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.