Howdy all! Advice requested.

[TXATC]

Hello all,

I'm looking to build a basic stunt saber. Light only, basic bare bones wiring. This will be for a 12yr old daughter of a friend. Her birthday is the 31st and we are doing a scavenger hunt, where unbeknownst to her, she will be gathering parts to build her own saber. Hopefully she will enjoy it so much she will start to research here to upgrade on her own.

I was planning on building her a pvc hilt per Jay-Gonn's tutorial. She wants a Sith saber with a red blade. I have looked into the shop and most Reds and buck pucks are out of stock. Any advice on what I should do?

So far it will be the pvc hilt
1 in thick wall blade
Round tip of same

From there the quest for parts grinds......
If not red, what color for Sith blade? Orange? Amber?
What size battery holder for decent run time? I don't want to get her the rechargeables so she can pop them in and out and possibly upgrade on her own later.
I will be prewiring it for her so she can see how it goes together and let her take it from there.

Her mother wanted them to build pool noodle lightsabers and call it good. I told her that just wouldn't do. If a Padawan wants to build her own saber then a pool noodle just won't cut it. I cannot let her love of SW die in a pool noodle incident. Any help is appreciated. I will have to place the order by tomorrow night to ensure the parts make it in time.

Help me TCSS Forum........you're my only hope.

[Yorginsnarff]

Orange, Amber, Yellow, Red. The colors of the sith.

First off, that is the BEST idea for a birthday party... ever.

Alright, let's get down to the nitty gritty.

Since you're building a stunt saber, you won't need a soundcard, so the wiring is very (and I mean VERY) simple. Assuming you have the PVC body and stuff made already, you'd wire the positive and negatives of the battery pack to a latching switch. (Can't be momentary; you aren't using a board). Then, from the switch, wire the positives and negatives (resistor for the LED), to the LED of your choice.

I'd recommend the Rebel Star. The Red is cheaper and it's still really bright, even comes pre-wired in the module with a JST. (Tip, USE JST connectors. They minimize the amount of soldering you need to do by A LOT!)

Finally, the battery pack (seeing as how you're not using li-ion) has no effect on battery run time. That relies entirely on the type of battery you are using. (If you want longevity of life out of the batteries, try Duracell.)

If you use the rebel star and such, look out for the mA and forward voltage. Resistors vary.

NOTE: DO NOT LET HER LOVE OF SW DIE IN POOL NOODLE ACCIDENT! DO NOT LET! DO NOT LEEEET!

[Forgetful Jedi Knight]

Welcome to the Forums.

To help answer your questions:
The Red-Orange Cree (which is currently available) is a good option.
Since you are "against" rechargeables (LI-ions ARE the best option FYI), your best bet would be 2 AA's. The runtime won't be as good compared to a Li-ion, but that's how it goes, plus the resistor you wold need would be pretty minimal, as the voltage of the LED and 2AA's are very close to each other.

Good Luck.

[DarthMace]

I would recommend using a thin-walled blade from the store. It is lighter, and I have never had one break. (even when me and my brother were whaling on each other! )

[TXATC]

Thanks for the quick replies guys. I'll go with the red Amber cree. I saw the 4AA battery holder that should fit without too much headache. Overkill? As for the resistor, is the dynaohm a good option or should I go ahead and get the specific resistor needed?

I also looked into the thin wall blade, alas the one I was looking at was out of stock.

If my calculations are correct then the resistor needed with the above parts wold be 3.9 ohm/3.9watt capable so the 3.9/5w should handle that appropriately, correct?

[Thalan the Exiled]

The dynaohm is only 20ma (used for inluminated switches/accents) your best and easiest bet is to use a buck puck(1000ma for all cree LED). Since you are going to use the 4AA holder(Li-ion is still the better and long run cheaper option) you will have enough voltage to run the buckpuck just fine. They take the place of the resistor and make life easy(no math). So you would run positive from bsttery to switch to buckpuck to LED. Then negitive from battery to buckpuck to LED. And that is it. Easy as pie. Not sure which blade you are planning on but look at the trans white. They look super even and very bright with a red or red/orange LED. I have one and my red/orange Rebel looks amazing, I did put about 4 feet of clear cellophane in it to help even it out bbgt it looked good empty as well

[TXATC]

Okay so no dynaohm. The 1000ma pucks are oos so unless I drop the Cree for a rebel I'll have to use a resistor. I was looking at the trans white blade. I figured it would look the best bare bones and if she wanted to make it look better she could delve in on her own and figure out how.

[Thalan the Exiled]

Well since the buckpucks are out then yes the 3.9ohm 5watt will work fine. And the wiring is still pretty much the same. Positive goes battery->switch->resistor->LED. Negative goes battery->LED.

[TXATC]

Thanks for all the help and input everybody! Order is placed and build is commencing! I'm excited to finally build one for myself and cant wait to share with ya'll!

[Yorginsnarff]

be sure to post pics, man! Can't wait to see it