My first step into a larger world...

The Hilt

Here is the finished hilt.  It was made entirely from aluminum tubing and accented with brass.  All of the parts were cut, sanded, and filed by hand - except for the emitter.  I had the emitter machined to give it a nicer look, and also because it is almost impossible to find a part that has the exact ID needed to hold a 3/4" blade.

The grips and were "slipped" onto the tubing and attached with JB Weld.

Side View - Click for 800X300 high res picture.
The greeblies on this saber are various bolts and an air pump stem.  The brass bolt on the top and knurled bolt on the side (right below the edge of the saber in the picture) have a dual purpose as being the tension controls for the blade.

The brass shroud is a piece of sink tubing I removed the nickel plating from - NOT an easy task.

 Top View - Click for 800X300 high res picture.
These pictures cannot do this hilt justice.  I bought a polishing wheel for my drill press and used tripoli polishing compound on it.  It made the aluminum as shiny as chrome.

The brass rivets along the grips are brass furniture tacks.  I drilled holes to allow the shaft of each tack to skip inside and JB Welded them into place.

The red button is the on/off switch for the EL blade.

 The Other Side View - Click for 800X300 high res picture.
The lower bolt is actually the screw that holds the battery cover in place.  I am going to replace this with a normal screw and a covertec clip turned out of brass one day.

Did I mention I tapped all these holes by hand as well?

 

 Beauty Shot - Click for 800X300 high res picture.

 

The Blade

  
Now for the blade.  Here is a shot showing the whole blade.  Not too bad...considering it is my first one.  Although, I think the camera makes it appear brighter than it really is.  

Full blade - Click for a bigger pic

 
Here is a shot looking down the blade from the top.

The blade is constructed from 2 tubes.  One is a 3/4" clear polycarbonate outer shell.  The other is a 5/8" polyethylene diffuser, which is slipped into the clear one.  I also put a rounded cabachone on the end of the tube.

 Perspective - Click for a bigger pic

 
Here is a closer shot, right up next to the blade.

I have 3 strands of EL cable that are 36' long in this blade.  Total length of the blade is 40", with 36" of this being visible glowing blade.

I have also created a red blade as well.  Even though I used a high brightness EL cable, it is still not quite as bright as this one.  It can be seen on my Darth Vader - ANH - EL page.

   Have a comment?  Email me here (remove the NOSPAM from the address).

 Up close - Click for a bigger pic

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