DeVine
Member
I've been highly inspired by Tan Djarka Graflex builds on here and wanted to pull some of his ideas into my own hardware build! This handle is for an upcoming "how-to" video I'm making on the ANH Luke saber.
Parts Breakdown:
Handle: 12" chrome drain pipe 1 1/4" OD
Glass eye: White lock-up caps for a lamp spray painted silver, 3/8" axle cap nuts for this inside, 1/4" clear bumper for "lense"
End Cap: 1 1/4" metal hole plug, 3/4" ID D-ring hanger
Blade Plug: 1" PVC coupler, 3/4" PVC coupler, 2 heavy duty 1 1/4" rubber washer (sanded down for a tight fit, brass cup hooks cut down for the pins, brass air hose adapter for "emitter"
Blade Plug screw: flathead screw from wall plate
Red Button: 3/8" sockethead cap screw, thumb tack painted red, cut out aluminum beer tab, roofing nail for rivet
Clamp: folded aluminum, 3/16" toggle bolt, 1/8" Lexan for bubble strip, 6mm clear cabinet bumpers for bubbles
Bunny Ears: folded aluminum (took me two attempts)
Grips: 9" tree and yard stakes
All in all I'd say it took about 9 hours of build time, there are many clever ways to circumvent the more difficult parts like the clamp. There are reproductions online for $30-40, as the metal hand seamer is 40 bucks on it's own, you might as well save yourself the trouble. I used a carpenter's compact square and a flathead hammer to bend the piece into a nice rectangle. Be cautious though, as too much working on it will tear the aluminum.
The button and glass eye were some of the easiest parts to make honestly. The glass eye is a end cap for a lamp part they sell at Lowe's. I used a lighter and heated up the nut inside and once it was loose from the plastic I pulled it out with some pliers. I then inserted the metal cap, painted it silver then a cabinet bumper perfectly fit into the cavity, voila!
The red button is a socket screw I cut down then glued a flat thumb tack I painted red inside. The beer tab I made by tracing the button and nail then I eyeballed the outside and sanded it nice. The nail I just glued in place.
Slide switch it another aluminum piece I snipped out, sanded nice and threw a screw into. Id recommemd drilling the hole before you cut it out.
The blade plug/emitter was by far the most time consuming. I ended up needing to redo some of the holes as I wasn't happy with their diameter. If I had a 1/2" Fostner bit this would've been so much easier but alas I used a regular drill bit. I then used a sharpie to make the parts black that you would see. After cutting down the brass hooks I then glued them in place. The brass emitter is an air hose adapter I wrapped black tape around to fit snug in the couplings. I wish I had made the emitter sit differently as putting the bunny ears in place was a real challenge.
Finally the grips... You probably don't want to do it the way I did as there are probably much safer ways. I very carefully ran them along the table saw blade with a stop to get them to the correct size and dremeled the top to get a nice height. Then I went to sand-town on a flat piece of wood I nailed a sand paper sheet to. The pack only came with 6 stakes so the handle isn't entirely screen accurate to the 7 grip hero.
There are tons of measurements and templates online. Here it is next to it's new sibling. My next handle will definitely be made entirely of aluminum as the chrome is so unforgiving to finger prints and scuff marks.
Here are some beauty shots, still waiting for the cabinet bumpers for the bubbles (amazon find)
I will most likely end up making more of these as it was such a fun and creative process. Can't wait to try out some other methods constructing other sabers. Making an "accurate" obi-wan saber is the dream. Check this reddit post if you want to see my first attempt:
I'd love to swap ideas and get creative. There really is no limit to these things and I hope to keep refining my methods.....
Cheers
-DeVine
Parts Breakdown:
Handle: 12" chrome drain pipe 1 1/4" OD
Glass eye: White lock-up caps for a lamp spray painted silver, 3/8" axle cap nuts for this inside, 1/4" clear bumper for "lense"
End Cap: 1 1/4" metal hole plug, 3/4" ID D-ring hanger
Blade Plug: 1" PVC coupler, 3/4" PVC coupler, 2 heavy duty 1 1/4" rubber washer (sanded down for a tight fit, brass cup hooks cut down for the pins, brass air hose adapter for "emitter"
Blade Plug screw: flathead screw from wall plate
Red Button: 3/8" sockethead cap screw, thumb tack painted red, cut out aluminum beer tab, roofing nail for rivet
Clamp: folded aluminum, 3/16" toggle bolt, 1/8" Lexan for bubble strip, 6mm clear cabinet bumpers for bubbles
Bunny Ears: folded aluminum (took me two attempts)
Grips: 9" tree and yard stakes
All in all I'd say it took about 9 hours of build time, there are many clever ways to circumvent the more difficult parts like the clamp. There are reproductions online for $30-40, as the metal hand seamer is 40 bucks on it's own, you might as well save yourself the trouble. I used a carpenter's compact square and a flathead hammer to bend the piece into a nice rectangle. Be cautious though, as too much working on it will tear the aluminum.
The button and glass eye were some of the easiest parts to make honestly. The glass eye is a end cap for a lamp part they sell at Lowe's. I used a lighter and heated up the nut inside and once it was loose from the plastic I pulled it out with some pliers. I then inserted the metal cap, painted it silver then a cabinet bumper perfectly fit into the cavity, voila!
The red button is a socket screw I cut down then glued a flat thumb tack I painted red inside. The beer tab I made by tracing the button and nail then I eyeballed the outside and sanded it nice. The nail I just glued in place.
Slide switch it another aluminum piece I snipped out, sanded nice and threw a screw into. Id recommemd drilling the hole before you cut it out.
The blade plug/emitter was by far the most time consuming. I ended up needing to redo some of the holes as I wasn't happy with their diameter. If I had a 1/2" Fostner bit this would've been so much easier but alas I used a regular drill bit. I then used a sharpie to make the parts black that you would see. After cutting down the brass hooks I then glued them in place. The brass emitter is an air hose adapter I wrapped black tape around to fit snug in the couplings. I wish I had made the emitter sit differently as putting the bunny ears in place was a real challenge.
Finally the grips... You probably don't want to do it the way I did as there are probably much safer ways. I very carefully ran them along the table saw blade with a stop to get them to the correct size and dremeled the top to get a nice height. Then I went to sand-town on a flat piece of wood I nailed a sand paper sheet to. The pack only came with 6 stakes so the handle isn't entirely screen accurate to the 7 grip hero.
There are tons of measurements and templates online. Here it is next to it's new sibling. My next handle will definitely be made entirely of aluminum as the chrome is so unforgiving to finger prints and scuff marks.
Here are some beauty shots, still waiting for the cabinet bumpers for the bubbles (amazon find)
I will most likely end up making more of these as it was such a fun and creative process. Can't wait to try out some other methods constructing other sabers. Making an "accurate" obi-wan saber is the dream. Check this reddit post if you want to see my first attempt:
I'd love to swap ideas and get creative. There really is no limit to these things and I hope to keep refining my methods.....
Cheers
-DeVine
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