Kreyhn's Asclepius (saber)

[Kreyhn]

I'm not sure what the printer is, but it uses some sort of plastic filament (you can't see all the filaments with the picture resolution).

Thanks for the advice; those are all important things to know, and I'll keep them in mind, especially if I do end up printing out chassis parts. I personally am not planning to do any/much more 3D printing for this saber, other than for prototyping/shaping. My plan for that little piece will basically be to carve it out with a dremel, evaluate the shape before going ahead with work on the metal blade holder, and putting it in the box of scraps I've built up over the course of planning the design for this lightsaber.

[FenixFire]

Ok, then it should be fine. That type is FDM or Fused Deposition Modeling. It most likely prints in PLA, ABS would be a better option. Though, usually only the mid to high end or higher end home built machines will have nozzles complaint with ABS

[Kreyhn]

Cheers. I'll keep that in mind if I do need to go the route of further 3D printing.

On the other hand, I am doing some vinyl printing! Or, I found someone here in Omaha who could do that for me. I'm starting off with the snake's general shape before I start adding detail to the resist:


Next step is to seek out some copper sulfate or ferric chloride to practice acid etching and make this thing happen. The brass sink tubes shall fall victim first.

I'm also still planning out my crystal chassis, with a bit of inspiration from the most famous slothfurnace and the incredible Darth Chasm. I'll share some of my ideas once they're a bit more hashed out, I think. This is where the art and the cram fu get really hard!

[FenixFire]

Cheers. I'll keep that in mind if I do need to go the route of further 3D printing.

On the other hand, I am doing some vinyl printing! Or, I found someone here in Omaha who could do that for me. I'm starting off with the snake's general shape before I start adding detail to the resist:


Next step is to seek out some copper sulfate or ferric chloride to practice acid etching and make this thing happen. The brass sink tubes shall fall victim first.

I'm also still planning out my crystal chassis, with a bit of inspiration from the most famous slothfurnace and the incredible Darth Chasm. I'll share some of my ideas once they're a bit more hashed out, I think. This is where the art and the cram fu get really hard!

Why not use the salt water and electric method? It cheaper and safer? Look up Arkims Salt water Etching tutorial.

[Silver Serpent]

If you have the chrome plated brass sink tubes, you may have some difficulty etching them. Chrome is rather a pain to work with (and can be quite toxic as well).

[FenixFire]

If you have the chrome plated brass sink tubes, you may have some difficulty etching them. Chrome is rather a pain to work with (and can be quite toxic as well).

I put mine on the lathe and sanded off all of the chrome first, took about 5 minutes with 100, 320, and 400 grit paper.

Edit: Forgot to mention hook up a shop vac and wear an appropriate respirator, preferably one for automotive paining.

[Kreyhn]

The tubes I'm using aren't chrome-plated, but I'm still planning on sanding them to get a decent finish. I've got parts on the wayt to build a drill-to-MHS adapter to get it spinning without a lathe.

Thanks for the safety tips; I have a few medical respirators for airborne pathogens that I think will do the trick.

As for etching method, I'm planning to try out the saltwater as well, but I wanted to start things off with the root kill method. If I don't like the lack of control or the results I end up with, then I'll go about figuring out the clips and such for some saltwater etching. I've read about other saber-builder's experience with either method, but do you have any insight into why one may be better than the other?

[RevanReborn]

Very cool design! I'm also really interested in these etching techniques- look forward to seeing this develop .

[Kreyhn]

Progress! I bought a 1.5" hole cutter for my drill and sanded down the outside until it fit the inside of a sink tube snugly. Then I sanded down my sinktube, progressing to a 400 grit and finally a 600 grit wet sand. Absolutely gorgeous shine on it! As I started sanding the tube, it got far shinier than I anticipated, from the dull yellowish color. Then I remembered, "Oh yeah, trumpets!" Anywho, once I got it sanded down, I applied the vinyl sticker. That didn't go well. Even with a mask on top of the vinyl to hold its shape, it didn't really keep the precise shape I expected. It was also a pain to get the angle decent so that the spaces between each wrapping of the tail were equal. After getting them as equal as possible, I realized I would have to redesign the end of the tail - simple to lengthen it. It needed to fit the diameter of the tube precisely with each descending curve. I also tested another sticker resist used more for chemicals and painting as I did the etch. And it worked! I ended up liking the blue sticker stuff (Oramask Stencil Film 813) more. It was rigid, held shape, and gave what seemed like better edges in most parts than the vinyl.


Then it was on to carving it out with my dremel. The cutting wheel worked beautifully, even though I snapped a bunch learning how to use it. It started out great until I had cut an entire curve out of the metal. Then it popped out at me. So that's it for sink tubes. I hoped to use them for designing the shape and testing it out without eating through bunches of precious sleeve material. However, I have found that sink tube will only work as a sleeve if left in an intact ring.


Finally, the acid I went with was RadioShack's PCB ferric chloride etchant solution. It was the easiest to get my hands on, and it did the trick well. I think I'll go with it in the future; I'm also building a PVC chamber to bathe my 12" parts in completely. I used an old french press, but the glass wasn't tall enough for full submersion. Also, the duct tape definitely let a few drops of acid in, which corroded the inside of the tube. Next time, I'll do the duct tape to cover the end, then dip the whole end in wax to seal it, I think.

That's all for now!

[Silver Serpent]

That's one of the downsides to using sinktubes. They will expand if you cut "open-style" shrouds out of them. The TCSS sleeve material doesn't have that behavior.