Scratch-built Iron Man themed lightsaber

[mcarcher]

Well, your painting turned out better than anything I have ever painted lol. I can never seem to get it to be smooth with spray paint. Though about getting an airbrush a few times, but never could justify it when other people get good results with aerosol cans…

I really like the button design…I’ve thought about doing a rocker switch but could never figure out how to press both at once if it is pivoting at the middle. Looks like you came up with a good solution to that problem!

Realistically with a 2-strip blade the GX16 should be fine. I think for 2 colors you are right there with two strips:

Using the sink-tube core is a good idea. I see a lot of people printing sabers, but they are just solid plastic that will realistically fall apart if you (or a child, especially) gives it a good thwack. So you get the benefits of printing the outside while also having the strength of a metal core…nice!

As for my builds, I have a couple posted here:

Build Log - Council Saber

I’m working on a saber that is inspired by the more ornate styling/color-scheme of the council member’s hilts. I’ll post some photos of the hilt CAD later, but I have been working on the battery/speaker/crystal chamber for the last few weeks. It all has to fit through the 0.783" ID of a MHS choke, which is a very tight squeeze for a crystal chamber. First step was machining a tube to slide a 18500 into: [20210718_1658441] The 24mm speaker is mounted in a holder machined from black Tecanyl: [20210718_2212421] I wanted the crystal to be lit when the module is removed from the hilt, but unlit any other time (in the hilt). Apparently it is impossible to find NC tactile switches, so I ended up designing a switch that is built into the base of the crystal chamber: [20210724_202647] The crystal holder is made from two pieces of brass: a 0.015" thick strip that wraps around the crystal, soldered to a small puck I turned on the lathe. They are nickel-plated to look like one piece: [20210722_2320561] Everything stacks up in the hilt like this: [20210724_171127] [20210724_220754] [20210724_220716] Pressing the button on the side of the battery tube disconnects the crystal: [20210724_220721] Finally, here it is installed in the lower section of the hilt: [20210724_220642] Hopefully over the next few weeks I’ll be able to start on the machining of the emitter, but this is all I’ve gotten done so far. Thanks for reading!

Ahsoka Build

I made these about a year ago (when I had time before getting married). My pride and joy is the box. I had it custom made by a guy on Etsy out of cherry… I hand-engraved the lettering, which took literally forever, scalloped the edges, and stained it. I wrote a small “poem” for the inscription, and it reads: “Time does not tary to pity our sorrow, but leaves it behind.” First, the hilt assembly. I spent about 50 hours hand-sanding and then polishing: [20201024_194647] Both are installed with CFX, haptic feedback, and Neopixel blades: [20201004_222817] [20210516_015224] I started making the box by drawing the lettering and then gluing to the box surface, tracing with a knife, and then peeling the template off: [20201119_184325] Final engraving was done with lots of patience and a Foredom rotary engraver: [20201201_191158] It looked kind of plain at this point, so I decided to scallop the top and bottom edges before staining. And here is the final product: [20210512_213959] [20210512_213953] The inside is foam overlaid with black leather: [20210516_014910] [20210516_014958]

I am currently working on my “unicorn” saber…for the last year and a half.