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Thread: Rogue9607's Satele Inspired Saber - First Saber

  1. #41

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    More progress, but nothing really noteworthy until today. Took quite a bit of time to clean up and polish all the parts. End results look quite nice.


    Today I finished up my artwork for the etching and got that printed on the PNP Blue sheets. I wrapped it tightly and taped it before putting it in the oven to bake.


    I'm pretty happy with the results. There are some areas I'm touching up with model enamel, but the only areas that need much were from the seam.


    Hopefully I'll have time tomorrow to start the etching!

  2. #42

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    Cant wait to see what it looks like!
    "If you are to truly understand, then you will need the contrast, not adherence to a single ideal."

  3. #43

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    Wow, what an incredible relief!

    I finished up the touch-up paint and then broke out the home chemistry set. Warm water, salt, and root killer along with some very scientific containers and measuring devices (diet coke bottles).


    After a very tense two minutes, and a lot of scrubbing with acetone, the hilt emerged!


    Polished up a bit and paired with the emitter. I'm *really* excited with how it came out. Hopefully I can transfer the patterns to the other three pieces and etch in the next couple of days.

  4. #44

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    That is amazing. I'm totally impressed with your results. Fantastic job rogue!!!! Look forward to seeing more.
    There's a difference between knowing the path.....and walking the path.


  5. #45

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    WOW!!!! that turned out really good.
    "If you are to truly understand, then you will need the contrast, not adherence to a single ideal."

  6. #46

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    Wow! That looks great!

    http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y23...0Saber%20Hilts

    From Wikipedia: "Internet Explorer slows down GIFs if the framerate is 20 frames per second or higher and Microsoft reports that Google Chrome and Safari also slow down some GIF animations."

  7. #47

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    Ahhh that's epic Sir
    Sith Happens

  8. #48

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    Thank you everyone for the comments and encouragement!

    I am *so* excited about this build right now. I had a very productive night and have a lot to share. I finally broke out the real camera, instead of the phone, for some of the shots.

    First, I realized that I didn't give much detail about my process in the prior post. I plan to do a better stand-alone write up after this build is done. To start, I drew my artwork for the hilt and emitter in Illustrator with a graphics tablet. I used the screenshots from the trailer as reference/inspiration and added some elements at the request of my wife.


    I printed those out on a laser printer onto PNP Blue transfer sheets (typically used for homemade circuit boards). After polishing the saber pieces and cleaning with acetone, I carefully taped (clear packing tape) the transfer onto the piece making sure that it was snug. I was also careful not to touch the metal after cleaning or the printed side of the transfer since oils could impair the toner transfer.


    With everything secure it was time to bake in the oven at 325 degrees for 15 minutes. I have my baking stone at the bottom just to give the oven more thermal mass as I opened and closed it.


    After the 15 minute bake, I immediately rolled the piece on a cutting board to apply some pressure between the transfer sheet and the metal. I don't know if it helped or not, but at least it felt useful. After the bake, the printed areas are significantly darker on the PNP Blue sheet.


    I was happy with the result, but that's not to say that the transfers were perfect. Here's the second hilt piece and the two emitters. For the emitters, the left represents the best section, and the right is the worst.


    To touch up the gaps, I used red Testor model enamel. So that acid didn't get inside the tubes, I used more clear packing tape to seal off the top and bottom of each piece and left a really long piece attached to the top so I had something to hold on to. I also painted the seam between tape and metal to make sure no acid leaked in.


    I didn't take any more pics of the etch process since it was dark by the time I got to that point, but the basic setup was shown in my last post. My final mixture was 7 cups of fluid after adding 1 1/8 cups salt and 1 1/8 cups root killer. For both hilt pieces, I put the pieces in the acid for a total of 2 minutes, checking every 30 seconds to make sure the toner wasn't deteriorating. I left the emitters in for 2:45 each since the acid seemed to get significantly weaker. After the acid bath, I rinsed each piece with water then used acetone to remove the toner/paint. Then I lightly buffed each piece and cleaned again with acetone.

    At this point I had all these pretty parts sitting in front of me on my workbench and I couldn't resist the urge to quick tack things together for a test fit, and I was really amazed with the results.




    I'm still in a bit of shock that it came out just as I'd imagined it! I still have a lot of work to go, but I'm motivated now more than ever!

  9. #49

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    Damn that's s exy. Makes me wish I has done etching on a saber back when I did my saltwater etching tutorial instead of just using scrap pieces. Curses!

    Thanks for the info on the PNP Blue paper baking process and etching. Question, which version of the PNP Blue paper did you use, the "Press-n-Peel Blue" or "Press-n-Peel Wet"? Please let me know. Thanks.
    Last edited by ARKM; 08-13-2012 at 10:11 PM.

    http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y23...0Saber%20Hilts

    From Wikipedia: "Internet Explorer slows down GIFs if the framerate is 20 frames per second or higher and Microsoft reports that Google Chrome and Safari also slow down some GIF animations."

  10. #50

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    Thank you! It's certainly nerve wracking to dunk a piece of hard work into a solution that could completely ruin it.

    Quote Originally Posted by ARKM View Post
    Question. Which version of the PNP Blue paper did you use, the "Press-n-Peel Blue" or "Press-n-Peel Wet"?
    I used the "Press-n-Peel Blue" version.

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