Silver Serpent's "Hatchling" Stunt

**Silver Serpent** · 08-17-2010, 08:07 PM

I learned quite a few things while assembling my first lightsaber. In no particular order:

1. Soldering takes practice.
2. Aluminum is a lot lighter than it appears.
3. Never trust that your dad's 20-year-old 8-32 tap is still in good shape.
4. Swearing at your soldering iron doesn't improve your ability to solder.
5. Heat shrink tubing doesn't always shrink as much as you think it will.
6. Wear sunglasses when you press the power button for the first time.
7. LED stars are TINY.
8. Measure your wires BEFORE you start soldering them together.
9. Wear safety glasses. You never know when hot solder will pop at you.
10. Tim makes some fantastic parts!

This is just a simple MHS stunt saber, Seoul P4 green LED with trans white blade (no wrap) and buckpuck. I named it "Hatchling" since it is my first illuminated saber, and it showed me that I have a lot of room to grow as a saber builder. Also, I *really* need to work on my soldering skills!

Sorry about the poor picture quality, my fiancee left today and took my good camera with her.

**Tahm** · 08-17-2010, 08:46 PM

Looks good to me! Congrats! I think that even the most seasoned saber smiths feel they have room for improvement! Remember few (if any of us) are experts at everything this hobby has to offer. Once again good job!

**HepatitvsJ** · 08-17-2010, 08:49 PM

looks good...great job on your first sabre!
although I am going to have to revise my jedi sabre concept since this is nearly identical to it. grrr

now to the second part...is your fiancee just at work? or worse? lol (well I hope it's a lol situation)

**Silver Serpent** · 08-17-2010, 09:34 PM

She was only visiting for the weekend. Call me old-fashioned if you like, but I don't think we should live together until after we're married. I don't want to be cheated out of the newlywed experience

After looking through my Box-O-Junk, I found an uncut piece of sinktube that's just crying to be made into a shroud for this saber. Perhaps tomorrow I will test my dremel-fu.

**duncan29793** · 08-17-2010, 09:35 PM

#4 quite true, but that doesn't stop us from trying. It is like hitting the tv to make the static go away.

**cardcollector** · 12-01-2010, 10:13 PM

Originally Posted by Tahm

Looks good to me! Congrats! I think that even the most seasoned saber smiths feel they have room for improvement! Remember few (if any of us) are experts at everything this hobby has to offer. Once again good job!

I disagree I am an expert at failing to measure twice drill once...

I missed this saber somehow...:/

Great saber dude! Soldering does take practice, but don't worry, youll get the hang of it. I found tiny tips and thin solder make life a lot easier.

**Silver Serpent** · 12-03-2010, 06:46 AM

This saber no longer exists as shown in the photos. I'm just having a hard time finding the wife's camera so I can take pictures of the upgraded version.

I added a 2010 econo sound board, paint in the fluting, and a brushed brass overlay. Still debating on making it rechargeable, since my poor cram-fu makes it unpleasant to open the saber for battery replacement.

Soldering skills have improved a lot, though. I've redone all the electronics in this a couple times for various reasons. Usually to fix the poor soldering on the econo board.

**eastern57** · 08-18-2010, 02:06 AM

Originally Posted by Silver Serpent

I learned quite a few things while assembling my first lightsaber. In no particular order:

1. Soldering takes practice.
2. Aluminum is a lot lighter than it appears.
3. Never trust that your dad's 20-year-old 8-32 tap is still in good shape.
4. Swearing at your soldering iron doesn't improve your ability to solder.
5. Heat shrink tubing doesn't always shrink as much as you think it will.
6. Wear sunglasses when you press the power button for the first time.
7. LED stars are TINY.
8. Measure your wires BEFORE you start soldering them together.
9. Wear safety glasses. You never know when hot solder will pop at you.
10. Tim makes some fantastic parts!

Spoken like a true veteran.

Keep it up man, it's good to reflect on what you've learned. You only learn more from here on out!