If I buy a white polycarbonate tube is necessary the foam diffuser?

[artax]

Hello!
If I buy a white polycarbonate tube is necessary the foam diffuser or other?

thanks

[Zzan]

Kinda hard to answer that question with the information given.

Are you using a string LED system?

Are you using just a standard rebel, P4 or LEDengin in the hilt?

I built PVC sabers for my kids using the white polycarbonate blades and I didn't use any other form of diffusion with them. It was "good enough" for their uses.

The only place I have seen foam used is with string LEDs. On the standard rebel, P4, LEDengin setups people generally use corbin film, and/or several feet of clear gift wrap to even out the lighting along the length of the blade.
I doubt you would see much of the effect of the corbin film in a white polycarbonate blade, but you could still benefit from the clear gift wrap.

In the end it is going to come down to what you want it to look like.

[DarkarNights]

No, it's not a necessity to diffuse the trans white blade. The eveness of the light will depend on 1) the power of the LED, 2) the length of the blade, 3) how your eyes see the light (everyone has different senses and opinions of what looks good). Try it without first, if your setup has an unsatisfactory evenness after you try it, then try some of the clear gift wrap to diffuse. I don't think any other type of diffuser would be helpful in the trans white blade.

[artax]

Thanks to all.'
@ Zzan: It's not for a led strip, but for a blade whiyh one led on the hilt, I don't know which led I have to buy, I need a blue light and I want a super bright saber. I want a removable blade, I want do do some spinning with the saber, but not to fight so strong.

Now I have another question:
What kind of led do you recommend me?
If I buy a white thin polycarbonate tube is better to take the corbin film?

[Zzan]

I would say get a seoul P4 for simple bright blue blade.

If you are comfortable with soldering stubborn components you could go with a LEDengin BBBB and wire multiple dice together to get a brighter blade (it has 4 blue die, as opposed to the rebels and P4's that only have one)

In my opinion the P4 is plenty bright enough, but some people like to have to wear sunglasses when they turn on their sabers.

I wouldn't put corbin film in a white polycarbonate blade. The blade may be fine as is, it really depends on the length of the blade and how you see the blade.

If the blade is too long (relative) you will have a bright spot at the base and a bright spot at the tip with the center being not so bright. This can be fixed by adding a few feet of clear gift wrap to the inside of the blade until the desired even-ness of light along the blade is reached.

[Jordandau]

The battery solution for BBBB is pretty complicated for a beginner. P4s are bright and easy, I'd go with that first. If you feel like improving once your skills are up, you can always swap it out later.

[DarkarNights]

There is a difference between Corbin film and regular clear gift wrap film. The Corbin film is used specifically to create a core beam effect to the inside of the blade. (which can be seen here http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/LE...-OD--P227.aspx). The downside of the coring effect is lack of evenness of the light across the length of the blade. This effect won't be very noticible inside a white tube, it's meant for a clear tube. If your goal is a white tube with evenness just get regular clear gift wrap, don't get Corbin film. If the Corbin effect is something you desire then don't get a white tube, go clear.

[DarkarNights]

Here is a good resource thread (http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com...ghlight=Lumens) for seeing the difference in brightness (measured in lumens) between different LEDs for various colors. There is no easy answer choosing between the P4 and Rebel Star, it depends on color and how much current you plan to drive to the LED. Short answer, if your choice is blue, P4 seems to get more lumens out of blue than the Rebel does. Also remember, what you see with your own eyes might not always agree with the mathematics.

[robjohnson]

Sounds like that'd work pretty good to me.

[174fps]

Hey there everyone,

I was racking my brain trying to find my personal preference for blade type/thickness/film use etc for some time. I am still waiting on a few corbin blades with my next order, so my current choice may not be what I use going forward, but thought for the sake of others I would post some photos I took of a Rebel Green with various blade types. My testing shows that pretty well regardless what type of blade used, they all benefit from clear gift wrap (something mentioned many times here already).

But here is a side by side photo comparison of several different options that are out there, battlenofilm.jpgbattlewithfilm.jpgthinwallwithfilm.jpgtranswhitenofilm.jpgtranswhitewithfilm.jpg

Photo 1 - 36" long, 1" battle blade (thick) with diffuser, no gift wrap
Photo 2 - 36" long, 1" battle blade (thick) with diffuser, 6' gift wrap
Photo 3 - 34" long, 1" thin walled blade with 6' of gift wrap
Photo 4 - 34" long, trans-white polyC blade with no gift wrap
Photo 5 - 34" long, trans-white polyC blade with with 6' of gift wrap

Apparently I can only post 5 pictures, but I also have a photo of a red polyC with a P4 White (waiting on my RRRR to arrive) which I think looks really good, also with wrap. I may end up using this with my planned sith saber because it just looks so awesome when not lit. If anyone want to see it I can make another post.

I actually like the Trans-white blades a lot more than I figured I would, however I think they look cheesy when not lit. There is not much difference with the thick/thin walled blades either, but I love the feel of the battle blade, very substantial. The thinwalled blade just feels like I am going to break it when I hold it.



Thanks everyone!
174fps