DIY Grenade / Stunt / ROTJ ribs forward grip

Has anyone created the grenade or ribs of the shared stunt/ROTJ lightsaber out of hardware or everyday parts? I've heard of building them with PVC but pipes are thicker and measured from the inside so they don't fit snugly. is there a size of vacuum tubing or something similar? I'm a little lost, thought I'd ask around?

Lots of people have made hardware Luke ROTJ saber grips by stacking fender washers of differences sizes glued together and smoothing out the conical shapes with putty.
The result is very heavy, and that weight also makes the construction somewhat brittle.

I have read about several people getting hold of inexpensive plastic discs that they made into conical shapes by securing each a drill and using the drill as a makeshift lathe.

Most vacuum cleaner tubes have an outer diameter of either 1 1/2" or 1 1/4" ... on average. The tubes are made to fit together, with a male (narrower) end and a female (wider) end. Some tubes taper slightly between the two diameters while others have a step to a wider diameter near the female end and only a slight taper at the male end. For either type of tubes, the material is often chromed steel (not brass, making vacuum tubes a better choice thank sink tubes IMO) or anodized aluminium.
(BTW. I think that a stepped vacuum cleaner tube would be perfect for a hardware Ahsoka saber)

Thanks for the info Darth Lars! What sort of vacuum tubes are metal?!

Anyone else? I included the grenade in this thread too in case that wasn't clear, this is a tough part of DIY and usually a large part of people's projects - I now appreciate the work people put in.

If you (or someone you know) can schmooze the cleaning staff where you work and see if they've an old Henry vacuum, you might be able to score a metal section.
Or, they can be bought:
Numatic (Henry) Stainless Steel Vacuum Wand Extension Tube - 32mm connection

While it isn't metal, I've used sump pump drain hose. It's a little thick in diameter, but it doesn't need to be painted. To keep it straight, it needs a pipe on the inside. 1 1/4" drain extension pipes will work, either metal or PVC (but not standard 1 1/4" PVC pipe).

Sump pump drain hose has an ID of 1 1/4", but a corrugated hose with a 1" ID would be ideal. I haven't found any that didn't come with something that's just way too expensive (like a vacuum cleaner). Another option, though it's a wee bit small, is those corrugated pipe toys that you whirl around to make noise, though they wil need to be painted.

Finally, the last option, though they're nearly impossible to find now, is a knock-off toy lightsaber with a crappy LED blade that has a section that actually looks like the Luke ROTJ forward grip. I used it on my Obi/Luke shared stunt style saber, and it worked out well.

Just found 20-30 year old vacuum hose, pictures on the Hardware ROTS obi wan lightsaber thread of mine