This is actually my first post on the forum, but I've been lurking about for months.
I finally decided the time was right to start building my first custom saber. I have a few LED sabers already, but I really love the idea of putting together a saber that is uniquely mine, both in design and in blood, sweat, and tears. Since I live in a townhouse with no garage I am limited in my machining capabilities, so I decided it would be a good idea to start with an MHS hilt so as to minimize the amount of metal-working I would need to do.
Here's the MHS builder configuration I finally landed on.

Saber_20150412.jpg

Since I'm a mechanical engineer by trade, I took the images of the separate parts from the MHS builder and modeled them up in Creo so I could design the shroud. I really liked some of the designs from the Aggressive Negotiations line at Vader's Vault, so I used those as an inspiration/starting point. I really like how it came out.

Saber with Shroud.jpg

Of course, I designed the shroud before I realized that the sleeve material sold in the shop is only 12" long, and my model called for 14." After a fruitless search for another source of aluminum tubing of approximately the same dimensions, I contacted Tim and asked if he had any longer pieces. He replied quickly (such great customer service) and let me know that he had some 18" pieces with slight cosmetic defects. I placed an order for as many of the parts I needed as were in stock and received my order (including the mill work for the type 2 switch box) in less than a week. The parts are quite well made and they fit together perfectly. I've only ever heard great things about the quality of the machining here and I'm glad to know that those reports weren't exaggerated.

From here I'll keep ordering parts in batches as I can afford them and as they come back into stock. My plan is to get the hilt built first, then go through a couple of stages of electronics, starting with just lights and working my way towards a crystal chamber and fancy sound. I'll post as I have updates.

I also have more pictures and probably more details on my blog
Thanks for reading, and comments are most welcome!