First REAL MHS Saber

[Loquinho]

Hey again everybody, looks like I'll be posting on here about once a year or so. Back close to two years ago I posted THIS THREAD about my first attempt at building a lightsaber. I used some TCSS internal parts and a lot of plumbing and hardware parts to get a passable light-only saber for my son to play with. I was proud enough of it that I started showing it off to some various friends I have, and one of them approached me in spring of 2016 and said, "I want you to make one of these for me to give my husband for his birthday."

In return, I said, "Do you want one just like this, because this one is really cobbled together and basic."

"You mean they come nicer than this?"

And that led down a rabbit hole of me showing her the MHS builder, all the options, etc. And that turned into my first commission (at cost). I had to do a LOT of research here on the forum to figure out how to go from a basic momentary switch to single LED, to a NBv3 Tri-Cree recharge port in-the-pommel monster, but that's what she wanted, and that's what I made.

We discussed that since he's a police officer, he's probably going to be light side of the force, and she liked a polished metal and blue blade look. She also didn't want any weathering on it. Here's the design we landed on:



I wanted to add a little bit of unique flair to it, so I had the idea of having some thin brass rings made that would give it some accents. Once I had that figured out, it was time to order parts. It was before TCSS moved, so some parts took a while to get back in stock. After a few months, I had everything I needed to get started. These things are harder to build than they look. I sent the small brass parts to a friend to chemically age them to a dark patina, and when they came back in I did my first assembly of the basic saber body. It turned out even nicer looking than I expected.







I was really happy with the patina on the brass. It will brighten over time as the saber gets handled. I started in on all the wiring, and I may have started laughing out loud when I saw it light up the first time... this is so cool.



A few more nights of scratching my head and assembly, and I had a final saber. I loaded up some custom start up sound files for the light and dark meat fonts, and it was good to go. I was very grateful I finished it a couple weeks early, because it was really fun to play with before I had to hand it over.





So that's the first real light-and-sound saber I've done, and by far the most wiring I've ever done. I don't have much detail to explain with this post, because it was over a year ago. If you have any questions on specifics, ask away and maybe I'll remember. Thanks for taking a look!

[hapki]

Nice! I like the design!

[rlobrecht]

That looks fantastic. Are those glow through pins, or are they intentionally removed on that side? Either way, its a great look.

[Loquinho]

That looks fantastic. Are those glow through pins, or are they intentionally removed on that side? Either way, its a great look.

The pins are the brass ones offered at TCSS. When i took the first photo I hadn't installed them yet. I kind of like the glow thru without the pins, but the client paid for them as part of the saber, so I installed them. I think it ended up looking great either way.

[Loquinho]

I figured I should share the packaging as well. I wanted the saber to present nicely since it was a birthday gift. I started by aquiring a wine box on Amazon and doing some woodburning on it. The Jedi Order logo, and the clients name in Arubesh. Nothing too involved.







After that I took the whole box to the MAP gas torch I had in the shop to give it some age. The saber was just a hair too long for the box, so I made a cut out in the end so it would fit.



Then, with the assistance of my wife, I made and aged a label to go in the box...



And glued it in the bottom of the box



Last bit was to dye some cheesecloth to an aged patina, and put it all together.