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Post by Theos Or-Num on Jul 25, 2003 10:05:54 GMT -5
I have seen the Parks Sabers, The EL blades are incredibly cool but I think the hilts are bloody awful looking. Im sorry if I offend people with my veiw, but half of his hilt designs look more like something out of Knight Rider than an elegant Jedi weapon.The designs are far too overstated and ornaté. but I suppose he had to avoid being sued by LucasFilm somehow.
Theos Or-Num
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Post by Jeffrek on Jul 25, 2003 19:45:52 GMT -5
I have a couple of Parks Sabres and yes you can duel with all the ignited versions as the blades are constructed the same. Being polycarbonate they are very tough to shatter (its used for machine guards too). They do flex though. Ive modified one of my parks sabres into this :-  Its a Fury I bought ages ago and decided to remove the light up circuit control board and replace with a normal switch instead, as well as a single led on/off indicator in blue to match the blue blade I have for it. This is one of my own designs though :-  Its EL too but I made the blade for this one.  |
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JediKai
Message Board Member
TJA Savior
Posts: 5,560
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Post by JediKai on Jul 26, 2003 9:00:52 GMT -5
Excellent work. I like the saber you made!
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Post by Theos Or-Num on Jul 26, 2003 9:01:30 GMT -5
How did you go about making the EL blade? I cant find any EL sheet in New Zealand, I rang up all the electrical wholesalers in my city and none had ever heard of it, some even doubted its existence! I found places in the US that sell, but americans seem to have a strange idea about the cost of international postage. Also how did you fit the inverter in the hilt? and what type of batteries are you running it off?
Theos Or-Num
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Post by Jeffrek on Jul 26, 2003 19:47:42 GMT -5
That one doesnt use EL sheet. It uses about 18 feet of high brightness lime green EL wire.
The inverter is easily small enough to fit inside a hilt as its about an inch square.
I bought the wire from a US based company and found that shipping to the UK was fairly reasonable, especially as I ordered just over 100 ft of wire ;D
The most difficult bit that I had to find locally was the polycarb tube.
That paticular sabre is powered by 2xPP3 batteries wired in parallel. So the voltage is still 9 volts but the capacity is doubled and the max current it can supply is also doubled which is why its fairly bright.
Phil
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Post by Theos Or-Num on Jul 26, 2003 21:46:35 GMT -5
What company did you buy the EL wire off, and how much per metre? Im trying to figure out if its cheaper to use high intensity LEDs or import EL
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Schph Gochi
Message Board Member
"traveling through hyperspace ain't like dustin' crops boy"
Posts: 9,278
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Post by Schph Gochi on Jul 28, 2003 5:24:34 GMT -5
nice stuff....as always Jeffrek!
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Re-Bas Retsam
Message Board Member
Message Board Member
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Post by Re-Bas Retsam on Jul 28, 2003 13:25:24 GMT -5
Congrats on your Echelon! I have one as well, in the teal color. Its a favorite piece in my collection. For those interested in a slightly different approach to EL sabers, feel free to visit my page at www.thesaberworks.com . As a fan and collector, I was looking for a hilt more suited for function and balance, as well as appearance, and so introduced my ideas into what I currently offer. Everyone has different tastes, and if you have questions, I am more than happy to answer questions. I will also be present at this years DragonCon, and hope to meet many of you I have spoke with already. (BTW, I owe credit to Phil for his creativity, since one of the first designs I did was his. Great work!) Thanks, Guy |
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Post by Theos Or-Num on Aug 5, 2003 1:15:12 GMT -5
Hey Jeffreck,
Could you explain your process of el blade manufacture? I just found a place that sells EL cable and inverters and its quite cheap too (45 nz$, its about 20 pounds for 150cm and inverter). I was going to use HI Bright LEDs but they cost too much. Do you just wind the wire around a stick? how much cable do you need? The place Ive found only sells 150cm rolls of cable, but the inverter can power 2 seperate cable lengths. Any info would be great.
Thanks.
Theos Or-Num
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Post by Theos Or-Num on Aug 5, 2003 9:12:50 GMT -5
also, what do you use to diffuse the light from the wire?, Ive heard it can look "stripy"
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Post by Jauhzmynn Enz on Aug 5, 2003 17:48:08 GMT -5
Jeffirk
Awesome sabre hilt you made.
Theos,
it's alright, Not everyone likes the parks Sabre designs, that's why there are others out there and such. If you'er blessed enoughto have a metel lathe or know some with one, your own design can be birthed.
All in all I think each sabre is beautiful in it's own right and own way. Each dose seem to suit the weilder. Like mine. Simple, and elegant, understated.
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Post by Jeffrek on Aug 6, 2003 4:25:28 GMT -5
Sorry its taken me so long to reply but Im not in the UK at the moment, Im currently in Brisbane Australia. Its taken me a little while to get online again, even temporarily. Basically theres 18 feet (about 5 metres) of El wire simply looped back and forth along the blade. Theres sections of normal clear household tape every few inches to hold it together. This is then wrapped in the diffuser we use. Im not sure what its proper name is but its basically the very thin foam they use to wrap electrical goods in. For a red blade they do red as well if you can find it which makes the red blade look alot better. The polycarbonate tube on that one is just slightly bigger than the parks or lightech blades and even then it was a tight squeeze to get it in. With slightly less wire it would be easier. The wire is soldered to a 3/4 inch phono socket (not plug so its the reverse of the Parks etc) which is held in with a gribscrew. The tip of the blade has a clear resin cast 'mushroom' on the end. Basically its a dome with a base that fits into the tube so when its glued in there is ore surfce area for the glue to stick too. So far we havent had a single tip come out. We use a clear 2 part epoxy called Devcon which is really good stuff. The tip was made using a special mould we made so that the size would be correct for the tube we use. I bought my wire from the US, comes in upto 100metre reels if you really want alot of it  I think it was from the Funhouse, I cant remember off hand and the receipts are back in the UK. Phil |
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Schph Gochi
Message Board Member
"traveling through hyperspace ain't like dustin' crops boy"
Posts: 9,278
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Post by Schph Gochi on Aug 6, 2003 5:29:18 GMT -5
you're in Australia  lucky dog! |
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Post by Theos Or-Num on Aug 6, 2003 19:52:00 GMT -5
thanks forthat jaffreck. my light saber is nearly completed. im making a replica qui gon jinn hilt. i found blueprints for his saber along with most other ones. next ill try a count dooku. its a bt ambitious bit i have all the time in thw world. bad thing about the qui gon hilt though, is thayt there is barely going to be enough room for the ligting and baterry stuff and no room at all for sfx  . do you think it would work ok with 3 metres of wire? it all i can get in nz. Theos Or-Num |
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Post by Jeffrek on Aug 11, 2003 4:22:42 GMT -5
3 metres of wire with the right driver works fine too. We tried that much with a lightech inverter, looked good. The only reason we put 5 metres in was that we could ;D
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I think it was from the Funhouse, I cant remember off hand and the receipts are back in the UK.
. do you think it would work ok with 3 metres of wire? it all i can get in nz.