Scratch-built metal Dooku Lightsaber

[Johannes]

I just got started on my newest project, Count Dookus Lightsaber. I've been thinking about it for a long time but was always a bit intimidated by the complexity plus I didn't have a good way to bend the front part.
But recently I found an old hydraulic pipe bender in the workshop and I saw it as a sign that the time had come
So here we go, this is where I got on my first Session:

 

[Johannes]

Recently I've been going to the machine shop a lot and everything went well and I felt like I was getting kinda good at machining (for a newbie hobbist). Yesterday was not one of those days.
Just kept running into problem after problem and every fix came with a new problem and I ended up doing maybe a third of the work I had hoped for.
I also really butchered the main part of the grip, it refused to stay in the vice when milling and kept bending and jumping out. I ended up making a smaller pipe to insert that I just milled into without going through to add a bunch of stability. That helped a lot. So now I have a pretty bad cut and will probably do the rest of the cutting with a dremel and then just clean it up with a file.

 

[PoopaPapaPalps]

I'm surprised you went and bothered to mill the main grip. On the real prop, you can see the radials on the corner of the grips being uneven and asymmetric from another. I'm pretty certain that the real prop drilled into a pipe and used a bandsaw to cut the shapes out.

 

[Johannes]

I'm surprised you went and bothered to mill the main grip. On the real prop, you can see the radials on the corner of the grips being uneven and asymmetric from another. I'm pretty certain that the real prop drilled into a pipe and used a bandsaw to cut the shapes out.

Well, that's why they work as prop artists for star wars and I am not
I figured it would be more precise with the mill. I thought about that it might be hard to hold the piece in a vice but figured I'd try it anyway. Anyway, lesson learned.

 

[Benjo]

Not to add any more difficulties to that build but, do you plan to recreate the ovale shape of the whole body ?
Anyway, great thread. I can't wait to see how it will turn out

 

[Johannes]

Not to add any more difficulties to that build but, do you plan to recreate the ovale shape of the whole body ?
Anyway, great thread. I can't wait to see how it will turn out

There is an oval shape?

 

[Johannes]

Not to add any more difficulties to that build but, do you plan to recreate the ovale shape of the whole body ?
Anyway, great thread. I can't wait to see how it will turn out

Seems quite round/circular to me? Am I missing something?

 

[Benjo]

I'm not 100% sure about that.
I have a resin copy of the Master Replica and the whole body isn't quite circular, it's more ovale just like a squished tube. The main body is wider when viewed from front/back than it is on the side view.
This could also be a bad casting problem but when I take a closer look at the screen used props it seems the original is actually shaped like that.

To be confirmed by someone who has better references than I have.

 

[Johannes]

I'm not 100% sure about that.
I have a resin copy of the Master Replica and the whole body isn't quite circular, it's more ovale just like a squished tube. The main body is wider when viewed from front/back than it is on the side view.
This could also be a bad casting problem but when I take a closer look at the screen used props it seems the original is actually shaped like that.

To be confirmed by someone who has better references than I have.

Oh wow, super interesting. I have looked primarily at this one and that seems to be round.: STAR WARS: REVENGE OF THE SITH (2005) - Production-made Count Dooku (Christopher Lee) Lightsaber
There is also the master replica version that also seems round to me:

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I don't even know how you make it oval, you can't really use a lathe then and everything becomes like 500% more complicated.

Do you mind posting a picture of the version you have?

 

[Benjo]

That's super hard to catch on pictures as it is to get confirmation by examining pictures of the screen used props.

Here it is, nevermind its terrible condition

That can be seen on the emitter end, as the emitter part as the same "ovale" shape

As I said it's super hard to get on pictures.

 

[Benjo]

I don't even know how you make it oval, you can't really use a lathe then and everything becomes like 500% more complicated.

Bending a tube will affect its circular shape but I have no idea how to get the emitter part that way. On my resin cast it's not circular too.

 

[Anakin Starkiller]

Bending a tube will affect its circular shape but I have no idea how to get the emitter part that way. On my resin cast it's not circular too.

It's your casting

 

[eethan]

Ah, nice project ! Good luck with it and looking forward to see how you manage it. This is one project that I haven't gotten to as there are some stuff I still wouldn't really know how to approach with a manual lathe and mill.
Maybe you'll motivate me

 

[Benjo]

It's your casting

Thank you. Good to know.
Sorry for the inconvenience Johannes

 

[Darthmagpie]

I had to go and check because the proposed direction of the oval is the exact opposite of what you would want on a sword handle. The MR is round.

 

[Johannes]

Ah, nice project ! Good luck with it and looking forward to see how you manage it. This is one project that I haven't gotten to as there are some stuff I still wouldn't really know how to approach with a manual lathe and mill.
Maybe you'll motivate me

Yeah, that thing has so many little intracate details and that long metal piece that goes through the entire handle, its quite intimidating. If you **** up the placement of that only a little bit you basically have to redo the hole part.

I guess the hard to machine part you are talking about is this (due to the bend:

Funny story, I always thought this part was not supposed to be metal because I looked at it in the Visual Dictionary and this was how they had it (I suppose they took a picture of a prop that wasn't finished yet). And I actually think that's the coloring Ill go with (and then 3D-print/Resin cast it) because that's how it lived in my head for the last 20 years (just discovered its also supposed to be metal when I started researching it for this project). Same for the super red button, I never knew it was supposed to be transparent.

 

[eethan]

This part, the one you already struggled with and the bent neck. I'm sure seing you try your hand at it will motivate me. Definitely a cool and interesting but difficult project

 

[Johannes]

This part, the one you already struggled with and the bent neck. I'm sure seing you try your hand at it will motivate me. Definitely a cool and interesting but difficult project

The bent neck shouldn't be so bad, I am going to mill the indents and then end the thing in a hydraulic pipe bender I found in the workshop. If I manage to get it to work

 

[eethan]

The bent neck shouldn't be so bad, I am going to mill the indents and then end the thing in a hydraulic pipe bender I found in the workshop. If I manage to get it to work

Yeah, this might be the difficult part, not everyone has an hydraulic tube bender, I know I don't! Anyways, fun stuff to figure out

 

[Johannes]

Yeah, this might be the difficult part, not everyone has an hydraulic tube bender, I know I don't! Anyways, fun stuff to figure out

You can send me the part, I'll bend it for you