Vintage Graflex Conversion to ANH Lightsaber/Crystal Chamber/Display stand

[Luke the Belter]

Re: Prop Newbie Vintage Graflex Conversion to ANH Lightsaber/Crystal Chamber (Pic hea

You flatter me.:$

Thanks to all.

I will think about buildung a lot of them. I would have to make some improvements then. To cut and sand the acrylic glass takes a lot of time. This crystal chamber took 6 weeks. The brass pins I have left would last for one chamber maybe and I don't know if I could find more of them.:wacko

So far, next step for me is to finish the saber and to create a stand for it.
We will see if there is time for some business in building crystal chambers afterwards.

I will post more pics of the conversion progress.

 

[Gphalen]

Re: Prop Newbie Vintage Graflex Conversion to ANH Lightsaber/Crystal Chamber (Pic hea

:thumbsup that looks awesome, love the final results. Can`t wait to obtain a graflex and begin a real parts Skywalker saber, Luke/Anakin

 

[Luke the Belter]

Re: Prop Newbie Vintage Graflex Conversion to ANH Lightsaber/Crystal Chamber (Pic hea

Thanks.

Update: Next step finished.

I sanded the bubble-strip down and sanded and sanded and now finaly it fits into the clamp.



It fits just under the edges so it doesn't slip out.

Next days I will start with the T-tracks. I think I will glue them with J-B Weld. What do you think? Will this glue work with the Graflex and the T-tracks I got from Marv?

Your oppinion is very apreciated.

 

[Sym-Cha]

Re: Prop Newbie Vintage Graflex Conversion to ANH Lightsaber/Crystal Chamber (Pic hea

nice job on those bubbles ... yeah I figured they would stick underneath like that ... I have no experience with JB-Weld ... though I just read that ILM employed Lorne Peterson fulltime because he brought along with him Eastman 9-10 also known as a superglue ... sofar I have had no issues with my Industrial Superglue and T-track or other props related stuff for gluing on ... however the stuff dries rather quick so adjusting can be a pain if you don't stick it to the correct position ... so a two-part epoxy glue might be wiser since it has a longer curing time.

Chaim

 

[phase pistol]

Re: Prop Newbie Vintage Graflex Conversion to ANH Lightsaber/Crystal Chamber (Pic hea

Welcome and well done!

Karl

 

[Luke the Belter]

Re: Prop Newbie Vintage Graflex Conversion to ANH Lightsaber/Crystal Chamber (Pic hea

Welcome and well done!

Karl

Thanks for the kind words.

I think I will go with J-B Weld and will tell about the results.

I nearly forgot: First I have to attach the D-ring clip. Only to make sure there is not too much force on the T-tracks when I do it the other way around.

Will post pics tonight.

 

[Marv]

Re: Prop Newbie Vintage Graflex Conversion to ANH Lightsaber/Crystal Chamber (Pic hea

I used a super glue gel on my Graflex one dab at each end of the track and it holds lovely.

 

[Luke the Belter]

Re: Prop Newbie Vintage Graflex Conversion to ANH Lightsaber/Crystal Chamber (Pic hea

Thanks for the tips.

Got the clip in place and like it.



Than I marked the places were the T-tracks should be attached with an Edding marker, wrapped some sand-paper around the graflex and sanded the tracks on it, so I could see were I had to put the glue. After that I mixed the J-B Weld and startet glueing.

Now it is waiting to harden. J-B Weld could be used 25 minutes after mixing and I was able to rearrange the tracks on the handle.

Here's the result.



Will post some pics of the finished saber tomorrow evening.

Can't believe that I'm almost there.

 

[Sym-Cha]

Re: Prop Newbie Vintage Graflex Conversion to ANH Lightsaber/Crystal Chamber (Pic hea

Fantastic ... job well done ... I can't believe you've even finished before I have

Chaim

 

[Luke the Belter]

Re: Prop Newbie Vintage Graflex Conversion to ANH Lightsaber/Crystal Chamber (Pic hea

Fantastic ... job well done ... I can't believe you've even finished before I have

Hey you should have mentioned that. I would have waited until your "OK".

 

[Sym-Cha]

Re: Prop Newbie Vintage Graflex Conversion to ANH Lightsaber/Crystal Chamber (Pic hea

Ha,ha,ha it's okay ... it all depends from a certain point of view .. I'm very happy to be part of your built

Chaim

 

[Luke the Belter]

Re: Prop Newbie Vintage Graflex Conversion to ANH Lightsaber/Crystal Chamber (Pic hea

Here are the promised pics.



There you can see my "ANH Luke Utility-Belt" I am working on. It's not the right cartridge pouch yet but I know where to get it
The "Droid-Caller" is a resin replica.



Next I will order some laser-cutted acrylic bladeholder which I will glue to the mirrorplate you can see on the pics.

I'm very pleased with the result.

Comments are very appreciated. Maybe you have some tips/hints regarding the bladeholder.

 

[Sym-Cha]

Re: Vintage Graflex Conversion to ANH Lightsaber/Crystal Chamber (Pic heavy)

Nice ... and I love the rest of your Luke's parts ... especially that droidcaller being completed!

Chaim

 

[The Schlitzie]

Re: Vintage Graflex Conversion to ANH Lightsaber/Crystal Chamber (Pic heavy)

That is a thing of beauty :love.

I meant to ask you, what is the outside diameter of the brass tubing you used?

 

[Luke the Belter]

Re: Vintage Graflex Conversion to ANH Lightsaber/Crystal Chamber (Pic heavy)

That is a thing of beauty :love.

I meant to ask you, what is the outside diameter of the brass tubing you used?

Thanks. I assume you mean the small brass tubes I used for the chamber?
The small ones are about 6mm and the bigger ones about 8mm.

I made a photo for you.



Hope it is of some help.

 

[enrico]

Re: Vintage Graflex Conversion to ANH Lightsaber/Crystal Chamber (Pic heavy)

Awesome, simply awesome!
Congrats, it's a fantastic lightsaber:cheers

 

[OdiWan72]

Re: Vintage Graflex Conversion to ANH Lightsaber/Crystal Chamber (Pic heavy)

Just found this thread...WELL DONE young one!!!

Looking forward to your future builds :thumbsup

Markus

 

[Luke the Belter]

Re: Vintage Graflex Conversion to ANH Lightsaber/Crystal Chamber (Pic heavy)

Hey guys,

thanks for your kind comments.


I've finished my display stand and wanted to share some pics of it. I decided to have the fun in designing the stand by myself and didn't order some laser cutted saberholder.

First I sketched the outline on some clear 5 mm acrylic glass.


I cuted the acrylic glass with an metall saw, sanded the outlines and polished the cutting edges.


I tested the fitting of the saberholder on a mirror glass plate...


Everything fits but I decided to set the saberholder to the edges of my mirror plate. When I placed the opend saber on the display stand to show the crystal chamber the hilt bends down on either side of the holders.

This is what it turned out when I finished the job today.


Last but not least two pics to show how the holders fit to the saberhilt.


I feel a little bit sad now that this project is finished.


I think it won't take long before I get another project. Maybe an ESB Luke Lightsaber? We'll see :rolleyes

 

[Sym-Cha]

wow ... indeed ... that's a nice display ... great job ... well done!

Next should be Obi-Wan's lightsaber or Vader's from ANH

Chaim