SparrowHawk's "Threnody" KoTOR-Inspired Saber (Lots of Photos!)

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Originally Posted by JakeSoft

Holy cow. Wow.

If you don't mind my asking, how did you bond the aluminum to the PVC?

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Thanks, JakeSoft!

And of course, ask away! Yeah it was kinda tricky. I used cyanoacrylate glue ("crazy glue" and the like) to bond the aluminum and PVC together. I was finding that the aluminum needs to be sanded and really scratched up for the glue to get a hold. The bigger pieces worked best, but the smaller ones, like on the rings of the choke section, took more convincing to get to stick. I feel like there might be a better adhesive to use, not sure what though. But overall, it worked fairly well. :)

Really love what you've done here! I'm especially a fan of getting wood worked into sabers- yours looks really nice! :)

Very nice saber. Love the wooden section. What is the idea behind the external cable?

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Originally Posted by Sawyer

Really love what you've done here! I'm especially a fan of getting wood worked into sabers- yours looks really nice! :)

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Many thanks, Sawyer! Yes, I'm a fan of wooden components too, and that was the original inspiration for the whole design of this saber! If you haven't seen Arklight Arsenal's builds yet, check these YouTube demos out, he uses walnut and maple veneers to make some gorgeous designs:

Arklight Arsenal's "Rhabdos" custom lightsaber: https://youtu.be/LvMM2-kyilc
Arklight Arsenal's "Aegis" custom lightsaber: https://youtu.be/xkAvF9aKbSA

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Originally Posted by Sloda Foade

Very nice saber. Love the wooden section. What is the idea behind the external cable?

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Sloda Foade, thank you! I had a lot of fun with the cherry wood sleeve.

As to the external cable, it was one part design flaw, one part material choice, and one part work-around, haha. Because I used PVC for the body and the choke section, the thickness of the walls of the upper section really limited the internal space of the hilt. Add a crystal chamber with "reveal mode" and I plain ran out of space for the Tri-Rebel's 6 wires!

So I went Kylo Ren style and routed the wires through the brass tube and flexible cable sleeve on the outside. This allows the upper section to slide up and reveal the crystal chamber and RICE port. It works, it's not ideal, but I learned a lot during the process and have major re-design plans for Threnody 2.0. :D

Interesting, I assumed it was aluminum leaf. You can get the same look with hi grade aluminum tape. If you can locate an injection molding or vacuume/pressure forming tool maker or molder supply source they have adhesive backed aluminum veneer in 1mm thichness. The adhesive is ment to be permanent to aluminum tools...it actually reacts with the PC and won't come off. Cyanoacrylate glue though it forms a chemical bond to the pvc only has a mechanical bond to the alluminum. It also has a low shear strength when applied to metal, hence the use of it as a temporary thread locker. Rotational force on the veneer may force it loose.

A Two part epoxy would probably give the best hold, but any metal will need roughed up because the surface friction is all that will hold the glue. It will also be very messy until you master the application method.

Edit: trick on the tape will be finding it without the companies logo printed on it!

Wow. Your saber is absolutely gorgeous. I love your mix of patina'ed metal with the wood! Anything else has already been complemented on.

In designing my own saber based on MHS parts, I find that the best place for a R.I.C.E. port is within the crystal chassis, similarly to how you've done things. Can you tell me about the process you went through to get the port in that section of your saber?

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Originally Posted by FenixFire

Interesting, I assumed it was aluminum leaf. You can get the same look with hi grade aluminum tape. If you can locate an injection molding or vacuume/pressure forming tool maker or molder supply source they have adhesive backed aluminum veneer in 1mm thichness. The adhesive is ment to be permanent to aluminum tools...it actually reacts with the PC and won't come off. Cyanoacrylate glue though it forms a chemical bond to the pvc only has a mechanical bond to the alluminum. It also has a low shear strength when applied to metal, hence the use of it as a temporary thread locker. Rotational force on the veneer may force it loose.

A Two part epoxy would probably give the best hold, but any metal will need roughed up because the surface friction is all that will hold the glue. It will also be very messy until you master the application method.

Edit: trick on the tape will be finding it without the companies logo printed on it!

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Yes, that's very interesting about using aluminum tape, FenixFire. I think I'd use the tape method if I were to go down this PVC-aluminum veneer path again. Ah, that cyanoacrylate chemical vs mechanical bond totally makes sense, I kept having the aluminum sheer off even after roughing and scratching up the glued side. I realize now a two part epoxy would definitely be the way to go. Fortunately I now have access and training on machining on the lathe and milling machine, and using real metals will save soooo much trouble!

Thanks for sharing your ideas! :D

Absolute work of art!

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Originally Posted by Kreyhn

Wow. Your saber is absolutely gorgeous. I love your mix of patina'ed metal with the wood! Anything else has already been complemented on.

In designing my own saber based on MHS parts, I find that the best place for a R.I.C.E. port is within the crystal chassis, similarly to how you've done things. Can you tell me about the process you went through to get the port in that section of your saber?

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Thanks for your kind words, Kreyhn! I really enjoyed playing with wood and brass, and organic vs mechanical themes, which I definitely plan on expanding upon in version 2.0 of this saber. Fun stuff :)

Ah, I would really like to see how your MHS saber turns out! Indeed, I like to incorporate working parts like the R.I.C.E. port into the crystal chamber, it's such a great way of making the saber feel "real!"

So yes, for getting the port in my saber's crystal chamber, I had to slightly modify the port to get it to fit. I trimmed away the flange around the top of the port (I used style #2) for it to sit flush with outer surface the inner "core" tube. I did this because I was using PVC pipe (3/4" diameter, 1/8" wall, I think), so I was pretty limited for space. If you're using MHS parts, that should be easier to fit a RICE port in since the wall thickness is a bit thinner (0.10" thick). A small dab of hot melt glue holds the port in place, as I didn't end up using the included nut.

For your saber, do you plan on using the chassis disks sold here? If so, I think it would be pretty cool and relatively easy to use one of the metal chassis disks to hold a RICE port, parallel with the length of the saber (rather than perpendicular to the saber like I did). For example, you could use chassis disk style 1 (http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/Ch...oles-P595.aspx), which has a center hole just the right size for the RICE port style 2 to fit, and is thin enough for the nut of the RICE port to engage with port's threads. Only thing to watch out for here is having enough space to plug in the RICE cable without hitting your crystal and other cool components, so a center mounted port might be tricky in a smaller crystal chamber. Alternately, but still with chassis disk style 1, you could drill a hole about 5/16" in diameter in the disk for the RICE port, farther towards the outer edge of the disk to get more clearance to plug in your RICE cable. Is that making sense? Hard to describe these spatial things sometimes!

Let me know if that helps in your process, I've been meaning to draw up some crystal chamber models in 123D Design for another build that has some similar challenges for the RICE port, and I can totally share them with you! :)

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Originally Posted by CET

Absolute work of art!

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Thank you CET! I appreciate your feedback :D