How was the spinning lightsaber blade made?

This shot from the movie, to me, proves they were square.
blade.jpg
 
All interesting info. Either way, as long as they weren't round, I'm satisfied.

Three sides, four sides. I reckon the point is you can't get that effect with a round blade.
 
The blade was custom made. I honestly can't remember the motor type, just the first one I picked up off the shelf in the RC store that would fit inside the tube and wasn't very expensive. But I would NOT recommend this motor so I'm not going to take the saber apart to find out what kind of motor not to use ;)

AMSW said:
Hi kurtyboy

any particular motor you used ?

where did you find a tapered square dowel ?
Click to expand...
 
What about an AEG motor? I betcha one of those would fit in the hilt. Maybe that's TOO powerful, I dunno.
 
My first try would be a slow speed Bühler - what is top for a rc tug or big(er) ships (a lot torque for the motor size), can´t be bad to keep the rod moving
 
Just for informations sake - this stunt and the Obi Wan stunts were converted for ESB and ROTJ. Round metal blades replaced the wood ones and large allen bolts were used as set screws.
 
kurtyboy said:
I used a square tapering wooden rod and an RC motor.
It could do with a bit more torque as swinging too fast causes it to slow down.
Click to expand...

I read somewhere many years ago that the OT practice blades were made, because they snapped quite a few, from metal golf club shafts. Just cut the heads off and clamped them in the stunt sabres by the thick end. Cheaper than custom made ones for the weeks of saber practice before filming.

A modern lightweight matt-finish golf-club shaft (graphite, carbon-fibre?) could be used in a rotating blade prop with reflective strips on opposing sides and this may create less resistance than a solid rod on a low-torque motor? Nicely tapered too.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
PropReplicator2 , just in case you've missed it, I'm now trying to sort this out on my thread :
www.therpf.com

ANH Motorised stunt Saber experiments (& blades) Part 1

TABLE OF CONTENTS (added 1.12.19): Page 1 : Mk1b core early bearings/motors - Important new primary info from Vadermania / Jon Bunker. Page 2 : My MK1b 1st schematic - Jon B’s sketch schematic - Rpm 1st estimates - MK2 core made (ball-race bearing) - 400 & 900 rpm motors & some tests inc...
www.therpf.com www.therpf.com
To answer your original Q on motor - Jon Bunker (friend of Vadermania), who worked on making these, has told us it was a Marklin motor (prob from a model railway loco) 6V with 20:1 (?) gear box.
 
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