starting 1st saber

[Andle Di-Ranos]

Heed my warning, do not rush or it will never come out like you want it and the more time you spend on it the more you will enjoy it.

[Jan-Qui Coran]

Thanks. I'm only in the process of slowly gathering what I need to use.

[Starkindler (The Naked Jedi)]

from what I have seen from those who have offered tutorials and the small experience I've had......the thing that keeps coming to me is "KISS" (Keep It Simple Stupid). It seems to work for me.

[tanzanlinnear]

I've used various things for saber emitters, from the flat, round mounting brackets for a clothes rail, to brass hose fittings to stacked rubber washers... It all depends what kind of look you want to achieve, and what you have available to you Best of luck with your project Remember to take your time with making it, especially if you do any cutting, and always allow for the design to evolve as you make it if certain components aren't available, or something better is found

[Jan-Qui Coran]

Simple will be what it will be because complicated, at this time, I'm not. I'm not good at making things from scratch, but I know I have to do it at least 1 time to satisfy myself to know that I can do it, since I love being a Jedi so much. I'm real good with project evolving as I do it. My Star Wars room is a very good example of that. I have a very very rough pix in my head of what I want to do to my saber & my room. It will all work out. The force, suggestions from the Masters & tutatorials will help me be successful. I don't know when I'll do it but I will do it & get it done.

[Farra Sti]

I"m starting my first saber. Am going to get some help from Dad. I'm 26 and still live with my parents and that is quite handy some times. Being a female, construction isn't a big thing for me although I did do wood and metal work at school since I was required to.

[tanzanlinnear]

farrasti said:

I"m starting my first saber. Am going to get some help from Dad. I'm 26 and still live with my parents and that is quite handy some times. Being a female, construction isn't a big thing for me although I did do wood and metal work at school since I was required to.

I certainly know that feeling ;D My dad used to be an F1 engineer, so his garage is full of industry-standard engineering tools, which really aided in the construction of my first metal saber:


The other metal sabers I made, were mostly done by hand, but still had some machining done to finish some of them. If I'm entirely honest, the work I did on them wasn't so great (particularly the top saber) when looked at close up rather than a picture...


However, my latest (and hopefully final) saber, having moved into my own place, I had to make entirely by hand, using a rotary tool, a hacksaw and hand-files. It took much longer than any of the others, purely because of the amount of work I had to do, and the prototype was pretty rough, but I think it was definitely worth it, as I'm really happy with the final outcome I can't see myself building another saber unless this one is damaged beyond repair or destroyed.

Best of luck with your project

[Plo Strax-Avix]

Hi Janqui Coran, not sure how far you are into your saber parts gathering, but here's what I have been doing.

I start by searching and saving every image of sabers I can find, from those in the movies to fan made ones, regardless of what I personally think of them, and catalogued them into their own folders in my hard disk. I have photos of most sabers out there taken from various angles. This way I have an ever growing library to refer to on demand.

Then I started gathering my parts. I keep everything I find, even if I do not have a clue what it'll be used for at the time. I store them in groups based loosely on what I think they will become.

Then I start putting the parts in various combinations, and often changing the configuration, but never securing them. I did this for over 2 years while getting my hands on every flashgun that's ever been used to make the sabers from the Original trilogy. I've also been collecting blueprints to make those sabers not constructed from flashguns. I'm pretty close to a complete collection of OT sabers made from original parts used by ILM in the movies. Some of the original parts are real hard to come by. By doing this I learn how the original sabers were made and the thought process that went into them. I also try to learn as much as I can on how a real lightsaber is supposed to be made and how it would function.

I've only so far made a few original custom sabers, and all of them are for friends who need a saber for certain occassions. I use them as 'drafts' to help me understand how to join different materials together and how to make a simple tube look interesting.

I've only started to make a custom saber hilt for myself recently, after a friend agreed to help put the EL guts into it for me (I'm electronics challenged). It took me almost half a year to finish designing it, because I wanted a saber which is ME, and which compliments the design of my Jedi costume. There're many challenges along the way, and I've had to learn a few new skills, but finally the end is at hand.

So you see, making a saber is not something you just get out of bed one day and decide to do. Sure you can do that (and many people do), but you won't make a saber that defines who you are that way. Let it sit, let it brew; let it play over and over again in your mind. Put it together and take it apart, and then put it together again, and repeat the process a million times. Leave it alone for a while, and get back to it again.

This way when you're done, you'll have created a true masterpiece.

P.s.: Thanks for reading my veeeery long post ;D

[tanzanlinnear]

I couldn't've said it any better myself The time I spent consturcting my last saber was at least twice as long as I've spent on any saber,although I do still have one that is technically unfinished (Top saber in the group of four above) as I physically can't go any further without someone machining a rod of delrin for me, which would then complete the grip and emitter. I 'finished' it as far as I could, and then got told that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center, so that then understandably took my attention. If I can get someone to machine it, it'll be finished, but if not, then it can stay as it is. Back to my last saber... ;D The design evolved gradually, certain parts and elements changed as things became available or wouldn't work, and the result is something I'm extremely proud of

[Andle Di-Ranos]

Speaking of machining does anyone know how too. I was in my local tractor supply store yesterday and saw a metal lathe for about 80 dollars. Might get it but it seems to good to be true. What do you think?

Be sure to include pictures of your finished saber Janqui. (unless youre like me and don't have a digital camera )

[Ani-Chay Pinn]

80 dollars? That doesn't sound like a lathe that will last. And I'd be cautious about buying any power tools like that unless you have a good place to put it and people to work with. There are safety considerations with anything bigger than a drill or a dremel and they make a mess when you use them, so clean-up is an issue, too.

[Andle Di-Ranos]

True.

[himiko sabbrawrra]

Hence Why I would prefer to have someone who knows how to use power tools to show me correctly. If I were back home that was possible as my Dad has any tool you could think of using.

[Plo Strax-Avix]

Using a lathe is not something you can learn in a short period of time. A machine shop lathe operator takes 2 years(or more) to complete his apprenticeship.

You can expect loads of burns, cuts and bruises when you first start learning, not to mention broken tools and ruined projects...

I've been making all sorts of things for the last 20 odd years, and is quite good with a lot of power tools and hand tools, but I leave all my lathe work to the professionals.