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Author Topic: JGJSabers Brass Saber Series 32 (BS-32)  (Read 261 times)

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Offline QUI-GON JINN

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JGJSabers Brass Saber Series 32 (BS-32)
« on: October 26, 2023, 01:43:38 PM »
I am currently finishing up this build and have been posting it on my personal Facebook page, if anyone want to check it out, the album is here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.297971975221599&type=3 Click the pictures for my commentary!
« Last Edit: October 26, 2023, 03:06:15 PM by QUI-GON JINN »


Offline QUI-GON JINN

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Re: JGJSabers Brass Saber Series 32 (BS-32)
« Reply #1 on: October 27, 2023, 08:56:55 AM »
Well, I guess I can just post the pictures here, too. :wink:

This is what I started with in May of 2021...yeah, it's been awhile!



MPS pommel style 12 and a 28mm 2W bass speaker (that I didn't actually end up using on this one) and MPS insert style 1 with the c-clip.


MHS 5" double female extension and ribbed extension style 2. Also a 16mm flat AV switch bezel, that also didn't get used.


Battery is an 18650 3400mAh rechargeable protected cell, MHS blade holder style 27, a 16mm short AV switch (that I also ended up not using on this one, it went on BS-30) and a Copper Nova Cree XPE2 that I don't know what happened to....I must have used it on something else, too.


Basic assembly of the parts.


Cut the brass sleeve to length. You can see BS-2 in the background disassembled...I think that's where the copper nova led went...I upgraded that one to a CFX at that time.


Cut and made the brass collar for the ribbed extension.


I added some decorative rings with a tubing cutter, as usual. This piece was also epoxied into place.


The basic assembly, with the brass pieces!


Nice look a the new extension's smaller diameter grip area. this was how it sat on my workbench for awhile before getting boxed up and put into storage as my wife and I had tried to sell our house and move to a place outside of town with more property. That fell through and we are still where we've been for over 20 years. I recently unpacked all of this stuff and got my work space back into order and had some time to do this stuff again.

Fast forward to October 2023 and I drilled and tapped the saber for the switch, which is now a 12mm green ring and for the Covertec button:



I like the 12mm switches a bit better than the 16mm. Less bulky.


The Covertec button is in the usual place.

This one will get a battery chassis:

i'll be using a chassis recharge port mount instead of making my own c-clip.


The trick will be lining up the hole in the hilt.


I'll use the switchcraft 2.1mm recharge port.


Battery chassis discs...i'll use the broken set from BS-27 on this one, since they'll still work. This will only hold the battery anyway.


Installed recharge port.


Test fitting the chassis.


The battery barely fits.


Not much room for the wires, either so the speaker mount I had ordered for this one will not work.


TCSS does have a reversed mount for 28mm speakers that would essentially fit like this, putting the speaker in the pommel.


The other end looks like it'll work just fine for what I had in mind.


Time to work on the rear brass sleeve. Using the tubing cutter just snug on the tube will leave faux grip rings.


Done!


Not perfect, as usual.


I also added a couple in front of the switch hole to tie it into the brass collar on the ribbed extension.
« Last Edit: October 27, 2023, 09:42:54 AM by QUI-GON JINN »


Offline QUI-GON JINN

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Re: JGJSabers Brass Saber Series 32 (BS-32)
« Reply #2 on: October 27, 2023, 08:58:21 AM »

I put a couple of closer rings on the pommel end of the saber to tie it into the extension collar, too.


Looks okay, I think.


Now to figure out where to put a second switch...I wasn't sure if this would get a CFX or the GHv3 soundboard. either can use it, so I'll add it.


I picked up a switch 22 mounting ring from the store at TCSS.


Turns out, it isn't quite going to fit unless I modify it....I'd rather not do that, so I may have to change it up a bit.


Maybe I'll have to just use one of these other style switch instead, and make my own c-clip to install it.


I decided to think about what I was going to do with the aux button and checked to see if the new speaker mount I ordered would fit.


Looks like this will work, at least.


Added a pommel I had on hand that didn't have an insert in it to see how far into it the speaker will be. This MHSV1 speaker mount style 8 for 28mm speakers will come in handy in another of the sabers I have to finish as well, so I got two of them.


Time to measure, mark and drill for the recharge port. No, I did not drill the hole with the chassis installed, I added it after drilling the hole. ;P


It lines up good enough!


The plug on the chargers I have doesn't reach, though.


So, I drilled the hole bigger!


Does it fit now?


Yup!


I thought I'd get fancy and put a bit of a chamfer on the hole, so I stepped up to a larger yet drill.


Done!


I'll use a sanding drum on my Dremel to clean it up.


This MHS chassis disc is what will hold the battery chassis in place.


Recharge port still lines up.


Now to mark off the location for the aux button.


I set it up to drill the hole.


I also had the pvc ring in place to ensure the hole will line up in both pieces.


I drilled it just big enough for the black button to fit through, but not the threaded section of the switch.


I removed the brass sleeve and used a scrap piece of chrome sleeve and drilled a larger hole for the threaded section of the switch to fit through.


And then I realized somehow I had marked off the hole in the wrong spot but it was of course, too late to fix it. i'll have to make do with what I've got.


Yeah, the switch body is going to hit the chassis disc.


Moving on, I started threading the c-clip. I use an old beat up and broken one to cut the threads.
« Last Edit: October 27, 2023, 10:03:46 AM by QUI-GON JINN »


Offline QUI-GON JINN

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Re: JGJSabers Brass Saber Series 32 (BS-32)
« Reply #3 on: October 27, 2023, 09:00:03 AM »

Installed the black button switch.


Checked to see how it will line up with the main switch.


I think this should do it.


Cut it into a c-clip!


Installed it...


Put in the 12mm main button.


This should be a nice, easy spot to trigger blaster blocks and such.


It also clears the chassis rods...mostly.


The chassis disc won't fit because the pvc is too thick and putting pressure on the threaded rods, pushing them in towards each other. Modification required!


Using the 1/4" sanding drum on my Dremel, I cut reliefs on either side of the c-clip.


This ought to do the trick.


I also determined that I'll need to modify the disc itself. I took it to the belt sander and ground off a smidge of the bottom inside area of the disc.


I then made a groove with the Dremel and the large sanding drum to clear the body of the switch.


Checking the fit with ribbed extension.


It's tightened up all the way. So far, so good.


Checking the fit with the battery chassis and the aux button installed. Everything looks to be in order.


I had to modify the disc a bit more.


I did a little sanding on the forward edge of the c-clip, too.....looks like I also got the switch body, too. Oops.


These threaded rods were too long, so I loaded it up in the vise on my drill press, and cut them off.


Much better.


I have an idea to use this to also anchor some sound board chassis discs, too this needs to fit correctly.


So this is another test fitting, and also when i realized I have a bit of a problem.


The I.D. of the threaded section of the ribbed extensions is smaller, therefore making the the sidewall thicker so it won't clear the nuts holding the battery chassis to the aluminum disc.


This is as far as it'll thread on. I had hoped to use this pressure to lock the disc in place.


I just happened to remember unpacking a trim ring, and thought I'd give that a try.


That doesn't look half bad...


I think I like that, actually.


Yup, it's staying!
« Last Edit: October 27, 2023, 10:20:18 AM by QUI-GON JINN »


Offline QUI-GON JINN

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Re: JGJSabers Brass Saber Series 32 (BS-32)
« Reply #4 on: October 27, 2023, 09:02:31 AM »

to ensure that the chassis disc doesn't spin and move the recharge port, I figured I'd just add a small 4-40 button head screw to hold it. A hidden set screw wouldn't work due to the saber's design...I'd have a hard time getting the switches installed with the disc set in place to hide it under the brass sleeve.


I drilled and tapped both the hilt and the disc.


Added the screw.


That should do it.


The screw it just long enough to reach into the top hole in the disc.


After looking at it, I figured I could use more room in that center hole of the disc, so I got my hand held cordless drill and a large drill bit, and drilled it out.


That should do the trick!


At this point, I believe I'm done with the "machine" work and can now get the hilt ready for final assembly. That means sanding and polishing! I loaded the rear half of the saber on my drill adapter I built years ago.


I hit the MHS 5" extension first with 600 grit, then 800.


added the brass sleeve next.


I secured the sleeve using an 8-32 1/8" set screw. This keeps it from spinning on the extension.


Same drill, 600 grit, then 800. I could've gone to 1000, 1200 but decided I liked the look of the sanding lines to maintain the machined like finish.


That'll do!


I also did the ribbed extension collar. Same procedure.


All set with this, on to the next step!


Polishing! I'll use my Mother's Aluminum and Mag Wheel polish for this. Seen there is the polishing cloth, too. Just an old cloth diaper I've had for several years.


Done, and ready for electronics!


Wait! Almost forgot something! It needs a blade retention screw, so I set up the drill press for it, and drilled it for a 10-32 thread.


Tapped for 10-32 threads!


I ran the tap all the way through.


Installed the screw.


I also de-burred the hole inside the socket. I've found over the last 17 years of building these things that a single 10-32 or even a single 8-32 set screw is all you really need to secure the blade.


Oh, and I also worked on the recharge port hole to smooth that out.


Now we're ready for electronics!


I figured out the length I needed for the battery plug and started by soldering it to the recharge port.


One wire left...


All done! (Or so I thought...)
« Last Edit: October 27, 2023, 11:14:41 AM by QUI-GON JINN »


Offline QUI-GON JINN

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Re: JGJSabers Brass Saber Series 32 (BS-32)
« Reply #5 on: October 27, 2023, 09:06:06 AM »

This was almost ready...I forgot to add in a positive lead for the sound board, though. I got that later and all was well.


This ought to be enough length to make it easy to swap out the battery.


Should fit right in there, wired end first.


Fit right in, but had to be wiggled around a bit to get the wires through the cut out in the chassis disc.


Tuck the wires in.


Check the fit one  more time for the speaker mount. That was still good, so I moved on to the wiring of the switch.


The white wires are the actual switch, orange and brown are for the led.


Checking the fit...


Added the wires for the aux switch...I went with purple for that.


Installed the aux switch and then checked the fit again for the chassis disc.


Satisfied with that, I started to work out how I was going to mount the Golden Harvest board. I happened to have some acrylic discs for an NBIV on hand  and tried it in those...almost a perfect fit!


This will give me some idea of how long I'll need the wires to be to reach the board.


I think this might work!


I like how this would work. The board will have to be installed "backwards" though, so the SD card can be accessed.


Should have plenty of room for the resistors and wires for the Tri-Cree RGB LED.


I figured out how long I needed the wires for the speaker mount while i was at it, and cut those.


Then I thought I'd better check the fit with ribbed extension...I removed the soundboard and screwed on the extension.


It went on, but I could feel it rubbing on the chassis discs. I took it back off, then used a cylinder hone to open up the I.D. a bit. I also used the hone to spin some 800 grit sand paper through the extension afterward. I also found that the chassis disc wasn't fitting flush on the switch mounting c-clip, so I took it all apart again and more sanding on the switch c-clip and the chassis disc until it all fit smoothly. The extension then went like butter.

With that all finally out of the way, I could start actually wiring up the saber.

I started with the speaker.


Snapped it into the mount.


All done!


I fed the wires through the hilt...


And out the other side. I also added the 4-40 nuts to the battery chassis and tightened them down.

Now for the fun part:

I started by adding the RGB leads to the appropriate pads, as per the wiring diagram in the manual for the Golden Harvest board.


I then added the appropriate resistor for each color. blue and green have the same specs, so they got the same resistor.


Next, up...switch wires.


Then i did the positive and ground for the switch led, followed by the main power leads and finally, the speaker leads.


Now, to add the final length to the blade led leads!
« Last Edit: October 27, 2023, 11:41:36 AM by QUI-GON JINN »


Offline QUI-GON JINN

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Re: JGJSabers Brass Saber Series 32 (BS-32)
« Reply #6 on: October 27, 2023, 09:11:52 AM »
Before adding the rest of the wires, I thought it'd be a good idea to double check the room I'd have to work with in there:

Not bad. Still looks like just enough room for the extra length I'll need to coil up in there.

So how much length do I actually have on the other end for the speaker module?

Just enough, looks like!

I then went back to the blade led leads:

I have the added length on there, and a common positive...I like to it this way to reduce the number of wires from six to four.


Heat shrunk the resistors to guard against them getting scratched and shorting out against the inside of the hilt.


Time for the Cree XPE2 to get prepped!


Using the cut off remains of the resistor legs, I bridged all of the positive pads together.


Fed the wires through the copper heatsink in the correct order.


Triple checked that I had enough length for the led module to be able to be pushed aside to get to the SD card.


Length was good, so I soldered the wires on.


Then added a thermal adhesive pad to the led, removed the backing (always a PITA)...


Then stuck it to the heatsink, making sure the holes were all lined up and centered.


We're ready to finish assembly, so I added the trim ring.


Started to slip the ribbed extension on, then stopped...


Almost for got to add some grease to the threads to ensure a smooth installation.


Added the ribbed extension...


Add lens...


Threaded the heatsink into the led module housing...


Then installed the Micro SD card.


Simple enough!


Seated the led module into the ribbed extension, making sure it was not sitting on any wires...


Then added the blade holder, using my index finger to hold down the led module to reduce the twisting of wires.


Fully assembled! Except for the battery...
« Last Edit: October 27, 2023, 12:19:45 PM by QUI-GON JINN »


Offline QUI-GON JINN

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Re: JGJSabers Brass Saber Series 32 (BS-32)
« Reply #7 on: October 27, 2023, 12:12:13 PM »
After having to read and re-read the manual for the Golden harvest board, I managed to to get it to work:


And of course, during "playtime" with it, I dropped it on the concrete floor in the basement:

So, it has it's first bit of battle damage or weathering, however you choose to look at it.  :wink:
« Last Edit: October 27, 2023, 12:14:28 PM by QUI-GON JINN »


Offline QUI-GON JINN

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Re: JGJSabers Brass Saber Series 32 (BS-32)
« Reply #8 on: October 27, 2023, 12:17:02 PM »
Final Pics!!!




















« Last Edit: March 23, 2024, 08:05:32 AM by QUI-GON JINN »


 

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