Protosaber 2 (in progress)

[ArkaiHalon]

Got my parts, and have started on the new protohilt.

You'll notice that the switch is in a trigger position instead of standard \.
going to start sculpting this coming weekend.

[valeon]

I REALLY like where your going with this, its gonna look just like in the comics....make sure it looks like its made from raw materials, almost rocky.

[Novastar]

Cool Arkai! And like I said... I'm *almost* there on having the free moments to send you some parts...

Can't wait to see your finished product... and the "along the way" shots!

[alpine]

this is becoming an intresting protohilt i cant wait to see it totally finished

[ArkaiHalon]

Thanks all for the feed back. little bit of info on what's going on so far.

I"m usingin a 1.25 sinktube (obviously), with a 1.25 inch blade holder.
Instead of the button head screws that come with the holder, i'm using .5 inch set screws that will serve to hold theblade holder, and also give the clay something to hold on to. By using them that long, I'll be able to leave a small amount of the screw uncovered so i can remove the blade holder if repairs are needed.

Inside, it's running a royal blue luxIII (i really like that color) direct drive on 4AAA. I'm holding off on putting a puck or anythinglike that in it until I can see about scrounging up enough money to try and get my hands on an older CF to run the ancient saber sound font.

[valeon]

PLEASE make sure you do progress shots on the clay molding, I wanna see step by step, this is turning into a REALLY cool project.

[ArkaiHalon]

Update.

I bought some (what i thought was good) non polymer clay. Sucked. Cracked. Fell apart. messy.

But none of the hobby shops around here carry polymer clay that doesnt' require baking. Given the design of this saber, putting it in the oven is NOT an option.

so I've found apoxie "fixit"* online, but it comes in 2 sizes, 1/4lb, or 1lb.

anybody got a clue how far 1/4lb would go?

*according to Apoxie sculpts website, the fixit stuff is capable of being drilled and tapped.

[JadedMonk]

I would expect 1/4lb to be plenty. It is the nature of polymer clays, they have to be cured by heat. You might also consider anyone of the "plumber's putties," available at any hardware store. I believe JB Weld makes one that is very much like metal when cured.

Cheers!

JM

[ArkaiHalon]

cool I'll give it the 1/4 a shot. per the website, it's 0shrinkage, and air drys fully cured in 24 hours.

[ArkaiHalon]

Update again

Finally found some Apoxie Sculpt on Ebay that didn't cost more for shipping than for the product.

I did test of it around the sink tube, wanted to see:
cure time, hardness, shrinkage.

24 hrs later, it's rock hard, no shrinkage at all, it even kept the full detail of my finger prints. So this should work out great. I'll update more as I get farther along in sculpting.