newbie with pics of first saber

[Badkitty]

UUGGHH.. i wrote out a nice post , and once i went to add the pics IE crashed. so i'll keep this one simple

not new to sabers , but its been 7yrs. I built 2 PLASMA sabers a design based off one of the big yellow box's , and a ANH anikan replica. they sat in the closet since then and i recently found them and wanted to check out the advancement of the hobby and i was WOW'D !!

so i'm posting some pics of my progress on my first LED saber. this is only of crystal chamber so far. my first attempt at a crystal chamber and i wanted to do it completely right the first time.

I didnt like the idea of using threaded rods, gluing regular rods , brazing or welding. so i came up with this.

Aluminum discs from the shop, i ground them down to fit the inside of the slotted extension. Drill center hole to fit radio shacks LED holdesr. 3 1/8 holes for the aluminum TUBES. Once i inserted the tubes , i used a spring loaded metal punch inside the tube to expand the ends inside the hole in the discs. No glue , no screws and its perfect. Still have to polish them up of course.



Found a decent looking crystal , wedged between the LED holders , then sqeezed both discs together and used punch on tubes to keep crystal snug.



End View inside extension


Side view inside extension


retainer clip in place, both sides


LEDs on , with flash


No Flash


Led's are 3590mcd 5mm Blue 3.6v from Fry's.

The battery compartment i'm using is a round 3 AAA from a small 9led flashlight. the cheapo u find at home depot for 2 for $5. i like it better than using a 4 AAA and a dummy battery.

The wires for emitter side led will feed 2 at a time thru each hole , hiding the wires PERFECTLY. Retainer clip to hold the sled inside the extension. thats pretty much it for now. i'll post more pics when i get my battery/sound sled finished. using same idea.

EDIT : i am using hasbro eco board (obiwan) , no recharge port and am using the diagram for it , but i had a question ....i want to drive 3 LEDs , the 2 in crystal chamber and the AV latching switch (when they come back in stock). can i power all 3 from the transistor ?

[Azmaria Dei]

looking great so far! i really like the use of chassis disks like that, but i would have used pommel inserts myself. no real reason other than they fit without grinding in that section. it also sounds like you have a good plan of attack for the rest of the saber too. i can't wait to see it. ^_^

[Badkitty]

haha.. the pommel inserts fit in the extensions?? sighh...i did alot of reading , but was overwhelming. guess i missed that part. no biggie. i would rather have machined the hilt myself , but dont have the means of the $500 to buy just a small lathe. It just seems more of MY creation if i do everything, but i definately give props to tim.

[Azmaria Dei]

yeah i'm the same way. since Tim does such wonderful work with such a modular system i'm more than happy to support him and his in this sort of thing. ^_^

[jedimastergarcia87]

Wheres pics of the full saber? Nice chassis by the way.

[Jedi-Loreen]

I think he'll probably post photos of the full saber, once he's finished with it.


I took his initial post to mean that the crystal chamber is all he's got finished, so far.

[dgdve]

You'll see there are many many guys(and girls) who.. digging in thier closet one day... "find there way back" so let me be the first to say.. Welcome back!!. now onto business

I LOVE the idea of using a spring punch(*ding*/Idea Stolen! sry bro its a darkside thing), its actually a great way to terminate a chassis(currently I actually cheat using thread rods and my secret/not so secret "bend").. I also love dummy posts for crystal chambers they will allow you to keep the MAIN power wires "hidden" from the viewable crystal chamber area (by routing them though the tubes) up and beyond.. so thats a WIN/win! I'm watching and waiting patiently on this build... GREAT START!!!

EDIT!: Since its not a finished build, maybe you could (<-ask a mod) move it to the section A->Z builds.. to me it seems it may fit in better there from the way this is starting(FYI thats my fav freaking section BTW)

[Badkitty]

thanks for the feedback. the crystal chamber is finished. last night i was working on the sound/battery chassis. replaced the classh sensor because i needed 5mm for everything to fit. i'll be working on it today during superbowl ...i'll have some pics up tonight.

[Cancer]

Anxiously awaiting :3

[Badkitty]

some pics...not finished.. since i changed my battery setup from 6v to 4.5 , i need to get some resistors tomorrow so no wiring done tonight...plus i hot glued back of battery compartment and forgot to run speaker leads thru the hole , oops

also i did NOT intend to drill the 3 holes completely through the discs..i was going drill 4mm into them so the ends would be nice and flush. oh well again.i dont want to order new ones and wait

i love how the battery holder fits perfectly and allows battery removal as well.the hot glue is just to ensure no rattling.