Non-Star Wars Saber

[polyploidy]

Hello! I'm currently trying to work out a plan for building this "lightsaber"



My main problem is the thin width of the upper hilt, which is a rounded rectangle shape. It seems that the smallest heatsink (1" OD) for an LED would probably be a bit too wide for width, so I devised a design plan below that uses EL wire (which probably isn't the best). In short, (1)Would the plan below be feasible? (2)Is the parts list at the very bottom missing things/incorrect? (3)Is there a better electronics option that could work with such a awkwardly thin hilt? Thanks!

Parts list
-----------
3/4" polycarbonate tube (40" long)
3/4" blade tip
1/2" OD, 3/8" ID polyethylene tube (40" long)
2 80" long 2.6mm EL wires connected to a Y connector, 30" extension cord, and battery pack (buying pre-soldered)
8-32 x 3/8" Retention screw

[Weaver]

Someone once constructed a lightsaber hilt based on a katana. Searching this build may yield better results.

[Crystal Chambers]

Looks cool...though I would go a little shorter myself. 12-14" for a two hander. I'm not sure why you can't use a LED if you have a round blade. My first thought is to sculpt it over a sinktube saber. Another option for lighting it could a 5mm LED ladder blade. It offers similar options to EL but from what I understand much brighter. Then you can use an MR/hasbro sound board if you like.

[Weaver]

CC is right about the stringblades. From all I've seen, some stringblades can be brighter and more evenly lit than the LED Engin 10Ws. Makoto should be researched for stringblade ideas. There was also a variant called a Supernova blade, but the increased labor may be prohibitively expensive.

If you do go with a stringblade, you should visit some of the various LED-specific sites out there. eBay is also good. I found some pretty high-end common-anode RGB diodes for a decent price on eBay. I forget the MCD rating, but it was well into the thousands. I had planned to try the stringblade idea at some point, but am still researching the idea of a color-change blade. Without need for a scrolling effect, you don't really need to have a microcontroller for the LEDs, and could run them from the sound board. Current and voltage ratings would be a primary concern.

[Starwinder]

Awesome idea polyploidy! I've always liked the look of the Tenchi-ken hilt from the Tenchi Muyo! series. Don't have anything useful to say here except for some encouragement, but i'm looking forward to seeing how you pull it off!

[polyploidy]

Thanks everyone! As for the basic body design, I'm pretty stuck on having a 3/4" 40" long blade with a handmade fiberglass hilt simply because of how distorted the raised designs would get if the hilt was more circular. I won't be dueling with it or anything, just needs to look cool For the hilt in specific, does the retention screw need to penetrate through the polycarbonate tubing to hold it, or does the pressure of the screw against the tube do the job? (like glass ceiling light covers)

I did a lot of searching about LED string blades, but I'm not feeling too confident! Assuming that 5mm bulbs with a foam cover would be able to fit inside a 3/4" blade, I would need about 100 LEDs. (the Makoto style string apparently has about 2.4 LEDs per inch according to here)

It seemed like these 520LB7C LEDs could be a good match from the eastern57/wayne articles I read, but I can't really grasp how to do it after plugging it all into a LED calculator. The only calculator that didn't reject my input was this one, but shows a resistor for every single bulb (I put in 3.25V source, 3 forward V, 30mA, 100 LEDS)

I might go back to my original plan of buying pre-soldered EL wire because of how simple it looks

[Weaver]

Standard retention screws apply pressure to the blade, which causes it to slightly deform. That deformation presses almost the entire surface area of the blade against the interior of the blade holder, creating a sturdy friction fit. A secondary benefit of the retention screw is the creation of a small divot in the surface of the blade, which will not allow the blade to move.

I've considered a lot of different ways to make a removable blade and studied many more. The short and skinny of it is that this is simply the easiest, least complex, and most reliable method I've seen. The very first thing I did to my blade was grab it and try to wrench it free of the blade holder. It did not budge.

Keep in mind that blade retention screws must have enough material to grab on to in order to be effective. My first screw was drilled through the center of the "choke" on Blade Holder No. 16 and, through a combination of overtightening (d'oh) and too little material to grab on to, finally stripped completely clean a day after Halloween. I'd been using it for a few months at that point. Two points to remember: A) Drill your retention screws in the thickest possible part of the blade holder to ensure a firm hold, and B) Do not overtighten the screw. Just a quarter turn will do it. You'll be surprised at how stable it is, even under heavy contact.

I would help out more with the stringblades, but I haven't messed with them myself. If you end up discovering some great new method, let us know! The hobby is constantly evolving.

[FenderBender]

The lightbulb that appears over your head when you get a good idea is brighter than EL wire. I would avoid using it at all costs. Also, have you considered having this hilt modeled in 3D and then printed? It would be costly, but you'd get your ideal shape and it would look nice.

[polyploidy]

Thank you so much BlessedWrath for the retention screw info!

After FenderBender's advice, I think a star LED with the 1" OD heatsink might be able to work after all. Since a LED string definitely seems out of my capabilities, the sacrifice of a little more hilt bulk for a non-EL blade is probably worth it.

Tentative parts list
----------------------------
3/4" Thin walled trans white Polycarbonate tube (40" long)
3/4" blade tip
Build Your Own Seoul P4 Electronics Kit (4AA battery, 3.3 resistor)
Luxeon star heatsink (another thread says it also works with Seoul)
Star thermal tape pad
2 4-40 Nylon Screws
8-32 x 3/8" Retention screw