CLICK ON THE PICTURE BUTTONS TO VIEW PHOTOS FOR THE STEPS
Grip Section
Preparing the tube
Take your 12" tailpiece
 and cut it to a lenght of about 8 1/2"
. Once that is cut you need to drill the 12 holes that will be used to attach the 6 grips. Now it can can be a real pain to drill onto a slick metal tube. What I did was make a drill guide out of a section of pvc so that the drill would be a little less likely to wander and ruin the tube. Not that a drill bit can't wander fairly easily through pvc, but it definitely slows it down. So take your length of pvc
and cut a piece about to about 4" in length
. Now you want to drill 12 holes, 3 1/2" apart equally spaced around the tube with one circle of holes about 1/2" from the end of the tube
. To do it the way I did draw yourself a pattern (or you can use mine
) and tape it to the pvc section
. Drill the holes in this first. This way you can check to make sure your holes are spaced right before you start drilling on the more expensive metal tube. Also, when you make ten more of these sabers you'll have a drill pattern all ready to go! Once the pvc is drilled, tape it onto place on the metal tube
and drill through the metal.
The Grips
Take your wiper inserts
. Cut off one of the ends with the rotary tool and slide out and discard the rubber section leaving just the plastic track sections
. Now cut the wiper tracks into six 4" sections
. Now drill a hole 1/4" from the ends of each grip section
. The holes should line up with the holes on the tube. Now take a grip and rivet it to the tube
. Repeat 6x
. There's your grip!
BACK TO MENU
Emitter Section
Emitter body
Take your pvc pipe and cut a 5 1/4" section
. This is going to become your emitter tube. Create a pattern for your emitter body or use mine
. Take the pattern and tape it in place on your pvc tube
. First drill out the holes that will be used to attach your control array
as well the ones that will be used to attach the emitter tube to the metal base
. Next, using your rotary tool, cut out the emitter tube based on your pattern. Take your time on this, cut your lines straight and spend some time cleaning up your edges with some sandpaper and/or a sanding drum in your rotary tool. Your emitter might have a bit of a point at the foremost tip. Just place the shroud end of the emitter tube on a sheet of sandpaper that's on a flat surface and work it smooth
. When you're done trimming it out it should look something like this
. Now before you commit to this tube, slide it onto the tube and see how it's going to look
. The fact is, pvc is cheap and easy to cut, so don't feel bad if you want to scrap it and start over. I went through three emitter tubes before I got the pattern I liked. Now before you paint that emitter section, you want to drill the holes through the metal tube. Put your emitter section in place and tape it down firmly. Use the holes in the emitter section as a guide
and drill holes into the metal tube
. Now you want to paint your emitter section flat black
. I recommend a giving the unpainted section a light sanding and then a wash to give the paint a better surface to adhere to. A primer, paint, and sealant is not a bad combo, but I used the spray version of PLASTIDIP on mine. It's great stuff, because rather than paint, it sprays on a thin layer of rubber that is much more durable. You can get this stuff for about $5 a can at the hardware store. The choice is yours. Once it's painted and dried attach it to the metal tube using two large rivets
. Now before I tried this I placed some tape lightly around the hole so that if and when my riveter jumped (which it does sometimes when that rivet "pops") it would not scratch my new paint job
.
Control Array
Take one of your D-rings
and open up the metal and remove the ring
. Now paint the clamp part black and bend it back
. *Now if want your saber to attach to your belt the way Darth Vader's did in Episode IV you can put the ring back in after you paint it. I didn't.* Now using a large rivet, rivet it onto the saber
. Now take the thumbscrew, the hexnut, and the faucet washer
. Insert the thumbscrew into the faucet washer
and attach it to the saber with the hexnut
. Take the knurled nut and
rivet to the saber with a long thin rivet
.
Emitter insert
Take you film canister
. Cut out a hole in the lid of the canister
. I used a spherical grind sanding head in my rotary tool to do mine. Now cut the bottom off of the canister so that it is about 1/2" deep
. Paint the inside of the canister piece and the canister lid black
. Attach the lid to the shortened canister
. Then slip the rubber washer
over the modified canister
. Now insert the assembly into the emitter shroud and secure it with some adhesive
. I used some black silicon (the kind used to attach trim to cars), but most adhesived will work fine.
BACK TO MENU
D-Ring Assembly
Take your metal hole plug
. Drill two holes 1/2" apart, centered on the plug
. Take another D-ring
and rivet it to the hole plug using two large rivets
. Since the hole plug will not fit snuggly into the saber tube you will need to bend out the spikes on the underside
until it will fit right. rough up the inside of the tube and then secure the plug to the saber with some 2-part epoxy
. *Of course if you are using the emitter mounted belt ring, you won't need to attach the ring on the pommel.*
BACK TO MENU
Well, that should be it. How did it come out? Be sure and send me an email if you have any problems.
-Brian.
|
and cut it to a lenght of about 8 1/2"
. Once that is cut you need to drill the 12 holes that will be used to attach the 6 grips. Now it can can be a real pain to drill onto a slick metal tube. What I did was make a drill guide out of a section of pvc so that the drill would be a little less likely to wander and ruin the tube. Not that a drill bit can't wander fairly easily through pvc, but it definitely slows it down. So take your length of pvc
and cut a piece about to about 4" in length
. Now you want to drill 12 holes, 3 1/2" apart equally spaced around the tube with one circle of holes about 1/2" from the end of the tube
. To do it the way I did draw yourself a pattern (or you can use mine
) and tape it to the pvc section
. Drill the holes in this first. This way you can check to make sure your holes are spaced right before you start drilling on the more expensive metal tube. Also, when you make ten more of these sabers you'll have a drill pattern all ready to go! Once the pvc is drilled, tape it onto place on the metal tube
and drill through the metal.
The Grips
Take your wiper inserts
. Cut off one of the ends with the rotary tool and slide out and discard the rubber section leaving just the plastic track sections
. Now cut the wiper tracks into six 4" sections
. Now drill a hole 1/4" from the ends of each grip section
. The holes should line up with the holes on the tube. Now take a grip and rivet it to the tube
. Repeat 6x
. There's your grip!
. Take the pattern and tape it in place on your pvc tube
. First drill out the holes that will be used to attach your control array
as well the ones that will be used to attach the emitter tube to the metal base
. Next, using your rotary tool, cut out the emitter tube based on your pattern. Take your time on this, cut your lines straight and spend some time cleaning up your edges with some sandpaper and/or a sanding drum in your rotary tool. Your emitter might have a bit of a point at the foremost tip. Just place the shroud end of the emitter tube on a sheet of sandpaper that's on a flat surface and work it smooth
. When you're done trimming it out it should look something like this
. Now before you commit to this tube, slide it onto the tube and see how it's going to look
. The fact is, pvc is cheap and easy to cut, so don't feel bad if you want to scrap it and start over. I went through three emitter tubes before I got the pattern I liked. Now before you paint that emitter section, you want to drill the holes through the metal tube. Put your emitter section in place and tape it down firmly. Use the holes in the emitter section as a guide
and drill holes into the metal tube
. Now you want to paint your emitter section flat black
. I recommend a giving the unpainted section a light sanding and then a wash to give the paint a better surface to adhere to. A primer, paint, and sealant is not a bad combo, but I used the spray version of PLASTIDIP on mine. It's great stuff, because rather than paint, it sprays on a thin layer of rubber that is much more durable. You can get this stuff for about $5 a can at the hardware store. The choice is yours. Once it's painted and dried attach it to the metal tube using two large rivets
. Now before I tried this I placed some tape lightly around the hole so that if and when my riveter jumped (which it does sometimes when that rivet "pops") it would not scratch my new paint job
.
Control Array
Take one of your D-rings
and open up the metal and remove the ring
. Now paint the clamp part black and bend it back
. *Now if want your saber to attach to your belt the way Darth Vader's did in Episode IV you can put the ring back in after you paint it. I didn't.* Now using a large rivet, rivet it onto the saber
. Now take the thumbscrew, the hexnut, and the faucet washer
. Insert the thumbscrew into the faucet washer
and attach it to the saber with the hexnut
. Take the knurled nut and
rivet to the saber with a long thin rivet
.
Emitter insert
Take you film canister
. Cut out a hole in the lid of the canister
. I used a spherical grind sanding head in my rotary tool to do mine. Now cut the bottom off of the canister so that it is about 1/2" deep
. Paint the inside of the canister piece and the canister lid black
. Attach the lid to the shortened canister
. Then slip the rubber washer
over the modified canister
. Now insert the assembly into the emitter shroud and secure it with some adhesive
. I used some black silicon (the kind used to attach trim to cars), but most adhesived will work fine.
. Drill two holes 1/2" apart, centered on the plug
. Take another D-ring
. Since the hole plug will not fit snuggly into the saber tube you will need to bend out the spikes on the underside
until it will fit right. rough up the inside of the tube and then secure the plug to the saber with some 2-part epoxy
. *Of course if you are using the emitter mounted belt ring, you won't need to attach the ring on the pommel.*
