellophane tight around the dowel. Insert the dowel and cellophane into the blade, and then withdraw the dowel, leaving your cellophane in the blade. Allow the cellophane to unravel in the blade so that it sits against the inside of the blade.

If you haven't done so, another thing that could help is to sand the outside of the blade with sandpaper. I use 220 grit, then 1000 grit. The small scratches in the outside of the blade help to capture and diffuse light within the blade.

Hope you get it to work!

Tom

No. :( We did just order a lens to see if that will help.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tom Tilmon

Adding cellophane may help to diffuse the light better. When it comes to even blade illumination, there are multiple important factors:

1. the focus of the beam needs to be appropriate, and it does sound like your beam is too wide.
2. your blade needs things inside of it to capture the light, like cellophane.
3. Have you sanded the outside of your blade? That can help capture and diffuse some more of your light.
4. Alignment of your beam down the blade, the beam must shine directly down the blade to hit the mirror head on.
5. LED brightness, which is also an important factor in even blade illumination.

So, try to focus the beam to a fine a point as possible with the maglight head. I don't think you have time to work on a lens system for the beam. Get a narrow dowel (wooden) that fits inside your blade. Wrap the dowel with about 40" or more of cellophane at a width equal to your blade length. Keep the cellophane tight around the dowel. Insert the dowel and cellophane into the blade, and then withdraw the dowel, leaving your cellophane in the blade. Allow the cellophane to unravel in the blade so that it sits against the inside of the blade.

If you haven't done so, another thing that could help is to sand the outside of the blade with sandpaper. I use 220 grit, then 1000 grit. The small scratches in the outside of the blade help to capture and diffuse light within the blade.

Hope you get it to work!

Tom

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This is fabulous, thank you! Opinion -- color cellophane or opalescent (with color disk)? How can I focust the beam? The focus mechanism is in the maglite head (isn't it???) which is removed to put the blade holder on. :/ Any ideas how to focus the beam?

Clear cellphane gift wrap from hobby store. Normally, we use lenses on the LED to focus the light anywhere from a 5-15 degree beam. If you can find a local source for LED lenses, maybe you could buy one to put over the Maglite LED. If not, most maglites can focus to a fine point by twisting the top head. Twist the head until the lens on the Maglite focuses the beam into the smallest point. If you had to remove the focusing reflector to put on the blade holder, I'm afraid you would need a lens over that LED to focus the beam. It will still work ok, if you follow the advice above; however, results would be better with a lens over the LED like this one: CLICK HERE

When we use these lenses on typical Saber Installs, they seat in a lens holder (separate piece also available at TCSS), and the lens holder has legs that seat on the LED Stars we use. The lens holder holds the lens just a hair above the LED to achieve the proper focus angle. This tightens the beam to mostly contain it within a diffused blade, and turns it into a more evenly lit blade. Particularly if you follow the advice.

Here is a good video to watch on blade illumination from the Custom Saber Shop where Madcow (bigtime saber builder) describes the things that make a blade look good:
https://youtu.be/5pKYeFxqENU
I hope you get this worked out for the kid!

Tom