The Ultimate Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi Real Vintage Parts Lightsaber Group

On a kind of related note, I've redesigned my Obi assembly system and simplified it as much as possible. I had done a number of different ways of assembling these, including Romans cage, a 3/8 rod and a 5/16 carriage bolt adapted to 3/8-16 in order to fit Romans spacers and others out there. I liked the cage but disliked that I couldn't align pieces exactly how I wanted and that I couldn't use the booster bearing with it.

But a little bit of looking showed me that you can get 10 inch carriage bolts, and the entire length of my threaded rod assembly for the saber was exactly 10 inches. I decided that simple was better, and turned my adapter down on the lathe to fit inside the grenade neck. The 3/8 rod fits snug inside the neck, but the 5/16 is slightly thinner, so there is some wiggle room. This means the BP can sit slightly off center. So I machined the new version with a small shank that extends into the grenade stem in order to keep things centered nicely.

So for the sake of simplicity, now I have a single 10 inch 5/16-18 carriage bolt, and a single piece aluminum adapter holding the entire thing together. The last step was to put a few turns of painters tape around the adapter in order to make a snug fit without damaging either part.

I'm considering doing a run of these new adapters to simplify Obi assembly for people if there is any interest, but either way hope you guys like my new solution!

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Count me in !!
 
On a kind of related note, I've redesigned my Obi assembly system and simplified it as much as possible.
That's pretty slick.

I stuck with the pre-existing 5/16 - 18 carriage bolt through the handwheel, but picked up a thread adapter coupling nut and a 6" length of 3/8 - 16 all thread for the balance pipe adapter.

As for the balance pipe adapter and my particular balance pipe... strangely, I found that different brands of painters' masking tape have different thicknesses. A 1-inch roll that had a bit more texture to the finish resulted in: 2 layers not enough, 3 layers too much - the balance pipe wouldn't go on. A 2-inch roll with a smooth finish resulted in: 3 layers, perfect thickness - the balance pipe fits very snug but can still be turned.
 
That grenade is friggin gorgeous, especially the windvane. Love that stamping.
Thanks! Yeah that grenade is one of my favorite parts! It's got great history and also the stamping is actually messed up slightly in one spot and they double rolled it!


That's pretty slick.

I stuck with the pre-existing 5/16 - 18 carriage bolt through the handwheel, but picked up a thread adapter coupling nut and a 6" length of 3/8 - 16 all thread for the balance pipe adapter.

As for the balance pipe adapter and my particular balance pipe... strangely, I found that different brands of painters' masking tape have different thicknesses. A 1-inch roll that had a bit more texture to the finish resulted in: 2 layers not enough, 3 layers too much - the balance pipe wouldn't go on. A 2-inch roll with a smooth finish resulted in: 3 layers, perfect thickness - the balance pipe fits very snug but can still be turned.
Yes I had the exact same set up until this! I liked it quite a bit, but this way I can disassemble the entire thing more easily! I had a nut set up at the bearing because my old booster was a little smaller and didn't friction fit into my hand wheel properly.


Another fun thing! Finally got my Marconi's in and did the swap in a few minutes tonight. Hopefully this will help anyone who is sick and tired of drilling through whatever ceramic and other crud is inside these IC's and op amps etc. I basically looked at the chronicles photos and picked the orientation I wanted based on the stamping, and then cut and bent to legs on either side of the IC's leaving three on each side. The three on each side are going to fit into the clamp holes, and the four that are cut will be bent out of the way
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The ones that are left get splayed into the clamp and then super glued to keep them in place. It's very secure and they didn't want to move even before I added a few drops of glue!
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Once they were on there I added a drop of glue to the rim of the IC's and then threw my washers back on. A bit of targeted love with a small piece of scotchbrite and I removed the stamping to more or less match the Chronicles photos.
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And just for fun!
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I did the exact same thing with my Marconis! :D It's surprising how secure they are with just the bent pins - I didn't even bother with glue. I attached my washers to the rims of the cans with a little bit of JB Kwik and let that set up before installing them on the clamp.
 
Thought I’d post some of my recent “upgrades” and changes. First being the big one - a cleaner female balance pipe from Diego’s recent engine find. I also swapped out the Telegraph clamp I had, which was a more matte finish, for a screen accurate shiny Folmer clamp.

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Thought I’d post some of my recent “upgrades” and changes. First being the big one - a cleaner female balance pipe from Diego’s recent engine find. I also swapped out the Telegraph clamp I had, which was a more matte finish, for a screen accurate shiny Folmer clamp.

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Incredibly gorgeous
 
I'm behind on pommel info. The AS cap stays on (and not replaced with something else)? Did I see someone say there was no cap in Tunisia?
 
I'm behind on pommel info. The AS cap stays on (and not replaced with something else)? Did I see someone say there was no cap in Tunisia?
There's really no cap to be seen anywhere in the movie. In some scenes you can actually see that it is missing. And the rest are either not showing the saber from an angle where you can see the back of the pommel, or are just too short and blurry.
 
Here Is what i got guys. Its a major update to my 2013 post. The hunt is real(a real sickness ha!) View attachment 1055932View attachment 1055933View attachment 1055934View attachment 1055935

One of the boosters is going to Darksidettendencies . And that is a nos large assembly bp. And a converted male. Will add more when more awake. Good night and happy hunting.

Cheers! Luke
Spectacular, did the og have a Ti clamp card under the bubble strip? I dig that look
 
How is the balance pipe held onto the build? I don't see a set screw.

We don't know how the original was attached. Replicas usually use some sort of adapter. Scroll through this thread and you'll see plenty of examples. Using a set screw is technically possible, but trying to drill into Inconel and then threading it would probably be very frustrating.
 
Spectacular, did the og have a Ti clamp card under the bubble strip? I dig that look
I believe the bubble strip they used was the large round bubbles from a large red led ti 20 or 2000. Not a 100% on that tho. And my ti 2000 does not have the large red leds unfortunately. And my BP's are just pressure fit. It holds very nicely and i can still field strip it. By the way. Those pics are from when i got those spitfire boosters. Further down the thread i have new pics with real boosters.
 
How is the balance pipe held onto the build? I don't see a set screw.
I have always used Roman's adaptors, which is just a metal cylinder with a threaded hole in the center. The cylinder fills up the space in the BP and acts as a nut tightening the end of the threaded rod. His current replicas include the adaptor as part of his emitter, all one piece.

Ive seen people use rubber gaskets squished to fill up the space.

There is a rumor that I personally feel to be likely: only the upper part of the props grenade neck is shiny because they stripped it in order to attempt to braze or weld the emitter into place. Theres plenty of rough gunk underneath the emitter, Master Replicas thought they dented the emitter to hold it on (but you cant really crimp inconel) and just like the "foil tape" on the V3 neck turning out to be metal gunk, im thinking that crap on the chronicles saber is similar.
 
I don't think that's the case at all! The grenade I have was assembled and complete when I got it, and had been since the war. When I removed the sleeve of brass that covers the top of the neck and that the cotter pin fits into, it was fresh brass underneath. It's just a lack of oxidation due to the brass stem being covered. The upper neck on my saber is untouched except for the disassembly, and has tarnished slightly since I took it apart last year, but is still much shinier than the rest of the neck.

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I don't think that's the case at all! The grenade I have was assembled and complete when I got it, and had been since the war. When I removed the sleeve of brass that covers the top of the neck and that the cotter pin fits into, it was fresh brass underneath. It's just a lack of oxidation due to the brass stem being covered.
I forgot about that cotter-pinned sleeve over the end! Welp, either way, there's a lot of gunk on the emitter, so for "accuracy" sake, we don't know enough. Could be glue too now that I think about it
 

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