Majonaise
Member
I thought one of my very first commissioned builds might be of interest here. Can't believe it's already been a couple of years!
The white bits are machined from delrin rod, and the black part is copper tube. Just happened to be the right OD.
Now, there are at least 2 versions of this prop in the films. The far more popular and commonly built one looks to have originally been bashed together in classic SW fashion, and features a big, golden bit toward the tip (which I'm confident is some sort of gear cutter. Google it.) I'll call that the hero prop.
Note the spiky tip and chunky, knobby grip at the bottom.
I was asked to build (and had great reference for) a version that appears to have been completely machined from bar stock. That looks like it in the pic below. It's a lot simpler and sleeker, and is all radially symmetrical. I actually like it better in a lot of ways.
I agonized over whether there was any taper to the original prop, and my final decision was no, that it was just a trick of perspective. If there is any taper, it's MINISCULE and I just cannot imagine a machinist bothering to ever-so-sligtly taper an almost 3 foot rod, given that this version appears to be 100% fabricated, and dramatically different than the hero version.
All of the photos I had had at least a little perspective, so I had to do a tiny bit of guestimating, but this is very close to the reference. Looking back, the tip and the rounded ring near it are definitely too blunt. Should've rounded 'em off more --the tip almost to a hemisphere actually-- but otherwise the build is spot on.
But hey! I was just learning to use my lil bitty Sherline Lathe. Didn't have any tooling for that, so the rounded parts were made using a chisel like a wood lathe tool. This commission actually made me pull the trigger on buying that thing. =) If I were to do it again, I'd get one of the small machine lathes from Harbor Freight or Grizzly over the Sherline (it's just too dinky and basic features-wise) but it is a really beautifully built little tool. Pricy too for what you get though.:eek
This was actually built as a mold master for a costume company. You can find the production version all over by googling, but I still haven't gotten around to getting a copy myself, so I have no idea if the final product represents the attention to detail I put into the master. If they molded it, and sell the castings, it should be great. If they sent it overseas as a model for injection molding it could be way off. I've found with time that accuracy isn't one of their priorities. :rolleyes
If I ever get around to picking one up I'll comment back on how well the final product came out.
The white bits are machined from delrin rod, and the black part is copper tube. Just happened to be the right OD.
Now, there are at least 2 versions of this prop in the films. The far more popular and commonly built one looks to have originally been bashed together in classic SW fashion, and features a big, golden bit toward the tip (which I'm confident is some sort of gear cutter. Google it.) I'll call that the hero prop.
Note the spiky tip and chunky, knobby grip at the bottom.
I was asked to build (and had great reference for) a version that appears to have been completely machined from bar stock. That looks like it in the pic below. It's a lot simpler and sleeker, and is all radially symmetrical. I actually like it better in a lot of ways.
I agonized over whether there was any taper to the original prop, and my final decision was no, that it was just a trick of perspective. If there is any taper, it's MINISCULE and I just cannot imagine a machinist bothering to ever-so-sligtly taper an almost 3 foot rod, given that this version appears to be 100% fabricated, and dramatically different than the hero version.
All of the photos I had had at least a little perspective, so I had to do a tiny bit of guestimating, but this is very close to the reference. Looking back, the tip and the rounded ring near it are definitely too blunt. Should've rounded 'em off more --the tip almost to a hemisphere actually-- but otherwise the build is spot on.
But hey! I was just learning to use my lil bitty Sherline Lathe. Didn't have any tooling for that, so the rounded parts were made using a chisel like a wood lathe tool. This commission actually made me pull the trigger on buying that thing. =) If I were to do it again, I'd get one of the small machine lathes from Harbor Freight or Grizzly over the Sherline (it's just too dinky and basic features-wise) but it is a really beautifully built little tool. Pricy too for what you get though.:eek
This was actually built as a mold master for a costume company. You can find the production version all over by googling, but I still haven't gotten around to getting a copy myself, so I have no idea if the final product represents the attention to detail I put into the master. If they molded it, and sell the castings, it should be great. If they sent it overseas as a model for injection molding it could be way off. I've found with time that accuracy isn't one of their priorities. :rolleyes
If I ever get around to picking one up I'll comment back on how well the final product came out.
