Is it possible to convert a ParkSaber?

[Nightwing]

Hey guys, I wanted to know if it's possible to completely gut a ParkSaber and convert it to LED.

I probably won't be buying a Parksaber anytime soon, but I have a friend who's obsessed with one of the hilts, and wants it to be LED.

[Do-Clo]

That is a good question, without seeing and measuring the hilt one can not tell, the best I can say is maybe? Keep in mind that parks sabers are el and use 3/4" blades which if there is room for a led then there may not be room for a 1" blade and you will have to use a 3/4" blade instead which will affect the lighting of the blade.

Do-Clo
Don't make me destroy you...

[Mi Gin Gonn]

I asked Tim and Xwingband about this a while back, they both agreed that it'd probably be way more of a pain in the arse than it'd be worth. Too bad, 'cause I really like some of Jeff's hilts.

"Chaka, call off Dawson, will ya?!"

[Jonitus]

It would be pretty simple to replicate (or very closely approximate) a Parks hilt. I've considered it for the last saber I will build before folding up shop - mine.

...how will you know the light unless you have seen the dark? How will you know the good unless you have flirted with the evil?

[defiance021103]

No...it's completely possible. In fact, I'm in the middle of converting a Defiant hilt right now. I also have a Parks Fusion hilt, but I'm having trouble with it for the moment. However, on the Defiant, here's what I've done.... The hilt itselt is comprised of 3 layers. The outside layer is for aesthetic (spelling?) effect and is only about a 1/16" wide. The second layer is the most important layer as it is the "core" 10-inch hilt turned on the lathe, and it has an ID of 1.125". The third layer is the inner housing that is 4" long and gets everyting down to 3/4" to hold the el blade. It also holds (by screw) the female end of the mono plug. What I've done is removed the 3/4" inner housing completely and replaced it with a 1/8" piece of aluminum I ordered off the net that is also 4" long. The piece gets the ID of the core down to the 1" size of TCSS blades. That's as far as I've gotten so far however. I'm kinda new to all this so I'm taking it one step at a time and now I'm on the heatsink phase. Tim's heatsink is too large to fit inside so I've just now started reading through the forums checking out other possibilities. Also, the Defiant saber has a control box atop the saber that housed the switch and an LED board. Mine was unacceptable so I'm replacing with a generic switch until I find something better.
I don't know which hilt your friend is interested in converting but I think the basic formula is this: any hilt using the m3 grenade/assembly as it's core is non-convertible. The hilts like the Defiance, Rogue, M2 and possibly the Echelon may all be convertible. So for sure, I can say for a fact that the Defiance is. To be safe I'd look in the pics section and study each saber carefully, perhaps even contacting them to find out how each one disassembles.
As far as a pic goes, I'd love to post one, but I don't have a digi right now. My wife is due in Aug. so I know she'll have one by then, and when she does I'll post a completed pic.

[xwingband]

No one said it wasn't possible... it's just a lot of work since you have gut the electronics and do all that work for a 1" blade... pain in the butt.[}]

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[defiance021103]

It actually hasn't been much work at all. It only took about 5-10 minutes to disassemble and most of that was spent trying to find the right size hex keys. The electronics slide right out the back like hot butter. It's actually been a lot of fun, except for the shipping costs!

[xwingband]

Cool, I doubt all parksabers are quite as easy. I wouldn't pay $200 for a weak EL saber to find out either.[]

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[Devilstar2k2]

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by defiance021103

I also have a Parks Fusion hilt
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">

When you get around to the Fusion, can you take progress pics? I'd love to see how its done. Thats one of my all time favorite sabers.

[Alex_Ander]

It's really the point that makes me hesitate too... They are so beautiful...

I tried to insist to get some sound on my order but Mr Park explained me it was about an artistic vision, that I deeply understand but...

If someone could try an exhaustive list of easy to convert Parksabers and eventually the FX modules and hardware to order to do it, it would be sooo great!

I would go for a Park without hesitation...