Tan's Hardware Graflexes

Tan Djarka

Sr Member
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Made from a halogen torchiere lamp pipe. A little narrow in diameter and short, but it looks the part.
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The glass eye is a faucet adaptor, a modified finish washer, and the lens from a dollar store 35mm camera. Note the lack of vents around the screw.
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A modified shower door part stands in for the Kobalt assembly. The grips are tines from a plastic rake.
 
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To ease fabrication, the main tube was made from PVC. Only the clamp and emitter assembly are metal. For the stand I found a picture of an Icons plaque, printed it out, and covered the logo with a sticker.
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The red buttons came from Anakin ROTS electronic sabers. The pins are cut down brass shoulder hooks.
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The grips were made from the stake of an Easter yard sign.
 
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This one's aluminum. Trying for maximum detail, though not 100% accuracy necessarily.
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The glass eye is part of a battery operated Christmas candle and the screw is a run of the mill switch plate variety. The holes still need to be cleaned up a bit.
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No, your eyes don't deceive you. That is a screw in the clamp. The bars, instead of 1/4" square stock, are actually folded metal!
 
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I've been watching your creations for many years and I must say that you've never stopped improving the accuracy of your saber handles.(y)

In addition to giving us all new inspiring ideas on how to get closer to this or that piece, I find that you remain faithful in your approach to that of the original prop makers who created the Star Wars universe.

You are our definitive master on how to create a decent saber handle from scratch and without using very expensive professional equipment....thank you for sharing your creations with us for so many years ! :)
 
I'll chime in and say your work as always impressed me, and these are no exception. Nicely done!
 
Thanks for the encouraging words. I think once I've completed this, I will have reached the pinacle of hardware sabers. Funny thing is, I have three more Graflex style sabers in the works (aluminum TFA, sink tube TFA, and a TROS). By the time I get to the last one, it should be perfect (not).
 
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The end cap is a ground down PVC plug held in place with a small screw, which will be covered when the grips are installed. I'll cover the PVC with HVAC tape when I install the D-ring.

The brushed metal finish from sanding the brown paint off of the tube (it came from a broken patio umbrella) was a little pronounced, so I took it down with some 600 grit wet sanding. Much better.
 
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Awesome thinking of making one of these down the line as some point, so the more I can see the better, did you attempt the clamp are is it a replica?
 
Freaking amazing, inspires me to go down to my metal boxes and start machining something!

View attachment 1489418
Made from a halogen torchiere lamp pipe. A little narrow in diameter and short, but it looks the part.View attachment 1489419
The glass eye is a faucet adaptor, a modified finish washer, and the lens from a dollar store 35mm camera. Note the lack of vents around the screw.View attachment 1489420
A modified shower door part stands in for the Kobalt assembly. The grips are tines from a plastic rake.
DO you have any details about this garden rake? All the rakes I see today have tapered splines and the vertical ridge gets taller the further up you go!
 
Awesome thinking of making one of these down the line as some point, so the more I can see the better, did you attempt the clamp are is it a replica?

The clamps on all of them are hand made, although the one on the ESB I didn't make myself. I got it in trade some time ago.

Freaking amazing, inspires me to go down to my metal boxes and start machining something!


DO you have any details about this garden rake? All the rakes I see today have tapered splines and the vertical ridge gets taller the further up you go!

Yeah, I got them at Lowe's, but don't rush out there just yet. They carried the type of rake you described for the longest time, then they switched out for two years or so. Now they've gone back to the rakes with the incorrect tine profile. Even though I don't curently need them, I still look at rakes everywhere I go. The next best bet is to check Dollar Tree for their solar stake lights for the yard. I bought a bunch of them and they make some credible grips as well, with closer dimensions to the real deal. I believe I posted a pic in one of the other hardware Graflex threads.
 
The clamps on all of them are hand made, although the one on the ESB I didn't make myself. I got it in trade some time ago.



Yeah, I got them at Lowe's, but don't rush out there just yet. They carried the type of rake you described for the longest time, then they switched out for two years or so. Now they've gone back to the rakes with the incorrect tine profile. Even though I don't curently need them, I still look at rakes everywhere I go. The next best bet is to check Dollar Tree for their solar stake lights for the yard. I bought a bunch of them and they make some credible grips as well, with closer dimensions to the real deal. I believe I posted a pic in one of the other hardware Graflex threads.
That’s fantastic, could you provide any pictures or info on your process of folding them
 
When doing the card area, can one slide a 1/2 inch strip of steel and bend the sides around it with a little plastic mallet?

I can totally see how the hand seaming pliers get the two vertical bends
 

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