First custom saber attempt - MHS Mara Jade replica

[jadedsabre]

Hello everyone!

I'm new here, and have decided to jump in head first with a rather industrious project.

I have a Mara Jade costume, and am in need of a proper lightsaber. However, rather than taking the easy way out and converting a Darth Vader saber, I've decided that I want one of these:



Thanks largely in part to the MHS system, with a bit of ingenuity and assistance, I think I can pull off a decent replica. I've spent hours pouring over these forums, and have a decent grasp on the situation here, as well as a bill of materials.

However, there are still a few things I haven't quite figured out yet, so I thought I would post here and see if anyone had any helpful advice for me.

1. The blade holder. It's a simplified version of style 8, so I think I need to ask Tim about a custom order, without the additional machining to narrow the diameter.

2. The "switch". I haven't had a chance to peruse the hardware store yet, so I'm not sure where to find the big bracket, the ribbed ring that circles the hilt, or the small "buttons" on top - some replicas use LEDs but I have yet to find two replicas that are the same, so I do have a bit of play in this area. (I am planning on using the normal MHS hole for the actual, functioning power switch, ala the Parks sabers.)

3. The rails on the lower end of the hilt that are riveted on. They seem simple enough though, so I'm hoping I can walk into a hardware store and find them already cut.

4. Drilling holes. What do I need to know about drilling holes in the aluminum (the MHS hilts are aluminum, right?) for the rivets? What tools do I need for this? (I've never used a Dremel before, and have no idea of its wonders...)

5. Blind-rivets, also known as pop-rivets. Does anyone know if I'll still have room in the hilt for the electronics if I pepper the hilt with blind-rivets? I've never used them before, so I'm not sure how far they will protrude into the blind side of the hilt.

Many thanks in advance. I'm so excited - I totally cannot wait to order the parts and get started! I just want to make sure I've covered all of my bases before I shell out all the $$ and then find out I can't actually assemble it.

-Jaded

[xwingband]

You could definatlye make a decent replica of the MJ hilt... I just saw a Parks EL one go for $320. I wanted it so bad.

1)Wow.... I didn't think about that but could could gat a pretty damn good aproximation if you put the grips in.

2)I'd make the switch with the normal MHS hole. This is what Parks does on his EL Mara sabers and since Parks made the original... if it's good enough for him...

For extra reference:
Parks saber on ebay

3)Jedi Ranger... he needs to chime in. His EL on the hilt saber had grips just like Mara's. He'd be able to tell you an exact size and where he got it.

4)Nothing special about aluminum. It's pretty dang soft and easy to drill. The mre important thing is have a jig to hold it so that it won't roll. A drill press would be best.

5)Not sure either

Good Luck, I want to see this in the gallery! MJ's is one of my most favorite hilts.

[james3]

Dang some major digging would be needed but we talked about this somewhere.

Using the MHS as a base for the MJ saber would work out nicely. Don't forget that Tim can do any of the custom stuff you need done to the parts too!

[jadedsabre]

You could definatlye make a decent replica of the MJ hilt... I just saw a Parks EL one go for $320. I wanted it so bad.

1)Wow.... I didn't think about that but could could gat a pretty damn good aproximation if you put the grips in.

2)I'd make the switch with the normal MHS hole. This is what Parks does on his EL Mara sabers and since Parks made the original... if it's good enough for him...

For extra reference: *url deleted*

3)Jedi Ranger... he needs to chime in. His EL on the hilt saber had grips just like Mara's. He'd be able to tell you an exact size and where he got it.

4)Nothing special about aluminum. It's pretty dang soft and easy to drill. The mre important thing is have a jig to hold it so that it won't roll. A drill press would be best.

5)Not sure either

Good Luck, I want to see this in the gallery! MJ's is one of my most favorite hilts.

Yeah, I was watching that auction, actually. A friend of mine has a Parks replica as well. She paid a fortune for it, so I thought I'd look into making my own, and was shocked at how close I can get it.

In regard to the actual power switch, yes, I was going to use the normal MHS hole. The "switch" I was talking about is the fake switch - I'm not sure what else to call it. If it were a real lightsaber, I think that box would be the switch, at least.

Drilling - I should use a regular drill then? Do I need to worry about oil, or punching the aluminum first? This is one area I'm really not sure about.

[jadedsabre]

Dang some major digging would be needed but we talked about this somewhere.

Using the MHS as a base for the MJ saber would work out nicely. Don't forget that Tim can do any of the custom stuff you need done to the parts too!

I managed to find a couple of references in the forums, but it was mostly "I love this hilt!" and "Tim, how about adding parts like this to the MHS system?" followed by "I don't think there's a high enough demand.". Unfortunately, the search isn't working for old posts, so that's all I found.

[james3]

I have not played with the search on here much but so far I don't like it as much. Doesn't help that we are famous for going off topic.

If you don't have a drill press then a good way to go is using a vise and then doing a center punch and a step bit. I admit I swear by my step bits.

If you don't have a vise then use a picnic table, deck, etc. that has space between the planks and tape the hilt down and drill it. This worked surprisingly well for an emergency upgrade that I did while I was out of town.

[mike-jon-sims]

the situation with the pop-rivets i dont think would be a problem. after all, pop-rivets come in many different sizes to were you could just go with a sized rivet that would fit.

[WeirdoTransvestite]

Once a rivet is popped, you can also take a hack saw blade and cut off the extra. You only need a little bit to hold the part on.

[Jedi Ranger]

Okay, I'm chiming in!! Thanks for the recommendation/reference, xwingband!

Jadesabre - in case you haven't seen it, below is my hilt that xwingband was talking about.

Personally, I would drill and tap screw holes to hold on the grip plates. That way, there is nothing protruding inside the MHS hilt space.

I used plates from www.onlinemetals.com, and then cut them to length with my dremel. I used my new drill press to drill all the holes. Aluminum is easy to drill. I did not use any oil. Not even on the brass bars, which to get pretty warm though.

The bars I used were 10mm (6/16") wide and .09" thick. I ordered aluminum plates with the same simensions. Here is the exact product data form my bill:
Part #7130, aluminum 5052 H32 bare sheet
Dimensions: 0.09" x 0.375" x 8" (11 gauge).

The 8" length was a custom cut.

I used the short 8-32 machine screw that Tim sells here. There are a perfect length.

[jadedsabre]

Jedi Ranger, thanks for the reply. I had actually seen your hilt and was very impressed.

I hadn't realized Tim sold screws that looked like the rivets I need - that I may have to consider! I wasn't sure I could tap screw holes myself though, and was actually going to have Tim do the thumb screw for me. I will reconsider. I'm also trying to see if I can find someone with a drill press that they'll let me use that would make life a heck of a lot easier.

I'm afraid I'm a bit confused about your bars though. Are they copper, or aluminum? Not that it matters, I guess, since you gave me the info for the aluminum bars. Thanks for the link - that site looks really handy, especially if they're willing to do really small orders!