brass and copper ground up saber build

[vctrsone]

hey im building my first light saber its a a copper and brass light saber, it has a curved hilt and features fully brased parts and hilt. it is nearly complete and i will post pics soon.

im just using a 2010 clone wars vader hasbro sound card for the moment and lux I red led (wanted amber shop sold me red Grrr shes in ther now..)
i made a custom battery holder for 3x aaa's and im about to put a plug in so i can recharge it with out taking it apart.

shes a bit tight for space as i started off using a 1" tube lol...big mistake made things real tuff but ive had it all together and running...just fine tuning the battery pack and charging and i think im going to get a smaller degree lens..shop here gave me a 25 degree one which is to wide spread.

i was also wondering if it that card would run a 3 watt led straight off it? i have bridged the 3 -led circuits on the board. im looking at a cree warm white 3 watt led would the card handle this? i have 3.6v power supply.

im really looking for rubber right now! just cant fint anything that looks right for a small peace of grip...(gota throw some black in with all the goldy colours lol)

lots of stuff to say, lots of saber to build. hope to hear from yah cheers

[cardcollector]

Hey! It sounds as you are off to a great start.

You need to use a transistor setup with the 2010 cards. Here is the link.http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com...ad.php?t=10288

Grip wise, I like to use ribbed rubber flooring. Almost all of my sabers in my sig use it. You can also use the T track grips sold in TCSS and shorten them a little...

[vctrsone]

thank you great link reading it all now and nice il look into the rubber flooring..im in new zealand the frieght kills me

ooh im using 3.6 volts it the only thing...i dont have room for more voltage at the moment...thatl be in the next saber build...i read the star leds usually use 3.6v is that right? if so can i just use the negative from sound card and positive straight from the battery pack?

[cardcollector]

Try googling for some local suppliers...

I'm not sure what you are trying to do with the wiring. add a recharge function?

I assume you are using Nimh Batteries. One Li-ion cell takes up less space if that's the problem.

3.6V is perfect for what you are trying to do.

[Rhyen Skytracker]

The 2010 sound cards will not even come close to putting out enough current to power a high power LED and trying to have the + on the batt and using the - on the sound board will not work. You will not be able to get enough current to flow since the - is very restricted by the card. You will need to use either a transistor or a relay as in the link that was posted earlier. If you use a transistor make sure you use a PNP transistor that can pass enough current through. The TIP42 works great. Also, did you say you got a 25 degree lens from the store here? The only ones I have seen them carry are the 5, 10 and 8.5 degree lenses.

I think a brass and copper saber will look great, I can't wait to see pics of it.

[vctrsone]

hey thanx for the interest. today i brought a 5amp pnp transistor,3 watt amber star led (unbranded one should be fine tho says it has 75 lumens), a colimator 10 degree lens and some two slide switches one of which has a led in it that lights when turned on..ooh im in new zealand so ive just been visiting my local hardware store. freight kills me from the usa. anything smallish isnt worth me getting in freight costs more than the items.

i also found an old rubber floor mat that ive cut out some grip from it looks great.

ooh and i found an extremely cheap electronic light saber with a 30" defused blade which i modified to fit...il just use this cheap blade untill i order in the real thing from this site.

oh and i found a ni-mh smart battery charger for cheap that allows you to charge any amount (up to 10x aa or aaa) of battery packs. so im replacing it with a male plug and adding in a female to the saber somewhere so i can recharge it.

im going to be doing a few hours soldering tomorro sticking in the new circuit and what not so il take detailed photos as i do it.

[vctrsone]

ok sorry still no photos yet....i just finished the circuitry now with pnp transistor..

only problem is the intense heat the pnp transistor gives off!

i ran it for like 20 secs and nearly burnt the tips of my fingers off when i went to see how hot it was.

its so hot im scared its going to melt wires in ther...

so what can i do...remember i have a 1" tube so shes damn tight in ther...i though maybe i can just screw it to the wall of the pipe..

would love some ideas....i thought of maybe putting heat shrink/silacon over/around it but then it might get even hotter lol

[vctrsone]

stuff it while i wait for replys im taking photos of the circuitrys and components.

[Skottsaber]

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!

STOP DOUBLE POSTING

This is the SECOND TIME! AND You posted the exact same thing in the 2010 Tutorial thread! AND it was a downright RUDE post!

If you can't be courteous to the forum, its users and owners then PLEASE LEAVE

[vctrsone]

wtf! in what way was i rude?? and i double posted because not everyone reads every post and this is the one about "my" saber..so i posted it here too.

I think you need some lessons on english if you think that was being rude. all i did was ask about my transistor setup and the heat sinking of it....all i wanted to know was if the the transistor would blow if it couldnt conduct its heat away from itself..whats rude about that?

you yourself have come off as very rude by posting this...

I am currently building my saber so i couldn't wait 15days to be able to use private messages and the shout box or I would have. I am always an active person in forums and I like to help when I can.

I am now thinking of putting a small accent led in the pommel of my saber as it has this cool little cone on it thatl look great with one inside it.