Maglight guard shoto help

[ARKM]

Understood and thanks.

[Saber Rake]

Sorry, I didn't mean to start an argument. I get annoyed when people us the 'wrong' lightsaber names. Shotos are not called 'Shoguns' that is a Japanese warlord! :P

[CarpeNoctem]

Wow that blew up for a bit. I was using the SW name because it's technically true if you remove the tonfa handle it's nothing more than a regular shoto. I believe the "guard shoto" got it's name from being the issued weapon of guards at the citadel when it was made originally to contain Jedi that had gone bad. Thus it was a shoto made more conducive to guard detail type work. I used to train with tonfa pretty regularly because it was a much less popular weapon an therefore intrigued me. it's something I am already comfortable with that will make me stand out among saber wielders.

Anyhow....

My big issues were getting a lighting system and appropriate power supply for inexpensive that would be capable to upgrade later with sound and lighting effects when money permits. Mostly I need people with experience in tonfa sabers and people with experience in mag lite adaptations to chime in while I lurk old threads.

[ARKM]

a few years back, less than a week before Tim started selling his MHS tonfa parts, I machined a tonfa handle and attached it to a 3" MHSv1 double female (if I had just waited a hair longer, lol). I used solid aluminum rod that I hollowed out for wires to pass through to add more material in the MHS part for the side handle to slide into, basically to give the MHS part a much thicker wall. I then drilled a hole in the side of the MHS piece and the "tang" on the side handle slides into that. I use metal epoxy for all of this so there are no screws. At the time, the equipment I used was not ideal for the task and the hole did not end up perfectly centered but it still worked out great. The handle itself is not hollow as the person I made it for wanted it that way.



Recently, very recently, for testing and prototyping a saber I want to build, I have done things the other way by boring out some round bar most of the way through, beveling the bottom to fit the circumference of the hilt and attaching it via screws (similar to the TCSS tonfa adapter). It worked out great. IMHO, those are pretty much the only ways to attach a side handle securely. Unless you buy the TCSS tonfa adapter (which will only work "fully" properly if the flashlight just happens to be the same diameter as MHSv1 parts), regardless of which method you decide to go with, you will most likely have to machine the parts from scratch or have someone machine them for you. Maybe this is something Tim would take on. *shrugs* If you have any question on machining them yourself, please let me know.

[CarpeNoctem]

I was planning on using an existing flashlight (another maglite) and drilling hole in the body of the main tube and welding the handle in then going inside and taking a dremmel to anything that pokes in and would stop the chassis from sliding out for service. It'd be rigid so no worries there other than the fact that all decorative lathe work needs to be done prior to welding that in

Speaking of chassis. I read somewhere that one chassis disc type or another fits mag bodies with minor modifications. anyone know which? I want to make sure I can run my speaker into it up by the original button hole. I'll be doing a decorative leather wrap there with cutouts disguising the fact its a speaker grille. I could put it in the end easier especially with CSS pommels. but with them being tonfas it'd have the sound coming from the wrong area and I feel it'd be more noticeable on this type of hilt.

i'm going to do a paint program quick mockup

[CarpeNoctem]

I haven't decided on what I want to do with the main body for decoration but here's what I've been thinking in general. IT shows my plan for the button hole being used as the speaker grille. I think having the sound up by the blade is important. it throws me off to have the sound at the opposite end on any saber. The extra batteries is just a musing since I have so much extra space.

[ARKM]

If the wall thickness of each flashlight is less than 3/32", I'd be wary of trusting the welds as being the only thing supporting the side handle. I hope it works out.

Forward sound seems like a cool idea. One option would be to machine a circular piece, basically a custom chassis disc, that has a center hub and "spokes" in the form of walls for each sound vent hole. The walls are there so that you cannot see through the hilt via the sound vent slots/holes, from any angle. I did something similar for a couple of sabers using black acetal (Delrin name brand). However you will need a mill and a lathe to make something like that.

[CarpeNoctem]

Yea the welding of the components has got me looking at the same thing. I may need to add some material there to reinforce it. maybe weld a collar around the body. Where there's a will there's a way I guess. If I had access to the tools you do I'd be done with the body already. I can occasionally get to a lathe but no mill sadly.

The idea of slotting it then using that disc is brilliant! My custom work gets ridden or driven so thinking three dimensionaly on that small of a scale is typically outside my normal process. truly have to give you props on that one. Was there any muffling or distortion issues?

[ARKM]

Thank you.

There was no sound distortion or muffling that I could discern.

[Darth Obi Don]

Speaking of chassis. I read somewhere that one chassis disc type or another fits mag bodies with minor modifications. anyone know which?

The Graflex chassis disks are about the right size to fit a "D" cell Maglite. You have to sand them down just a little to fit.
Don