Wooden Lightsaber Build

Fuzzual

Sr Member
RPF PREMIUM MEMBER
Hey all, Happy Friday!

I inherited my grandfather's turning lathe. He has had it since 1953, and its a gorgeous machine. I don't have much experience with a lathe, and i'll be honest, the first thing I thought of when we put that in my shop was, "I really need to make a lightsaber." LOL

So recently my dad, the Junkyard Jedi made a trip up to see me and we were able to work on this project together. The best part is that he was teaching me techniques on a machine that he learned on and used many many times growing up. It was a pretty cool experience.

At any rate, i wanted to build a saber with a mix of materials I had on hand, along with some sweet exotic wood blocks I got from http://www.bellforestproducts.com/ . The images and video below are what we came up with. The wood is African Blackwood.

I had such a blast that no sooner did my father head back home I was making a second one. I had an old beat up grayflex top that I had been looking for a way to use. It is heavily damaged and missing several parts, so this seemed like a perfect opportunity to use it.

Hope you all like the build!



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Here are some shots of the Grayflex version. Pretty happy with this one as well. I used Walnut in this one.


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Together . . .

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And just because it looks cool . . . :cool


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This here is the full build video we did of it. Turned out pretty well also if you want to check out the entire process . . . and a little of us goofing off which is always fun. LOL



Thank you all for taking the time to have a look, have a great weekend!
 

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Last edited by a moderator:
Awesome.
Beautiful looking sabers.

I wish I had my grandfathers shop machinery.
He had a big industrial lathe, band saw and some other stuff from the 40's.
 
Talk about fate, I have a benchtop lathe as well, been watching a bunch of YouTube videos on wood turning, and even made some new woodturning tools from some of my old, dull files.

I have plans to do some saber parts (after doing some things on it for my wife first). Funny that this is the top thread of the Star Wars forum this morning.
 
Awesome.
Beautiful looking sabers.

I wish I had my grandfathers shop machinery.
He had a big industrial lathe, band saw and some other stuff from the 40's.

Thank you. Indeed there is something amazing about those old heavy machines right? Having his lathe, and the history of the family behind it is incredibly cool.

What happen'ed to all your grandfathers tools? Do you have any of them?

Talk about fate, I have a benchtop lathe as well, been watching a bunch of YouTube videos on wood turning, and even made some new woodturning tools from some of my old, dull files.

I have plans to do some saber parts (after doing some things on it for my wife first). Funny that this is the top thread of the Star Wars forum this morning.

Thats awesome. I have wanted to take on this kind of project for a long time. I pushed all my wife's projects aside, lol, guess I'll pay for that later ;)
 
I’m really enjoying your videos. They are just fun!

I’ve always wanted some OT saber replicas that were entirely made from different stained woods. This new video has really gotten me thinking...
 
Thank you. Indeed there is something amazing about those old heavy machines right? Having his lathe, and the history of the family behind it is incredibly cool.

What happen'ed to all your grandfathers tools? Do you have any of them?

My father passed way and so-called "friends" took or sold off everything.
I was only 9 at the time.
 
this is sick! the dark wood goes very well with the graflex plating. what's in the red-button socket there?
 
I’m really enjoying your videos. They are just fun!

I’ve always wanted some OT saber replicas that were entirely made from different stained woods. This new video has really gotten me thinking...

thank you for that, we've had a blast making them. I've always wanted a better way of documenting my projects and wanted to pass along things I've learned along the way.

id love to see what you come up with for your saber, I'm glad this got your mind cranking away. I originally thought mine would be completely made of wood, but the materials I had lying around the shop were way to tempting not to use.

My father passed way and so-called "friends" took or sold off everything.
I was only 9 at the time.

Oh no!!! I am so sorry to hear that. Such a shame, very sorry.


this is sick! the dark wood goes very well with the graflex plating. what's in the red-button socket there?

thank you much! I can't get enough of the darker woods, the grain pops so well with the right finish. The red button spot is a brass piece that came in a "lot" of old machine parts I bought on eBay. I can't really tell you what it was, the box of stuff I got had all kinds of random machined parts. Several looked like they might be airplane parts.
 
That is very cool. Back around 2000 when I was into Jedi cosplay, I had an idea for a Jedi with a gunslinger theme. One of the design elements was a concept of a lightsaber that look like a six gun. One of those would have fit the bill.
 
I love this!! Great work!


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Thank you!

That is very cool. Back around 2000 when I was into Jedi cosplay, I had an idea for a Jedi with a gunslinger theme. One of the design elements was a concept of a lightsaber that look like a six gun. One of those would have fit the bill.

Whoa I would love to see that cosplay!
 
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