MHS Sleeve Vs Sink tube.

[Elodin]

I've been thinking about the chrome sink tube for a shroud on my saber design for a while - I think the shinny-ness will work well in contrast with a black powder coat. BUT would I be better off using MHS Sleeve material? It looks to have a tighter fit, but the extra thickness might be a bit much, as I'm planning cut-away sections over a ribbed extension. Im worried it would feel overly chunky in the hand. It also seems to be less shiny than some of the other parts, (though that could just be the picture).

I'd love to here thoughts on which is better/most sutable for the job.

Elodin

[Silver Serpent]

Both sinktube and sleeve material will fit perfectly well over MHS parts. I have heard that the newer sleeve material is far more polished than the pictures show, but it's not terribly difficult to polish it up at any rate. (Just time consuming)

Two things to keep in mind about sinktube:
1. If you have an open style shroud that doesn't completely wrap around the hilt, it tends to expand a bit and not fit as snugly. This can be good or bad, depending on paint/powdercoating underneath.
2. Sinktube is brass. You will end up with brass showing on the cut edges of the sinktube shroud. This may or may not be a bad thing, depending on your design.

If you want to have MHS sleeve material over a powdercoated MHS piece, you will want to let Tim know beforehand so he can turn the diameter down a bit first to allow the sleeve to fit. Powdercoating adds a small but noticeable increase to the diameter of your parts.

[Natesroom]

where is the sleeve material in the store? I've looked through the MHS area is that what its called?

Never mind found it in misc area... whats the difference between MHS sleeve and MHS Sleeve Material



Also what is a tonfa? - Never mind googled it!

[Silver Serpent]

MHS Sleeve 1 has grooves machined in it like the Mara Jade style grip. It slips over existing MHS pieces rather than screw into them. The MHS Sleeve Material is plain and it's up to you to add awesome to it.

[cardcollector]

Here are my experiences with the two...

MHS Sleeve material;
- gives a solid overlay feel, the ridge is much more pronounced than a sinktube shroud
- Is eaiser to paint
- Is more forgiving
- Is tougher to work with (walls are thicker)
- is tappable

Sinktube shroud
- comes already with a polished chrome look
- is quite thin
- Is easy to work with, but easier to mess up
- Has a "spring" effect where if you cut the tube in half it will pop apart...
- is extremely hard to glue things to...
- can barely tap the tube

[TimeRender]

Personally I think the sleeve material is a much better choice. The only reason I ever use the sinktube is when I want to sand the chrome off and use a brass tube. The sleeve material is really easy to polish if you use Master Jedye's sanding technique. I've gotten a nearly mirror shine on aluminum that way.

[madmaxx]

just drill and tap some screw holes to attach the sleeve to the hilt proper.The extra thickness isn't that noticable and as for the shine, well make friends with several grades of sand paper and start sanding

[Warhorse82]

I had a feeling drilling and tapping would be involved on that. Sounds like a plan to me. And yeah any finishing issues can be resolved with sandpaper!

[Silver Serpent]

It's also possible to use hidden set screws to hold the shroud in place. You drill and tap a hole in the MHS piece, slide the shroud over it, and then use a set screw from the inside to secure the shroud.

You'll have it held in place invisibly, and it works quite well. It's just trickier to do if you have fat fingers.

[Darth Ryo]

It's also possible to use hidden set screws to hold the shroud in place. You drill and tap a hole in the MHS piece, slide the shroud over it, and then use a set screw from the inside to secure the shroud.

You'll have it held in place invisibly, and it works quite well. It's just trickier to do if you have fat fingers.

Why I haven't think about that? nice tip there SS, thanks!