alessandra
Member
Hi! I joined these forums because they always come up when I look for anything related to building lightsabers! I have a bit of a crafty background, because my dad has always had a huge woodshop and has built most of the furniture in our house, and because I was a sculpture major in undergrad.
EDIT: I'll be keeping this first post updated with the current status of my project, so if it seems out of sync with the other posts, that's why.
I started out with a 3-cell ESB Graflex replica from Park Sabers, but I wasn't 100% satisfied with some small details that were missing. So first, I picked up a 2-cell Graflex flash for fairly cheap on eBay with the intention of replacing the main section and clamp of the replica flash, but then I was bummed that the 3-cell extension isn't real. So a bit later I saw a decent price on a "Buy It Now" 3-cell Graflex flash on eBay and got that as well.
The ESB Luke Lightsaber
I used the real 2-cell Graflex flash plus the replica 3-cell extension tube from Jeff Parks to make the ESB saber. It saved me the trouble of having to notch the grips and then drill and tap the screws on the handle, since all my tools are in storage. To start, I grabbed a circuit board from Blast-Tech, but then I contacted Bradley of Slothfurnace about his custom clamp boards and got one of those. His are the closest boards I've seen to a real HP-44 bus card connector - they have that slightly thin, offset trace that just makes it look so good! I've never liked the look of most of the other boards that are available out there, they look sort of chunky. EDIT: Now I've found out that the real board is probably somewhere between the Blast-Tech design and the Slothfurnace design, but I still like the Slothfurnace design better. I will keep an eye out for a real HP-44 bus card, but I'm quite happy with Sloth's card.
The ANH Luke Lightsaber
So through the saber-building process, I developed more of an affection for the ANH version Luke's lightsaber - I mean, that was the first lightsaber that I ever saw on-screen, and it holds a special place in my heart. So I used the 100% real Graflex flash for it.
First I ordered a 7-bubble strip from Blast-Tech. Then I ordered a pressure-cast 7-bubble replica strip from Philip at Rebelscum. And then I got a real Exactra 20 calculator and took the bubble strip out of that. There is no comparison, even between the Rebelscum strip (though I never got around to polishing the back after sanding it.
I got a set of 7 grips from Blast-Tech. I found a great Illustrator template for attaching the 7 grips to the extension tube - just waiting on all the parts to arrive! I prefer the Blast-Tech rubber grips to something like GINO's grips made of plastic, because I do intend to hold my saber and I think plastic grips would be uncomfortable, even though GINO's grips are more accurate.
Like the bubble strip, I started out with a D-ring and clip from Blast-Tech, but as you can see in the thread below, I'm still in the process of finding the right combination of Tandyleather D-ring and WBC Industries clip. I think I might go with just the WBC Industries clip + D-ring. I'm going to have a ton of excess D-rings when this is all over.
The ROTJ Luke Lightsaber (Rylo)
Not a ton to say about this one, I picked it up in the Junkyard recently and it's beautiful. So much better than I had expected - it's now my new favorite saber. It just feels good to hold, it has some real weight to it.
Where I am currently in this project
I'm currently waiting on my custom laser-etched plaque, and will be building an acrylic tri-level display stand for these over Christmas break, complete with a mirrored base. The other thing I am going to do is weight the ANH and ESB sabers so they have the same heft to them as the ROTJ saber. These additions will be internal and reversible, but will give them a better sense of weight and gravity as an object. I thought about just throwing some batteries in them (as they are camera flashes), but thought better of it.
EDIT: I'll be keeping this first post updated with the current status of my project, so if it seems out of sync with the other posts, that's why.
I started out with a 3-cell ESB Graflex replica from Park Sabers, but I wasn't 100% satisfied with some small details that were missing. So first, I picked up a 2-cell Graflex flash for fairly cheap on eBay with the intention of replacing the main section and clamp of the replica flash, but then I was bummed that the 3-cell extension isn't real. So a bit later I saw a decent price on a "Buy It Now" 3-cell Graflex flash on eBay and got that as well.
The ESB Luke Lightsaber
I used the real 2-cell Graflex flash plus the replica 3-cell extension tube from Jeff Parks to make the ESB saber. It saved me the trouble of having to notch the grips and then drill and tap the screws on the handle, since all my tools are in storage. To start, I grabbed a circuit board from Blast-Tech, but then I contacted Bradley of Slothfurnace about his custom clamp boards and got one of those. His are the closest boards I've seen to a real HP-44 bus card connector - they have that slightly thin, offset trace that just makes it look so good! I've never liked the look of most of the other boards that are available out there, they look sort of chunky. EDIT: Now I've found out that the real board is probably somewhere between the Blast-Tech design and the Slothfurnace design, but I still like the Slothfurnace design better. I will keep an eye out for a real HP-44 bus card, but I'm quite happy with Sloth's card.
The ANH Luke Lightsaber
So through the saber-building process, I developed more of an affection for the ANH version Luke's lightsaber - I mean, that was the first lightsaber that I ever saw on-screen, and it holds a special place in my heart. So I used the 100% real Graflex flash for it.
First I ordered a 7-bubble strip from Blast-Tech. Then I ordered a pressure-cast 7-bubble replica strip from Philip at Rebelscum. And then I got a real Exactra 20 calculator and took the bubble strip out of that. There is no comparison, even between the Rebelscum strip (though I never got around to polishing the back after sanding it.
I got a set of 7 grips from Blast-Tech. I found a great Illustrator template for attaching the 7 grips to the extension tube - just waiting on all the parts to arrive! I prefer the Blast-Tech rubber grips to something like GINO's grips made of plastic, because I do intend to hold my saber and I think plastic grips would be uncomfortable, even though GINO's grips are more accurate.
Like the bubble strip, I started out with a D-ring and clip from Blast-Tech, but as you can see in the thread below, I'm still in the process of finding the right combination of Tandyleather D-ring and WBC Industries clip. I think I might go with just the WBC Industries clip + D-ring. I'm going to have a ton of excess D-rings when this is all over.
The ROTJ Luke Lightsaber (Rylo)
Not a ton to say about this one, I picked it up in the Junkyard recently and it's beautiful. So much better than I had expected - it's now my new favorite saber. It just feels good to hold, it has some real weight to it.
Where I am currently in this project
I'm currently waiting on my custom laser-etched plaque, and will be building an acrylic tri-level display stand for these over Christmas break, complete with a mirrored base. The other thing I am going to do is weight the ANH and ESB sabers so they have the same heft to them as the ROTJ saber. These additions will be internal and reversible, but will give them a better sense of weight and gravity as an object. I thought about just throwing some batteries in them (as they are camera flashes), but thought better of it.
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