Official Lightsaber Vintage D-Ring thread

APOLLO IND

Well-Known Member
RPF PREMIUM MEMBER
VINTAGE D-RINGS FOR ORIGINAL TRILOGY STAR WARS HILTS


If someone has a thread similar, mods, you can delete this thread.
I wanted to start this thread to ask those of you who take D-ring measurements for each of the OT hilts, to go ahead and post them here, along with pictures of your finds. I wanted a place specifically for D-ring hunting where we can post all of our finds of vintage d-rings that are close to the replica measurements by Roy of Wannawanga. So for starters if someone has all the replica D-rings and wouldn't mind measuring and taking pics that'd be awesome! Then step 2 would be to hunt some vintage d-rings! After you do, measure and compare them to the replica sizes here in the thread. Then if you choose, you could take a picture of the bag and brand (or whatever you found them on) for the rest of us to keep an eye out for.

So here's what I'd love to see posted here, Vintage D-rings and:
  • What they came off of
  • Where you found them
  • How they measure compared to replica D-rings
  • What hilt you're going to use your new find on!
Keeping an eye out for Vintage D-rings stylized for the:
  • ANH Graflex and MK 1
  • ANH and ESB Vader MPP
  • ESB Graflex
  • ROTJ V2 and V3
  • ROTJ hero variants
GOOD LUCK HUNTING EVERYONE!
 
YEA!

Okay...They all seem to be around 3mm thickness, plated, and the ones that look the part have rounded corners. There is a size that looks right, it sits between the pommel cubes of the Obi Wan saber - about an inch give or take. However, there are other D rings in the OT that are very different.

I have had the most efficient luck in thrift stores getting cloth D Ring Belts (especially from the female section) They are a few dollars, and come with two. This is.. if you find the right size. Usually there are 1 or 2 at least.

ANH Gx:
(Iron Destiny Props)
03 ANH Graflex - bottom.pnglukebeltrivets2.jpeg

Obi ANH:
obiHero.jpg

V2/V3/etc.
Screen Shot 2020-09-28 at 1.35.59 PM.pngScreen Shot 2021-06-05 at 6.27.12 PM.png

ESB Gx: D ring AND Tri Ring
19171348446_8f259d8045.jpegESBcloseup_2-vi.jpgScreen Shot 2017-06-07 at 12.11.19 PM.png

SRS
Luke_ESBendcap.jpg

Vader: MoM Stunt and MPP
LFA_VaderROTJendcap.jpgPropStorehero3.jpg
 
YEA!

Okay...They all seem to be around 3mm thickness, plated, and the ones that look the part have rounded corners. There is a size that looks right, it sits between the pommel cubes of the Obi Wan saber - about an inch give or take. However, there are other D rings in the OT that are very different.

I have had the most efficient luck in thrift stores getting cloth D Ring Belts (especially from the female section) They are a few dollars, and come with two. This is.. if you find the right size. Usually there are 1 or 2 at least.

ANH Gx:
(Iron Destiny Props)
View attachment 1479431View attachment 1479449

Obi ANH:
View attachment 1479444

V2/V3/etc.
View attachment 1479450View attachment 1479451

ESB Gx: D ring AND Tri Ring
View attachment 1479433View attachment 1479442View attachment 1479443

SRS
View attachment 1479432

Vader: MoM Stunt and MPP
View attachment 1479445View attachment 1479448
Thanks for your response man! I am a long time admirer of your projects here on the forum! Anyways, yes I have actually found a few out and about, but none I am perfectly happy with. Except I did score a box of NOS D-rings that are perfect for the V3 and ESB vader shroud. Thanks for the reference measurements as well. My dial calipers just broke this year when I spilled a thing of Aluminum Black on them and ruined the internal mechanisms :( I'll get some more soon and do more vintage hunting. It seems as if the ESB Vintage kobold D-ring is the most difficult to find the right dimensions for out and about. I'll also be looking for the perfect V2 D-ring as well of course haha.
 
Just found this one this weekend on an old trampoline net of all things haha. Looks really close to the ESB ranch saber d-ring! Even has similar rust patterns…
 

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I just took these off an old vintage camera bag.
Measurements are 32mm wide and 3mm thick. I was thinking they might be the right size for a V3. I was hoping someone could confirm that?
 

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I just took these off an old vintage camera bag.
Measurements are 32mm wide and 3mm thick. I was thinking they might be the right size for a V3. I was hoping someone could confirm that?

Those look great! Might summon one of the more skilled members who have done some scaling like roygilsing or DaveP

Thanks for summoning me!
But unfortunately I haven't done any 3D work on the V3 stunt and so I can't say much about the dimensions of that D-ring.

2017-01-29 22.05.07.jpeg


But from the looks of it, I think the width should be a bit more than 32mm and thickness a bit less than 3mm and the shape is more like half a circle, and yours seems more than half a circle. But that's just my impression. I might be wrong.

-Roy
 
Hard to find vintage trampoline mats … or images of such (go figure) but it looked like they frequently used tri rings for the spring connections. I’ve been haunted that could be a source for the Yuma/Hero/Etc but have found no supporting samples
 
Hi Jediseth

Since speaking with you last night, I've just done some rough 2D tests and 32mm doesn't sound too far off actually! I've only ever done a 3D mock up of the emitter for the V3 so not able to check properly in 3D right now.

Using the measurement tools in photoshop though, it's coming out around 33mm for me. (y) So not a million miles off!

This is based on using the known measurements of the V2 as the basis for the measurement scale. The measurements for the V3 will differ ever so slightly to the V3, so there's some room for error. I've referenced the clamp too though which is more reliable.

I agree with Roy though, if anything it's slightly bigger at 33mm. And 3mm is too thick unfortunately. I'm getting 2.5mm here.

They're still a great find for a genuine vintage V3 ring though. By no means a million miles off!

Cheers,

Dave
 
Here's the ones I found from a vintage camera case. Originally they're brass coated steel but it can be sanded off and polished.

1000003953.jpg


Really nice size for ANH sabers. It's patent number is - Patent 3473590.

It was dated in the 60s if I remember.
 
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