ANH Skywalker Lightsaber Scratchbuild (metal - PIC HEAVY!)

At first I was adamant on using windscreen wiper blades for the grips, but I soon realised they wouldn't give the right look for this build, so instead I decided to make my own from scratch.

Looks good. Will you sand a curve into the bottoms of the grips to conform to the pipe?

I'd considered a similar construction technique, but I know at some point I'd end up snapping the upright fins off the base of the grip. Though I haven't tried it, tabs on the bottom of the fins that slot into the base might work better (but it would be significantly more difficult to fabricate).
 
Looks good. Will you sand a curve into the bottoms of the grips to conform to the pipe?

I'd considered a similar construction technique, but I know at some point I'd end up snapping the upright fins off the base of the grip. Though I haven't tried it, tabs on the bottom of the fins that slot into the base might work better (but it would be significantly more difficult to fabricate).
I'll definitely be sanding the bottoms of the grips (this will give me a larger surface area touching the pipe which means more strength when it comes to gluing.) I hadn't considered the uprights snapping off, but now you mention it that could be a danger if the lightsaber is handled too roughly - although PVA glue can be quite strong when gluing wood to wood.

If I end up breaking the grips, I will certainly look into replacing them - the method you suggested sounds perfect. Either that or 3D printing; everything can be made as one piece and formed perfectly to the curve of the lightsaber.
 
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For the two holes below the emitter, I built a wooden jig to hold the lightsaber in place without crushing the tube, which allowed my dad and I to drill the metal more accurately and prevent the bit from "wandering" and damaging the aluminium.

Unfortunately, the largest drill bit we had was only 13mm wide, so I had to file the metal to get the more accurate diameter of 15mm.
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For the hole above the bunny ears, I marked out the rough position with electrical tape. After drilling a hole through the centre of this area, I used a small file to carefully (and slowly!) file away the metal until it was the correct shape.
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Very nice work on the metal part, I'm looking forward to the next steps.
I have to say I'm not a big fan of the wooden grips however, I think it might lower the quality of your overal result, but I might be wrong and it might work when assembled.
keep up the good work :thumbsup
 
Absolutely awesome! the amount of time and devotion that goes into these scratch builds always blows me away
Thanks, Marvin! This definitely takes a lot of time (and patience!) - that rectangular hole took at least 3 hours to file to the right shape; I'm dreading the other two above where the glass eye will be.

Very nice work on the metal part, I'm looking forward to the next steps.
I have to say I'm not a big fan of the wooden grips however, I think it might lower the quality of your overal result, but I might be wrong and it might work when assembled.
keep up the good work :thumbsup
Well, I did a quick mock-up the other day, and it didn't look too bad - although my judgement may have been clouded slightly by my excitement at holding a real metal lightsaber. :lol [emoji3]

What are you doing for knobs?
At the moment, I'm not too sure. I've been scouring local hardware/DIY shops for anything that might look good but so far I've found nothing. Any suggestions will be more than welcome.
 
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You got me also interested, for grips, you can buy black pvc sheet an work it as you worked the wood, or better, but a bit more work, buy T profile aluminum bars and cut to size, if you work the wood, filing and sanding the prepainted pieces can result really good, durability could be a concern thats why I recomend aluminum.
 
I've found that part to be the most challenging. Nice job so far. Take your time don't rush it.
Hey, thanks propmaniac! Don’t worry, I want to make as accurate as possible, so there’s no chance of me rushing this (otherwise I could run the risk of ruining the prop completely)

This is turning out great.. Color me interested[emoji6]
Thanks! :)

Hey, Fabian 71! I’m pretty happy with the grips as they are, but if I ever need to replace them I will definitely look into those aluminium t-sections (I didn’t even know they existed before today, so thanks!) Thank you as well for the link to your shoulder puller thread, until now I was at a complete loss for how I’d replicate that detail. [emoji4] Your lightsaber looks great, I only hope mine will turn out just as good.
 
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Hey, thanks propmaniac! Don’t worry, I want to make as accurate as possible, so there’s no chance of me rushing this (otherwise I could run the risk of ruining the prop completely)


Thanks! Today I sanded the bottom of the grips so they fitted the curve of the lightsaber. After that I couldn’t resist a quick mock-up of my work so far. [emoji6]
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20171014/fa700b11de6db6cccea6d359d63b4c0c.jpg

Hey, @Fabian 71! I’m pretty happy with the grips as they are, but if I ever need to replace them I will definitely look into those aluminium t-sections (I didn’t even know they existed before today, so thanks!) Thank you as well for the link to your shoulder puller thread, until now I was at a complete loss for how I’d replicate that detail. [emoji4] Your lightsaber looks great, I only hope mine will turn out just as good.
One day you could also attempt molding and casting those grips and make your some rubber, or resin ones for your future projects...

Sent from my XT1097 using Tapatalk
 
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Be really careful when bending the tabs for the emiter clamp with aluminum, I don´t know what alu grade you are using but take in account that Aluminum brakes easily, it is not like iron, brass or even steel, it cracks if the bendings are not perfectly polished and the bending radius must not be too small. The same for the Graflex clamp bendings.
 
Thanks for the heads-up, Fabian 71. I’ll be sure to bear that in mind. And thank you for sharing those templates as well - they will definitely make building the clamp much easier! [emoji4]
PropReplicator2: I’m still weighing up my options for upgrades to the grips, so that’s another method to consider. It will certainly speed things up for my upcoming Vader lightsaber build..... oops, did I say that out loud? [emoji6]
 
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