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Thread: How to construct an LED Blade (or, at least, how I do it)

  1. #11

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    The stuff in the pictures I got from my local dollar store....it's simply called "transparent gift wrap." you can also get it at Wal-Mart....it's found in the cards/gift wrap section. It will look like a chrome tube.

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  2. #12

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jedi-Loreen View Post

    If you mean the diffuser meant for the LED blade, I have heard of people using the cellophane wrap inside the diffuser tube to even out the light, but you can't put it between the diffuser tube and the blade. It's impossible in the thick walled polycarb tubes and would be extremely difficult to insert the same diffuser tube into the thin walled blade with cellophane inside it first.
    Thank you Jedi-Lo, I did mean the diffuser with the LED blades. I honestly thought they were they same thing, just different sizes. I was kind of wondering how one was supposed to fit the film between the diffuser and the blade. Thank you for answering my question.
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  3. #13
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    Great tutorial Jay-Gonn!!!!!!!!... I could not have said it better!

    The only two things I could add would be:

    * If you want SOME light to seep through into the tip... either make your mirror smaller (so that it does not cover the entirety of the tip's bottom... or use semi-reflective material for your mirror. I prefer the former, not the latter.

    * You may want to glue in BOTH sides of the diffusion film for this reason and this reason only: if your tip DOES fly off someday (for me, they always do)... your diffusion film will be at least a little less likely to come flying out like a paper mache' flag of doom, ruining your hard work at cutting, wrapping, rolling, aligning, etc.

    Diffusion film has flown out of about 2 or 3 of my blades, and I always hate that since... I really LOATHE making diffusion film rolls for blades--it's tedious and I guess I can get impatient, hahahah.
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  4. #14
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    Great tutorial Jay! I also suggest anyone reading this to try the various "Craft" stores for the 40" roll, as its easier to get the 4-6ft that you want in the blade. Also having two people rolling the film is easier and faster. We roll it directly to the dowel in the air so as not to get any contaminates from a surface.

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  5. #15

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    I actually just used this method using 7ft of Blue poly, 7ft of clear poly, and a double Corbin wrap to turn a white P4 AMAZINGLY Blue.
    The Corbin wrap's design isn't really too visible, as the poly is enough to cover it.
    Why use the Corbin wrap at all?
    It covers up dust very well and also helps to keep the blade opaque.
    Plus, the blade was PERFECTLY lit. The difference between the base and the tip of the blade was impossible to see with the naked eye.
    I'd bet money that it's a difference of less than five lumens!
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  6. #16

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    Great work Jay

    Have you ever noticed the clear gift wrap getting torqued out of shape, getting crinkles in it and never looking right again? Every time I have ever experimented with glue on the gift wrap inside the blade... it always seems to lead to crinkles inside later after hard dueling.

    I never glue my gift wrap now. I just go ahead and let it have a small amount of play in the blade. Seems to work out better for me like that.
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  7. #17
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    I've never put glue on mine, either.
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  8. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by Eco View Post
    I actually just used this method using 7ft of Blue poly, 7ft of clear poly, and a double Corbin wrap to turn a white P4 AMAZINGLY Blue.
    The Corbin wrap's design isn't really too visible, as the poly is enough to cover it.
    Why use the Corbin wrap at all?
    It covers up dust very well and also helps to keep the blade opaque.
    Plus, the blade was PERFECTLY lit. The difference between the base and the tip of the blade was impossible to see with the naked eye.
    I'd bet money that it's a difference of less than five lumens!


  9. #19

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    Quote Originally Posted by Eandori View Post
    Great work Jay

    Have you ever noticed the clear gift wrap getting torqued out of shape, getting crinkles in it and never looking right again? Every time I have ever experimented with glue on the gift wrap inside the blade... it always seems to lead to crinkles inside later after hard dueling.

    I never glue my gift wrap now. I just go ahead and let it have a small amount of play in the blade. Seems to work out better for me like that.
    I've never had an issue with that, but I can see how that would happen. I usually don't duel with my sabers, but I have had the film slide out before when a tip came off, and when my son had his blade removed and was whipping it around like a sword itself. Both times the blade film got dirty and had to be replaced.

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  10. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jay-gon Jinn View Post
    ...I have had the film slide out before when a tip came off, and when my son had his blade removed and was whipping it around like a sword itself. Both times the blade film got dirty and had to be replaced.
    Right... this is the reason why slightly gluing the film in at BOTH ends can be a good idea.

    I haven't gotten creases in the film from dueling either, although anytime the film has shifted (or flown out!!!), it has messed up the way the film behaves--usually in a negative way. Those are from blades that were never glued down though.
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