The OT stunt lightsaber blades research thread

Here is a pic of the vintage clamp on my original blank and how it looks underneath.
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Weird that it lost its clamp, and then it was replaced! Unless that clamp with the holes is original to ANH which I doubt
I think you may be confused tom.. where else did we see a clamp less v3 in esb? Everything I’ve seen in ESB is the warehouse stunt
 
I think you may be confused tom.. where else did we see a clamp less v3 in esb? Everything I’ve seen in ESB is the warehouse stunt
Hmm. The clamp on the v3 today was sourced from an ESB Graflex, so it's not original.

I'm trying to timeline out clamps here because it might be a good way to tell them apart in ANH.
 
Hmm. The clamp on the v3 today was sourced from an ESB Graflex, so it's not original.

I'm trying to timeline out clamps here because it might be a good way to tell them apart in ANH.
That is a theory though and OT a fact, we have yet to find a ESB photo of a graflex with matching holes

the clamp has to come off to remove the motor.. maybe the clamp that went back was a different one?

it’s like the owl from the tootsies pop commercial “the world may never know”
 
Here is a pic of the vintage clamp on my original blank and how it looks underneath.
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View attachment 1494076View attachment 1494077
Thanks! That cast is really cool to see.... all the pockmarks and wonkiness. I can even see those vertical lines from the wooden buck!
That is a theory though and OT a fact, we have yet to find a ESB photo of a graflex with matching holes

the clamp has to come off to remove the motor.. maybe the clamp that went back was a different one?

it’s like the owl from the tootsies pop commercial “the world may never know”
Ah, okay, that's a fair point. The bolt I IDed in Empire on the front of the saber is above the clamp.

so we have pictures of the "other stunts" in ANH with clamps on them?
 
Thanks! That cast is really cool to see.... all the pockmarks and wonkiness. I can even see those vertical lines from the wooden buck!

Ah, okay, that's a fair point. The bolt I IDed in Empire on the front of the saber is above the clamp.

so we have pictures of the "other stunts" in ANH with clamps on them?
Correct, v3 and death saber 100% have clamps
 
Oh boy I forgot about this, it either wasn’t what they advertised or didn’t work.

I have yet to find a modern source that’s very close to the ones they used. Notably the first section of antenna is straight before starting to taper.

Now, the blades on set varied a lot, thick, thin, short, tall, etc. so many will work just fine. Glomex 1-2m are pretty good, though thick at the bottom, some 8 footers that were made in the past 20 or 30 years can be cut down to the right size and are very good too, a bit less tapered

So really the details I look for are matching base measurements and some sort of notable taper. Also material, you’ll want the fiberglass with white UV paint, not the ones that are spiral wrapped or have PVC radomes (Shakespeare seems to make both of these)

In all my blood sweat and tears I’ve found many can work, for the “look” you’re going for but the ability to match aluminum stock measurements is important without a full lathe, and if it’s for a motorized stunt, it has to be true.

I recently found my first vintage CX-4 and the top 1/5 is crooked. Just the nature of the fiberglass so no fixing that
 
vadermania is the only other one I know of to convert an old one.

Unfortunately this dates to the early 1990s not the 80s. Two company buy outs later.

After conversion
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