SMITE: Custom Sith Saber from Vader's Vault
Hello Saberland!
I have been working on several customer builds, the Qui run, getting our entry level sabers off the ground, the SK run etc....and I needed an outlet. I had to do something that 'I' wanted to do. I've had several ideas banging around in my skull and I needed to see them brought into reality. Several things came together at the right time and the shop birthed SMITE. I don't always like clawed sabers, but there have been several done that I do. I wanted to take another crack at a clawed design since our first one back in 2010 with Malum Diabolus. That saber had 4 hand shaped claws that while menacing and deadly, weren't really "in your face" enough for meI really wanted to do claws with something different, I wanted them to have a lighted feature. Yep, I wanted to light up some claws
Taking a pair of claws that I just spent an entire day milling and fitting to the hilt and then taking a gamble with them to try and light them up was pretty stressful. I wasn't sure if it would work, but I had a pretty good idea. Venting the emitter just below the claws, I then milled grooves in the claws to line up with the grooves in the emitter so they are exposed to the light inside. I took 1/8" square acrylic rod and inlaid pieces into the grooves of the claws. Much sanding and filing ensued. What I ended up with were inlays that blended so smoothly into the claw that you can't even feel it with your finger tips. The process of sanding and filing the acrylic diffused it enough to catch light spilling out from the emitter. It is a very dramatic effect and is especially cool with FoC.
For the activation of the saber I decided to go with two custom switches with machined activation buttons that were filled with poly carbonate rod so they would light up from the illuminated tactile switches underneath. A few accent designs help to frame the switches and recharge port with copper rivets and milled lines. The aux switch is set to light up as soon as the saber is powered up, while the main switch is set to the accent pad with the Crystal Pulse™ feature activated so it "breathes" while in standby.
I also included a recessed 6 segment SMD LED bargraph sitting under another inlay of shaped acrylic to help diffuse the light of the LEDs. I used 2 red, 2 orange, and 2 yellow LEDs to keep with the "hot color" scheme.
For the main LED, we're using a Tri-Rebel RRG with the highest lumen count LEDs for all three. We have tried several different generations and incarnations of the Rebel, and were never impressed. This time, things are MUCH better. The newer optics and the better emitters make all the difference in the world. We are getting a nice, bright and even blade from this Tri, and I am getting NONE of the base flare that some experience. The FoC, using the green die, is VERY bright and extremely dramatic, making a great yellow/orange color flash. I must say that I am VERY pleased with it, and these LEDs give a GREAT alternative for those wanting a solid color with different color FoC (like RED for instance
For the soundboard, we're of course running the legendary Crystal Focus V5.1 loaded up (at least for the video) with Nightstorm's SWTOR collection. I felt that since this saber was very much SWTOR inspired that it should have the fonts to go with it.
Specs:
Custom Sith hilt at 13.75" long
Custom lighted claws
Custom machined lighted switches
Inlaid 6 segment SMD bargraph
Copper rivet accents
AW 18500 Li-Ion 7.4v battery pack
2W speaker
Crystal Focus 5.1
Tri-Rebel RRG with FoC
Pics:
Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqaWbSie-xE
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