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[Darth Wumbo]

Hello everyone. I was hoping to get some help what what will be become my first saber build. I'm wanting to make something like Jaina Solo's lightsaber from Genesis Custom Sabers but with a rotating crystal chamber unit from Ammnra. Posted below is the sixteenth iteration of my design and I'd like a few second opinions on it.

SaberBuilder_render.jpgSaberBuilder_render1.jpg

I think a battery should be able to fit inside the choke, I'm pretty sure there's enough room for a speaker next to the pommel, I added an extra double female behind the blade holder for the heatsink/LED, and I added a 2" double female between the choke and the crystal chamber unit to fit a ring switch.

Is there enough room for all of the other parts? Such as sound modules and all the wiring? Is all the wiring even possible what with the battery being located in the choke?
Do you guys see any way to shave the length down at all? Or is it not long enough? I'd like to get it under 12" and right now it's at 13.7".

I know this is a pretty complex first build, but I'm confident that if I have all the right parts, I can assemble it correctly. It's only a few steps up from building those LEGO Super Star Destroyers from back in the day

[Forgetful Jedi Knight]

First off, Welcome to the Forums.

Hello everyone. I was hoping to get some help what what will be become my first saber build. I'm wanting to make something like Jaina Solo's lightsaber from Genesis Custom Sabers but with a rotating crystal chamber unit from Ammnra. Posted below is the sixteenth iteration of my design and I'd like a few second opinions on it.

SaberBuilder_render.jpgSaberBuilder_render1.jpg

I think a battery should be able to fit inside the choke, I'm pretty sure there's enough room for a speaker next to the pommel, I added an extra double female behind the blade holder for the heatsink/LED, and I added a 2" double female between the choke and the crystal chamber unit to fit a ring switch.

Is there enough room for all of the other parts? Such as sound modules and all the wiring? Is all the wiring even possible what with the battery being located in the choke?
Do you guys see any way to shave the length down at all? Or is it not long enough? I'd like to get it under 12" and right now it's at 13.7".

I know this is a pretty complex first build, but I'm confident that if I have all the right parts, I can assemble it correctly. It's only a few steps up from building those LEGO Super Star Destroyers from back in the day

Now to answer your questions: Yes, it is a complex build. Depending on what else you want to stuff in there, I am going to go with no, there is not enough room. Putting the battery in the choke will make your life a little more difficult, depending on which type of LED you wanted to use.

From your confidence level, I take it you have a fair amount of soldering experience?

[Ty_Bomber]

If youre wanting to shorten the saber (like I would) I would suggest getting a single 4-5" extension and request the milled slots from Tim. You would loose the chamfered edges on the larger cutout, but could easily still get the window on the piece for your chamber, it would be significantly cheaper, and would have less threaded parts to worry about.

I would also suggest a small board, such as a nano or Prizm if youre planning on fitting that rotating crystal chamber in there (although there are other, better ways of doing a chamber that would take up less of a footprint, IMO) and if you're still needing to fit a battery, I would suggest a smaller 18500 cell over the 18650, just to give you breathing room for your wires.

Aside from that, if you use 28-30 gauge wire and plan your routes carefully, it can be done, but it will test your patience. Just be prepared for the worst and hope for the best. I'm sure you'll do fine.

[Zahc Zi Phan]

A bit of advice that I learned the hard way with my first build: If you think you have enough space, you probably don't. My first saber was built using the graflex blade holder, an MHS gear section, a 7" fluted double female, a box for the switches and ports, and a large-ish pommel. Thats about 10" of solid consistent diameter internal space (IIRC). The saber is 13" long. Even with all that space, fitting in a 2-cell 7.4v pack, a rice port, a recharge port, two anti vandals, a speaker, and a petit crouton, made my butt pucker. I also used chassis discs and carefully put it all together using all space as efficiently as possible. Still barely made it.

My advice is this, and I am currently practicing this, even tonight, so I say it with experience. Study the size of your parts, draw them on a piece of graph paper using the dimensions you can find in the store. Cut the drawings out and place them on top of each other. Carefully plan and pay attention to the size of your parts. I cannot stress this enough.

[Darth Wumbo]

Thanks for all the replies. Sorry for not responding sooner, but I forgot to subscribe to my own thread. That gets me every time I join a new forum

First off, Welcome to the Forums.

Now to answer your questions: Yes, it is a complex build. Depending on what else you want to stuff in there, I am going to go with no, there is not enough room. Putting the battery in the choke will make your life a little more difficult, depending on which type of LED you wanted to use.

From your confidence level, I take it you have a fair amount of soldering experience?

I actually have zero soldering experience but know a friend who is an expert. I'm sure you've heard this before but, how hard can it be? I just hope I don't end up ruining a $100+ board.

As far as actual features, this is going to be a pretty basic saber. I'll only have one switch to turn it on/off and I'm fine with unscrewing it to recharge or change the sound font.

I think the Prizm is the sound module I want. I'd much prefer the smaller Nano Biscotte, but it doesn't have FoC. I think there's enough room to squeeze it in the 2" female between the rotating crystal chamber and the choke, but I'll have to find a way to mount it to something to keep it from rattling around. Any ideas? Hot glue is my first thought. My next is some sort of scaffolding made of toothpicks

If youre wanting to shorten the saber (like I would) I would suggest getting a single 4-5" extension and request the milled slots from Tim. You would loose the chamfered edges on the larger cutout, but could easily still get the window on the piece for your chamber, it would be significantly cheaper, and would have less threaded parts to worry about.

That sounds like a good idea. I'll look into it.

I would also suggest a small board, such as a nano or Prizm if youre planning on fitting that rotating crystal chamber in there (although there are other, better ways of doing a chamber that would take up less of a footprint, IMO) and if you're still needing to fit a battery, I would suggest a smaller 18500 cell over the 18650, just to give you breathing room for your wires.

Better ways to do a rotating crystal chamber unit? I've seen plenty of static ones that, while they look awesome, they just simply aren't as alive as this moving one. Honestly, this chamber unit is the entire reason I became interested in making a saber. I saw it on etsy and just thought "I have to have that."

Also, I think I might be able to remove the 1.2" double female between the choke and the blade holder.
SaberBuilder_render2.jpg
There's enough room for the heatsink inside the choke, and I could always choose a shorter battery or shave the heatsink if I need to. Now I'm down to 12.5". I'd like to go shorter but I could also add an extra inch before or after the crystal chamber unit if need be.

[Forgetful Jedi Knight]

I actually have zero soldering experience but know a friend who is an expert. I'm sure you've heard this before but, how hard can it be? I just hope I don't end up ruining a $100+ board.

Yeah, you might not like the real answer to that question. Fortunately, I know people who fix boards once they've been "borked".

As far as actual features, this is going to be a pretty basic saber. I'll only have one switch to turn it on/off and I'm fine with unscrewing it to recharge or change the sound font.

I think the Prizm is the sound module I want. I'd much prefer the smaller Nano Biscotte, but it doesn't have FoC. I think there's enough room to squeeze it in the 2" female between the rotating crystal chamber and the choke, but I'll have to find a way to mount it to something to keep it from rattling around. Any ideas? Hot glue is my first thought. My next is some sort of scaffolding made of toothpicks

NB's (V2's) do have FoC. You still won't fit it into a 2" piece, as only 1" of it is really "usable". You could use the chassis parts sold int he store, assuming you can come up with the right design, and then get it all to fit. You'll find that the space is a whole lot smaller than you think it is.