Greetings from San Francisco!

[Porkins' Specter]

Hello saberland! I've been reading this forum for months and thought it was finally time to introduce myself.

Awhile ago, I was casually flipping through a ThinkGeek catalog when I came upon an ad for the Hasbro lightsaber. I hadn't thought about Star Wars in a long time. Was a huge fan back in the day, but the prequels didn't do much for me. For some reason, however, the ad did. At that moment, I realized that I absolutely needed a lightsaber. In fact, not having one suddenly didn't make any sense at all.

But upon closer inspection, it became obvious that the Hasbro option was not for me. The hilt was too big and awkward. A quick google search brought me here, and I've been pretty amazed ever since. The hobby you guys have created is truly inspiring.

So now I have to make my own saber. To simply buy one seems counter to the ways of the Jedi. Unfortunately, I know nothing of electronics or math or anything helpful in this regard. I'm starting at square one, and when I say square one, I mean the first thing I had to do was look up the difference between a volt and an amp.

But that's what makes this exciting. This hobby has actually put me on a path of self-improvement, one that will hopefully help turn me from boring consumer to aspiring builder. I've already taken a few soldering classes at my local hackerspace, and am looking into an Intro to Electronics class at a community college. Crazy.

As for sabers, I'm obsessed with the Graflex. These custom MHS builds are great, and later I will probably build one for dueling. But for now, it's all about the Graflex. I'm starting with a 2 cell build. Nothing fancy, but I would like to add a Nano and am concerned the cram-fu might be a bit challenging. In any case, I'm hoping to post a parts list later today.

I know this will take patience and discipline. I keep hearing Yoda ask, "Will he finish what he begins?" My wife asked the same question after I bought the 2 cell. Whatever, it's time to start building.


MTFBWY

Porkins' Specter

[Silver Serpent]

I've been reading this forum for months and thought it was finally time to introduce myself.

/me cheers!

Seriously though, welcome to the forums! Building your own saber is a fun and exciting process. There's a good deal of information to learn, and the first saber you build will always hold a special place in your heart. The skills you learn here can be applied to many other facets of your life. I've lost count of the broken electronics around the house that I've fixed. Stuff that my wife said to throw away, and I patched it right up with my soldering iron and a bit of know-how.

While I've never done a Graflex build myself, I understand that they have a little more room inside than the MHS parts. Cram-fu with a Nano isn't that bad. It's all the wires, speaker, switch, etc that get in the way. Check out the assortment of chassis parts available in the shop. There are some specialized parts that are Graflex-sized, and they'll help keep your build manageable.

When you run into issues, feel free to ask away. We'll be more than happy to assist.

[Ty_Bomber]

Ah, the Graflex. It is the unicorn of many saber enthusiasts, so you have a wealth of info to help you along. I can't wait to see your progress.

[Porkins' Specter]

Thanks guys! From what I've read, this community is very helpful and knowledgable, especially if you do your research before firing off questions.

I'll definitely be doing a build log... not just for those who might want to follow the progress, but I have a tendency to forget new things if I don't write them down!

[Flyby Knight]

Welcome! I think it's great that you're turning this into an opportunity to learn a whole new set of skills. Good luck with your saber!