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Thread: Blade Plug

  1. #1

    Default Blade Plug

    Hello there saber fans! I came up with a blade plug idea, and unless I'm mistaken, it is the first of its kind! I used the motor casing for a small 12v DC brushless motor- The kind that opens and closes a DVD drive in a computer, if that helps anyone. I just wanted to share the idea and build process here. Although, let me make it clear that these are my intellectual property and are not valid for sale by any merchant. (I think I've put this thread in the right place, sorry if I screwed up)

    Apologies if these are a little bit blurry, taken in a hurry with my phone camera







    And a pic of the plug in my friends Saber


    So, the build process- for these specific 2 plugs, I used an old Ultrasabers () blade I had sitting around, cut into short pieces.
    One end of the plug is ground out (I used a dremel with a tiny drum sander at high RPM, took 5-10 minutes) so the walls are VERY thin- this is important, the casing wont fit otherwise.
    Once you get close to the right wall thickness, turn down the speed so you can normalize the wall thickness around the whole plug.
    Cut slots into the sides of the motor casing using a metal cutting bit for a dremel, so the sides can compress in towards the middle. This allows the casing to fit inside the plug using NO glue or tape or whatever, and I honestly couldn't get the casing out of there even if I wanted to.
    OPTIONAL; I used a countersink to bevel the holes in the casing to make it look a little bit better.

    The result; A nice, easy plug, and around the rim, where the slots in the casing are, actually cause little highlights in the brightness.

    Here's a pic;


    Let me know what y'all think!
    Last edited by Firestorm1964; 07-12-2016 at 12:41 PM.

  2. #2

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    Welcome to the Forums.

    While these seem nice, the idea of scavanging misc hard drive parts (and 1138 other things) to use as blade plugs have been around for quite a while now.
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  3. #3
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    Nice!

  4. #4

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    Quote Originally Posted by Forgetful Jedi Knight View Post
    Welcome to the Forums.

    While these seem nice, the idea of scavanging misc hard drive parts (and 1138 other things) to use as blade plugs have been around for quite a while now.
    Very true, I only meant that I'd never seen a plug using this specific idea, with the DC brushless motor casings

  5. #5

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    let me make it clear that these are my intellectual property and are not valid for sale by any merchant
    So you post a I-scavenged-a-part-from-a-commercial-product-and stuck-it-in-a-plastic-tube idea.
    Then you post explicit instructions on how you did it.

    ... and want to copyright it?

  6. #6

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    Firestorm. Legally unless you have a patent applied for and pending with the USPTO once you show something in a public forum (to people not professionally affiliated or directly employed by you) it is legally public knowledge and no longer legally protectable. This is some of the finner points of patent law that get many inventors in trouble. Show it to one person with out a mutually signed NDA ant it is now in the public space. Also it would only be eligible for a design patent so all anyone would need to do it change the whole pattern by adding another couple of holes...no longer your design.

    BTW a copywrite is for 2d artwork, not physical product. Yes music and literature fall into that category as well. No big deal, just a lot of animosity and misunderstanding on what constitutes protectable intellectual property, what and how much can be protected, and the proper process to do so in this hobby. Understandably so based on past history, though there are legal processes in place that must be followed if it is IP you are really hoping to protect. Personally, it would be a slippery slope since all builders are now technically infringing on a Dinsey Owned since 2010 trademark by calling them "lightsabers". Lucas never trademarked the term, but Disney did with their animated series.
    Last edited by FenixFire; 07-13-2016 at 05:24 AM.

  7. #7

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    Come on now people, we all know that when it comes to intellectual property, copyrights and trademarks in the custom saber world, pretty much none of it has any actual legal standing. This is not about legal rights, this is about respect and about other sabersmiths in the hobby doing what's right by their fellow sabersmiths. If someone "invents" (the key word being invents) an idea for this hobby using found parts, starts making money off if it and asks others in the same hobby to not make money off of his/her idea as it takes money out of his/her pocket, I personally feel others should respect that person's wishes. Sure the inventor of the idea has no legal grounds to protect his/her idea simply because it uses found parts... but that does not make it right for others to copy and profit from it (copying it for personal use is a completely different matter altogether). We have an honor system in this hobby. Most abide by that system. Just my personal feeling on the matter.

    As for the blade plug, it looks cool. The only thing that bothers me is that one hole between the outer "ring" of holes and the center hole. Though I suppose one could drill five more holes along the same circular area to make it look more "uniform".
    Last edited by ARKM; 07-13-2016 at 12:43 PM.

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  8. #8
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    +1 for the Respect/Honor System mentioned by ARKM!

  9. #9

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    I've gotta agree with ARKM, the honour system seems to keep people happy in this community. How many people have copied his razor head idea?......and we all acknowledge and thank him.
    The specifications of this hobby means we're all pretty much using the same salvaged parts and taking inspiration from fellow builders. It stands to reason that at least two of us could have the same idea.
    I've had many ideas for blade plugs including that one.

    image.jpg

  10. #10

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    Thanks guys.

    Now we have an interesting development. As we can see, Greenie came up with this idea before Firestorm1964 did. Now if we were to assume that Greenie was the first person to post this idea on the net WITH a pic or video of the physical item, the way I would feel is that this is Greenie's "intellectual property" but ONLY if he stated that it was his IP. That said, if Greenie were to state that it's his IP, I would not make one for sale/profit without his permission. If he never stated anything about IP or making money off of it, I would then feel that it is ok for anyone to make and sell them and also would feel that no one else could claim it as their IP to then try to prevent others from making and selling them. I also feel that the inventor has the right to claim their IP, way after the fact as long as said item being claimed as IP, was posted by the inventor on the net before anyone else. Again, just my personal feelings on the matter. I don't expect everyone to feel the same way.
    Last edited by ARKM; 07-13-2016 at 02:00 PM.

    http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y23...0Saber%20Hilts

    From Wikipedia: "Internet Explorer slows down GIFs if the framerate is 20 frames per second or higher and Microsoft reports that Google Chrome and Safari also slow down some GIF animations."

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