Yoda Saber Replica

[BlackDOG]

Sure, I'll adopt ya.....but you have to mow grass and clean gutters (YAK!)

The real thing about this saber is that it is for my son, but in the end, I wanted to try a replica saber, and yoda seemed like a place to sart given that I have a little guy running around and he needed (a relative term) a new saber.

When all is said and done,it is my son's saber, but I will probably "take care of it for him". You parents out there will understand that.



On another issue.....looks like the AA li-ion pack is the best way to go......


bd

[BlackDOG]

Black band has been added and I am working on the swith/activation box......according to a couple of sites, the orginal was made from the oil pan off an 1/25th scale oil pan from a 1967 corvette....as that I am intimately aquainted with old corvette pans, I am going to try to make one out of a lowes plug and epoxy...we will see how it turns out.


The black band is an ABS pipe connector, with the threads and such sanded off.




bd

[eastern57]

Hey, looks great - spot on! Are you going to put both switches in the "oil pan"?

[Drichar Deis]

Sure, I'll adopt ya.....but you have to mow grass and clean gutters (YAK!)

Small price to pay for a CF !

[BlackDOG]

I want to put the on/off switch and the recharge on the oil pan......

I have seen some photos (mainly the parts of site) that has a squareish sort of doo-dad on one side in the center of the black band.....I was thinking of putting the aux switch there and recess it slightly......HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM.


bd

[BlackDOG]

Here is the progress so far......

I nailed down the switches and locations......I am going to have an "odd" screw on the "activation matrix"/ switch box......in order to facillitate remove and repair later I will have to have a screw to attach the box to the hilt...oh well...

This is the band attached



My Lowes find of the summer....a plug that I cannibalized for the switch box.


The Switch box on the hilt and the aux switch on the side....recessed.


The inside of the black band showing the "furrow" I plowed with my dremmel to accomodate the aux switch wires......


Notice how the sink tube insert traps the aux wires between the band and the sink tube.....because the hilt is so cramped, all the switch and recharge wires are going thru one hole under the switch box.


The recharge port had to be located here...I messed around with lots of other configurations, but none suited like this.....I worried about it looking funny, but once all is black, I think it will look just fine. The switch seen below the recharge is the main on/off.


The gaping holes were to be filled with epoxy, but I expect I am going to try to find a better solution once I have a chance to visit a real hobby store and not just Wal Mart and Lowes.


COMING SOON
krylon fusion paint on the plastic
7.4v Li-Ion Pack
covertec machined button
GREENESS (once we have power)

WOO HOO!

bd

[BlackDOG]

THis is a bump for a couple of guys who asked about this WIP......

The switch housing has posed a problem and I have no free time to work on it. The basic issue is feeding the wires thru the hild into the recess behind the switches. Sooner or later, there will have to be something cut in order for it to fit together. The black band wont slide over the exposed wires and fishing them out from the inside with the band installed is a problem because the band covers the joint between MHS parts and anyhow, the innards are so tight, it will be tough to do. As it stands now, I will be attatching the wirs to the switch box and then securing that via a screw.......not exactly what I wanted, but workable. New pics to come soon.

[cannibal869]

wow... nice job on the recharge port!
You have a lucky son!

[BlackDOG]

It seems reasonable to me that this project was put on hold for like 6 months......where does the time go?


Anyhoo.....I started back, in earnest, tonight and finished the wiring for the aux switch. these micro tactiles are a PITA to deal with and I adopted the approach we talked about WAAAAY back when. http://forums.thecustomsabershop.com...ead.php?t=5290


1. I roughed up the tabs on the switch with micro hobby file (you all have a set of these right?)

2. I tinned the wires and left them a tad bit long.

3. I soldered each wire to BOTH contacts on the poles of the switch... 2 GND, 2 HOT. This seems necessary because my tactile aux on my other saber is really pretty tempramental....lock up turns into blaster block as the switch contacts and breaks contact intermittently. Thanks to MADCOW, Erv' and Novastar for the ideas to do this. Works well with the continuity tester.

4. I slathered the exposed cotacts and wire in PLASTIDIP......

5. The whole thing is secured between the plastic band and the sink tube insert.

Photo of backside..




I had to ditch the micro tactile for the on/off......too hard to mount on my improvised box....too hard to get reliable contact. I opted for an all black momentary of standard config. That necessitated grinding a bigger hole in the hilt to take the contacts and the base of the switch and the wires. I however think this will work better, and with the Cf's APOP (wow...I love that feature Nova and Erv'!) I am not worried about depowering by mistake.


and


Love the wires sticking out huh? NO spaghetti in the final version this is just roughing them in.......


I have rigged this saber together a couple of times and it seems to be a go.....

Issues so far......

Blade length is an issue in my mind. The proportions are difficult to imagine.

The screw that holds the shroud AND blade in place. Trying to stay true to the drawings I had, I only wanted 1 screw in the blade holder. Getting that right seemed easy, until I actulally tried. My initial though was going to be a set screw tapped into the hole that would secure the blade. Then the knurled nut would go in that same hole to hold the shroud on. Problem is the hole was nowhere deep enough to take two screws, even a cut down version of either or both. I went with 1 screw which was tricky, because the nut does not bottom out, the blade stops it from going in......therefore the shroud was loose. I fixed it, redneck style, with a washer stolen from the flange nut of a switch.....but I still ahve to fine tune it once I get my final blade set. Then I can grind the screw down a little to make it all work.

The HORRIBLE part of this saber is that the hilt is MONDO small. The 2 AA Li-Ion pack with pcb, mated to the CF board takes up most of the usuable space. The south end of the heat sink misses the end of the battery and board by 1/4 an inch. The speaker just barely fits, too, and I am waiting on my MHS speaker mounts coming with my order for my Obi Wan ROTS to figure out how to secure that......it is waaaaay tight in that hilt.

Other pics will follow.


bd

[jtong77]

idk if this counts as resurrecting a thread...if it does, I apologize....

What are you using for the grip?

I am building Yoda inspired saber. This thread is so helpful!!!

I wish Tim had put that emitter in the store, hehe.