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Thread: New Guy, With Some Few Questions

  1. #1

    Default New Guy, With Some Few Questions

    Hey everyone!

    I've been lurking around for some time, admiring all the sabers that I've seen on the forum. It finally gave me the drive to start building some of my own.
    Currently, I'm thinking of first learning to build a few sabers with the MHS module. Though I have a few questions about the components:

    - Which is better: single LED or Tri-Cree LED? And what's the difference, besides 1 vs. 3 LEDs?
    - If I wanted basic sound (ignition and humming, maybe swinging sound too), which sound board enables me to use such sounds?
    - How do you know what resistor to use?
    - A momentary switch means that the LED will only turn on if you keep pressing the switch, am I correct?
    - What disadvantages are to using acrylic paint? Or is powder coating a must?

    I hope you guys can help me answer these questions. I have no experience building sabers, so please forgive this young Padawan.
    I'm a fast learner and I have no problem getting most of the required basic tools to get the job done.

  2. #2
    Sith Warrior darth_chasm's Avatar
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    Welcome aboard. My comments are in red below.

    Quote Originally Posted by J363 View Post
    Hey everyone!

    I've been lurking around for some time, admiring all the sabers that I've seen on the forum. It finally gave me the drive to start building some of my own.
    Currently, I'm thinking of first learning to build a few sabers with the MHS module. Though I have a few questions about the components:

    - Which is better: single LED or Tri-Cree LED? And what's the difference, besides 1 vs. 3 LEDs?
    3 gives a little more light and allows for color mixing whether that be through the sound board or resistors. 1 draws less overall current which means more battery life... in theory.
    - If I wanted basic sound (ignition and humming, maybe swinging sound too), which sound board enables me to use such sounds?
    All of them. Some allow for more. There are detailed manuals on each soundboard's product page.
    - How do you know what resistor to use?
    There are a ton of threads on this topic. Just do a search. The aforementioned manuals also cover this.
    - A momentary switch means that the LED will only turn on if you keep pressing the switch, am I correct?
    Not necessarily. Again, check the manuals.
    - What disadvantages are to using acrylic paint? Or is powder coating a must?
    Powder coating is only one technique and not a "must." You could use enamel spray paint, oil paint, metal patinas, etc. What type of acrylic paint are you referring to?

    I hope you guys can help me answer these questions. I have no experience building sabers, so please forgive this young Padawan.
    I'm a fast learner and I have no problem getting most of the required basic tools to get the job done.
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  3. #3

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    Thank you very much! I'll be sure to have a look at all the manual, I'm excited to gain the experience in building sabers. I'm planning to build a few stunt sabers first to get the hang of things, also to save some money.

    Another question came to my mind: what kind of chassis are there? The one I see on TCSS (and its YouTube videos) are chassis with 4-40 threads. Is this common?

    I think it's spray paint (in the shop it said it was acrylic paint, but it's in spray form). I think I'd prefer spray paint since I'm just a beginner, though are there disadvantages for using spray paint?

  4. #4
    Sith Warrior darth_chasm's Avatar
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    Yes, the discs and rods are common and a tried and proven solution. You can稚 go wrong with it. There are several video tutorials done by madcow in the videos section. You should check those out.

    Without knowing the paint, it痴 hard to advise against or for it.
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  5. #5

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    I see. Ok, I'll be studying Madcow's videos about the chassis in depth.

    As for the paint, I think it's best for me to leave out the cosmetics until I get the hang building the saber itself.

    Thanks again for the help!

  6. #6

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    I have one last question. I was looking into the Graflex 2.5 hilt on TCSS, and it said that the graflex chassis part do not fit into this kit. Where do you find the chassis parts for this kit?

  7. #7
    Sith Warrior darth_chasm's Avatar
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    Never used that kit so not really sure. There’s a pretty lengthy build thread on the 2.0 kit which if I’m not mistaken is essentially the same as 2.5. You could also checkout the graflex addicts group on Facebook.
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  8. #8

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    After some Google searching, I found some nice 3D-printed chassis specifically made for the 2.5 kit. I think I'll use those when I'll work on a graflex in the future.

    But I'll begin with my first saber for starters, I'm planning on buying all the necessary parts soon.

  9. #9

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    Ok, let's try to hit all of these at once...

    --Personally I always favor try-cree setups over single led's because the brightness is noticeably better, plus you have way more options for color mixing, etc.

    --All sound cards will do ignition, hum, swing and clash sounds, so what you need to look into is what kind of other features you want, like flash on clash, customizable sound fonts, etc. A Nano Biscotte has a pretty great features-to-price ratio, so it's my go-to board.

    --Again, there are tons of resistor threads. Do some digging, you can find answers.

    --Typically momentary switches will mean you press once to activate and press and hold to deactivate, but that depends on your build and settings.

    --As far as paint, I'd say think about what you want to use the paint for. If you want to color the entire hilt, powder coating is probably your cleanest/most durable option, but there are other options out there. I personally use a thin wash of black acrylic paint when weathering and distressing sabers to give them a beat-up look, because the paint will lodge down in the scratches I make in the metal but it'll naturally get rubbed clean where I hold the hilt, creating a more realistic "dirty" appearance.

    --Disks and rods is a solid chassis strategy, but with a little bit of practice with a rendering program (something simple like Tinkercad will do just fine) and you can design your own chassis to fit with the parts YOU specifically want to use in the build. A lot of public libraries are getting 3D printers nowadays, so it's totally feasible to design and print your own to get it just the way you want.

    Good luck!

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