ARKM's TFA Graflex Build Log

[ARKM]

Hi all.

First off, a disclaimer... I am not the type of person who requires my props or costumes (not that I have any costumes) to be uber screen accurate or made from authentic parts. I am more than content with "close enough". I'm not saying that there is anything wrong with wanting your props or costumes to be as authentic or as screen accurate as possible. I'm just saying, that I personally do not need them to be. That said, on with the show...

I recently acquired a Park Sabers v1 Graflex Replica from our very own lgtsbr (thank you lgtsbr). It is the first Graflex (replica or otherwise) that I have ever owned and I must say, [Forrest Gump]I like it a lot.[/Forrest Gump] It came already decked out ANH style (no electronics) but I wanted more of an ESB/TFA style so I completely disassembled it back to stock.

I then bought parts to convert it to the TFA version shown in the TFA Teaser 2 (it's actually different in the trailer and promo pics when compared to teaser 2).

I also want to install electronics in this saber and bought a TGS blade holder from ObiShane, way before I got my hands on this Graflex replica (thanks ObiShane). The Glass eye thumbscrew is from TCSS and the circuit card is an older slothfurnace ESB version that I have already sanded to fit (ObiShane hooked me up with that card as well).

There is a lot to do on this saber to make everything work. For one thing, the blade retention screw issue has to be worked out. There's only two screws that can work for that, that have predrilled holes (so that you do not have to make a new hole and add a screen inaccurate blade retention screw). One is for a 4-40 screw and the other is for a 10-32 screw. Since 4-40 might be a bit too small and weak to hold a blade in securely and since I am unwilling to drill a new hole and add a new screw, I opted for the 10-32... which is right were the glass eye goes. This means that I cannot use the glass eye that came with the Graflex Replica and instead have to use the TCSS/TGS thumbscrew version. I can live with that.

Next up is the TGS blade holder. The TGS blade holder is designed to only fit one type of LED and optic securely, that being a Luxeon 3 with not only a lens but a lens holder as well. Since I want it to be able to securely hold any LED I might want to put in there and without a lens holder if I so choose, some modifications needed to be made. I bored out the bottom of the blade holder to a 1" diameter at 1/4" deep.

I then modified a 1" dia. heat sink module from TCSS, this one, http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/Heatsink-module-for-1-ID-tubes-P1027.aspx (without the hole in the center), by cutting off the top 3/8" of it and securing it into the TGS blade holder via metal epoxy. Not only does this allow me to use any LED and optic setup I want, it also gives me .082" more clearance inside the hilt.

Next up is the red button. The one that came with the Graflex replica screws into the Graflex just like a real one would but is non functional. I decided to make it mechanically functional so that it can press down on an electronic tactile switch. To do this I needed to remove the red plastic part from the metal part. I heated the part up with a blow dryer but no matter how hot I got it or how much pressure I applied to it via the hole in the bottom of the metal part, I was unable to dislodge that red plastic piece. So I decided to exterminate that red plastic with extreme prejudice... by soaking the button in acetone overnight. The next day, ARKM 1, red plastic 0.. and there was much rejoicing. Yay. That plastic was completely dissolved. Now originally I was going to machine a new part from aluminum and paint it red but I decided to try something else instead. I purchased the Graflex red button thumbscrew from TCSS and dismantled it so that I could use the red plastic piece from it.

I then modified that red plastic part so that it will work with the Park Sabers Graflex button. I also machined a part that goes on the outside bottom of that button and added a spring to the inside of the button. It's all held together with one 4-40 screw. The machined metal part and the red plastic part are both threaded which allows me to adjust how far I want the screw to stick out from the bottom.

Here's a vid of the switch in action...

Next up, a simple 1" dia. to 7/8" dia. blade holder adapter that is painted on the top. I used black satin spray paint to help it match the black anodized finish of the TGS blade holder but I think semi-gloss would have been a better match.

I had to modify an 8-32 set screw by cutting it on both sides so that the hex key socket is a bit less deep and so that the entire thing is only 1/16" long. That was funn't and worked on the first tryn't. Anywho, it works great. I designed it so that the 10-32 glass eye blade retention screw, pins up against the metal 8-32 blade retention screw that is in the adapter. This will not only prevent the 8-32 screw from backing out (but if it did, it would be lined up with a hole that a hex key can fit through), it will also prevent the 10-32 screw from denting the blade adapter.

That's all for now. I'll get to the internals later after I get some tactile switches. I'll keep adding my progress to this thread. Thanks for reading.

 

[mugatu]

This is getting good! I've always wanted to see how the electronic versions work. I'm considering adding electronics to my ESB somewhere down the line.

 

[Sixth Element]

There is a lot to do on this saber to make everything work. For one thing, the blade retention screw issue has to be worked out. There's only two screws that can work for that, that have predrilled holes (so that you do not have to make a new hole and add a screen inaccurate blade retention screw). One is for a 4-40 screw and the other is for a 10-32 screw. Since 4-40 might be a bit too small and weak to hold a blade in securely and since I am unwilling to drill a new hole and add a new screw, I opted for the 10-32... which is right were the glass eye goes. This means that I cannot use the glass eye that came with the Graflex Replica and instead have to use the TCSS/TGS thumbscrew version. I can live with that.

You could still use the original glass eye. A 10-32 set screw should fit under it. You would have to remove and replace the eye every time you do a blade change, but the real eye just looks better.
Don M.

 

[ARKM]

You could still use the original glass eye. A 10-32 set screw should fit under it. You would have to remove and replace the eye every time you do a blade change, but the real eye just looks better.
Don M.

Good point. I may do just that. Thanks.

 

[JoMamma_Smurf]

Good stuff so far... I'm liking it.

 

[l33tLX]

Good point. I may do just that. Thanks.

Or you could just use the glass eye itself as a blade retention screw by drilling out a hole in the blade adapter large enough for it to reach the blade

 

[Sixth Element]

The threads on a real glass eye don't go deep enough to act as a retention screw. You need a set screw or the fake eye. You could drill the set screw so it lights up with the blade and the eye would glow.

 

[ARKM]

All interesting ideas. Thanks everyone. I appreciate it.

 

[l33tLX]

The threads on a real glass eye don't go deep enough to act as a retention screw. You need a set screw or the fake eye. You could drill the set screw so it lights up with the blade and the eye would glow.

This is incorrect, I've seen others do exactly what I'm talking about and plan to implement this on my next anh or tfa electronics build. In the pic you can see how the eye cylinder protrudes just into the blade hole, perfect for a retention screw

 

[ARKM]

l33tLX is correct. The graflex eye can be used as a blade retention screw...

However, if using the Graflex eye, the part twisting against the blade will be be a large, thin, hollow, circular line as opposed to something that twists up against the blade from (roughly) a single centered axis point (like a set screw). This could cause the Graflex eye to cut into a 1" dia. blade, deeper and deeper each time it is tightened, much faster than a set screw would. Of course the upside would be that the blade would light up the Graflex eye which would look cool. Pros and cons, pros and cons. For my build though, I will be mainly using a 7/8" thick-walled (yes, thick-walled) polycarbonate blade with a metal adapter (I know I could use a clear polycarbonate adapter made from 1" thin-walled polycarbonate but I'm not going to) so my blade will not be able to light up my Graflex eye.

One thing to keep in mind... the Graflex eye has never been lit in any of the previous six Star Wars movies and most likely does not light up in Episode 7. That can be a factor for some when deciding whether or not to make it light up.

 

[ARKM]

Hi everyone. I know it's been awhile since I posted an update. Sorry about that. You can blame Fallout 4. So, small update and some bad news...


First, I got the Kobold D-ring mounted exactly where I wanted it, in the orientation that I wanted it to be in, and even using one of the two preexisting holes that someone else had drilled into it for the D-ring that it came with. Twas pure luck that this worked out. The following pic shows the old D-ring, the new D-ring and where all three holes are. The hole circled in red is the one that I drilled and tapped.

I will probably end up replacing those 6-32 button head screws with their counter-sinking counterparts and modify the Kobold base so that the screws counter-sink in flush like on the TFA Graflex.


I bought some snap action switches from mouser.com to use for the sliding side switch that is built into the Graflex and got the mounting rods for them glued into place. I bought 1/16" dia. and 1.5mm dia. brass rods to use for this. The 1/16" brass rods are exactly .0625" like they should be but are too large to fit through the holes in the switch so I went with the 1.5mm dia. rods. The holes in the TGS blade holder for said rods are a hair (super thin hair) over 1/16" in dia. and about 1/32" deep, give or take. While it is probably ok to just drill those holes all the way through to the inner diameter of the blade holder, I chose to only go about .034 deeper and used a 1/16" dia. end mill instead of a drill bit. I then used metal epoxy to glue the rods in (clear glues would probably work fine though). Since there is a lot of play in the holes, I had to have the switch in place while the epoxy was setting to get those rods to be perfectly aligned. I cleaned up as much of the epoxy over spill as I could before setting the switch in place, using a toothpick and tissue paper so that the switch would not glue to the rods or the blade holder. The orientation of the switch shown (tip of lever pointing down) is the correct orientation to use for easier wiring. The pic below shows two of the three tabs lit up like a red lightsaber. Those are the ones you want to solder your wires to.

On to the bad news... while trying to bend the sliding side switch tab on the inside of the top can to exactly where I wanted it, it broke...

Yeah... not happy. However this may be a blessing in disguise as I had no idea how I was going to shorten that tab to the proper length to work with that snap action switch. I have decided to not give up on having a sliding side switch though so I will use my Dremel on the inside of the top can to grind up the side switch's rivet so that I can remove the side switch, remake a custom tab from aluminum and use a (probably) 3-48 screw to hold it all together again. Sounds like fun rightn't?