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Author Topic: QUI-GON JINN's Brass Saber26 (BS-26) Build for Master Valon  (Read 14030 times)

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Offline QUI-GON JINN

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QUI-GON JINN's Brass Saber26 (BS-26) Build for Master Valon
« on: December 09, 2011, 10:12:59 AM »
Coming soon to a galaxy near you:


 

 
This saber is currently planned to feature a Crystal Focus v5.1 sound board,  a green ring short AV switch in the style 2 box,  a removeable Li-Ion battery source as it will be a trooping saber,  batteries will likely be AW14500's,  a Cyan bin 1 Luxeon III for the main blade,  and no FoC.  Electronics are still subject to change,  however.

Design-wise,  this one will borrow a bit from BS-22:

I plan to have a few more design elements in the sleeve for this one,  though.  ;)

I may borrow a few elements from BS-25 as well:


And possibly a few cues from CS-31:
« Last Edit: December 09, 2011, 10:15:28 AM by QUI-GON JINN »


Offline Master Valon

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Re: QUI-GON JINN's Brass Saber26 (BS-26) Build for Master Valon
« Reply #1 on: December 09, 2011, 02:22:51 PM »
 ;D ;D ;D

I is one happy Jedi right now!! And yeah, the electronics setup sounds perfect, Jay, definitely gunna be my best saber by far.
Though this is the end of the age of heroes, it has saved its best for last.

Offline Artorius Vidnyl

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Re: QUI-GON JINN's Brass Saber26 (BS-26) Build for Master Valon
« Reply #2 on: December 09, 2011, 05:09:22 PM »
I've been reading up on sink tube use, and this just gives me yet another angle!  Really great stuff.

"Always remember, your focus determines your reality."
―Qui-Gon

Offline QUI-GON JINN

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Re: QUI-GON JINN's Brass Saber26 (BS-26) Build for Master Valon
« Reply #3 on: December 13, 2011, 09:53:49 AM »
Did a little work on this one this morning,  but I don't have time right now to post the pictures,  but I'll leave this here for now:

Mpre to come later.  I have the brass sanded and polished,  and it's looking pretty good right now.


Offline Master Valon

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Re: QUI-GON JINN's Brass Saber26 (BS-26) Build for Master Valon
« Reply #4 on: December 13, 2011, 02:14:05 PM »
*Squeal* Gah, the anticipation is enormous! Can't wait to see what more pics you have for us, Jay! I already am in love with this saber, and I haven't even seen it with polished brass yet! lol
Though this is the end of the age of heroes, it has saved its best for last.

Offline QUI-GON JINN

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Re: QUI-GON JINN's Brass Saber26 (BS-26) Build for Master Valon
« Reply #5 on: December 13, 2011, 09:02:27 PM »
Yeah,  polished pics coming up shortly...but first:

I decided to split up the brass on this one,  rather than use a full sleeve on it,  as every time I've used the v-grooved extensions with a grip window cut out,  it just looks...off...to me.    so,  I cut a ring that will fit at the top of the v-grooved extension, and will be attached by two-part epoxy.

I also cut the rear sleeve to fit the 5" extension:

With the parts cut to the correct lengths,  I attached them to my sanding attachment on the power drill and sanded,  wt-sanded,  then polished them up!  Here's how they look now:



I plan to add a couple of scoring lines to this piece.  I'll do that before I epoxy it in place,  in case I make a mistake with the lines.  I can always cut off another ring to replace it.

The rear grip sleeve:

This is where I think the design influence from CS-38 will come into play:
 
I think a similar cut out for the switch box will look good on this one.

My thought for the rest of the rear grip sleeve is to borrow a bit from CS-35:

I think I'd like to do three or four slots in the space behind the switch box,  and maybe a bigger one (or two) centered beneath the switch box.  The aluminum underneath that will show through the slots will be highly sanded and polished as well.

More to come as work progresses.


Offline Master Valon

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Re: QUI-GON JINN's Brass Saber26 (BS-26) Build for Master Valon
« Reply #6 on: December 13, 2011, 09:16:27 PM »
 :o :o :o

Wow, that polishing you do is like night and day! And I LOVE the idea of having the cut slots below and beneath the activation box, as well as the cut design around the box itself. I give all creative control over the shroudwork over to you, Master Jinn! Its already shaping up to be a fantastic saber. Keep up the good work!
Though this is the end of the age of heroes, it has saved its best for last.

Offline QUI-GON JINN

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Re: QUI-GON JINN's Brass Saber26 (BS-26) Build for Master Valon
« Reply #7 on: December 14, 2011, 08:58:57 PM »
I got some work done to this one this morning before heading off to the real job!  Here's what got accomplished:
 
After taking some measurements and determining the location of the switch box,  I taped it off so I would have a guide to follow with the Dremel.

I put the part in the vice,  using a short section of MHS inside the sleeve to give the vise something to grip without squashing the sleeve,  an started cutting:
 

With it cut out,  I filed the edges to deburr them,  and test fit the actual MHS extension and switch box:
 

I liked how it fit,  then removed the 5" extension and cut the angles on either side of the sleeve.  I test fit it again,  and it needed a bit more filing:
 

Some more filing resulted in this fit:
 
It just needs a little more sanding to smooth out the edges and the switch box slot will be all done.


Offline QUI-GON JINN

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Re: QUI-GON JINN's Brass Saber26 (BS-26) Build for Master Valon
« Reply #8 on: December 17, 2011, 12:31:01 AM »
I managed to get some more work done to this saber yesterday afternoon.

I drilled and tapped the extension for the switch box mounting holes:
 

After getting the switch box secured,  I noticed the slot in the sleeve needed a bit more filing and sanding to square it up a bit better:
 
I got it straightened out more,  and test assembled the hilt:


The gap around the switch box is much more uniform and straight on both sides:
 

One nice thing about locating the switch box where I did is that the front mounting screw also serves as the mechanism for securing the soundboard cradle in the hilt:
 
I inserted and drill into one of my chassis discs and tapped it for 6-32 threads so the mounting screw threads right into it,  holding in place so it won't spin during assembly when the extension is added.

Next,  I drilled the brass sleeve for the CT button mounting screw:
 
It is tapped for 8-32 threads,  and can easily be swapped out for the D-ring sold at TCSS if need be.

Another look at it assembled to get some ides for rear grips and other details:


 
There's still a lot of empty brass space on the sleeve back there on both sides.  I really liked the idea of having some scoring lines like I did on CS-38,  but the slot for the switch box on this sleeve isn't really wide enough for them to show through,  so I decided to make them more visible in another way:
 
I taped off the sections I was going to work on to give me some guide lines.

Here you can see the scoring lines I added to the extension:

I drilled four 1/4" holes at the end of each taped slot,  then cut them out using a cutting disc on my Dremel:
 

I deburred the slots enough to slide the sleeve over the 5" extension,  and added the switch box to see how that looked:
 
That looks pretty good.  These slots will get e-burred a bit more later,  after I finish cutting the rear grip slots.  I figured out what I wanted to do for those and started taping it off after measuring and marking where I wanted them:
 
I'll work on getting those cut out Saturday.
« Last Edit: December 17, 2011, 12:32:36 AM by QUI-GON JINN »


Offline Mersenne

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Re: QUI-GON JINN's Brass Saber26 (BS-26) Build for Master Valon
« Reply #9 on: December 17, 2011, 12:48:49 AM »
Master Qui-Gon - Jay I always love looking at your builds - the sabers are so detailed and SHINY
so much work and care can been seen everywhere in your builds - awesome stuff

Love your work, I so want to follow your creations into my own builds
it's all Elemental

Offline Master Valon

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Re: QUI-GON JINN's Brass Saber26 (BS-26) Build for Master Valon
« Reply #10 on: December 17, 2011, 12:58:07 PM »
Wow. Not much more can be said than that. I reaaallly like these slots, I think they add so much to the design. Thanks a lot Jay!
 :)
Though this is the end of the age of heroes, it has saved its best for last.

Offline Caine

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Re: QUI-GON JINN's Brass Saber26 (BS-26) Build for Master Valon
« Reply #11 on: December 17, 2011, 04:46:45 PM »
Dude, after all this time your builds logs never get old. Always a treat to watch (and learn from).

Offline COUNT DOOKU

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Re: QUI-GON JINN's Brass Saber26 (BS-26) Build for Master Valon
« Reply #12 on: December 17, 2011, 09:53:50 PM »
Love watching these come together and learn something everytime.  The way the shroud wraps around the box.... mmmmm.  8)

Pass on what you have learned. Strength. Mastery. But weakness, folly, failure also. Yes, failure most of all. The greatest teacher, failure is. We are what they grow beyond. That is the true burden of all masters. ~Master Yoda~

Offline Simpi-Gon Sims

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Re: QUI-GON JINN's Brass Saber26 (BS-26) Build for Master Valon
« Reply #13 on: December 18, 2011, 04:36:40 AM »
Love watching these come together and learn something everytime.  The way the shroud wraps around the box.... mmmmm.  8)

^THIS^
"It's not broken, it's a feature."

Offline QUI-GON JINN

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Re: QUI-GON JINN's Brass Saber26 (BS-26) Build for Master Valon
« Reply #14 on: December 19, 2011, 04:37:37 PM »
Okay,  took today off from work 'cause I felt like having a 4 day weekend before being off for the upcoming Christmas/New Year's holidays,   ;)  ;D and got some more work done to this one!

I drilled holes and cut slots:
 

From the top:
 

And bottom:


I have the sleeve mainly de-burred at this point,  after running my cylinder hone through the inside for a few minutes:
 

 
I just needed to sand and polish the 5" extension prior to drilling for the main switch hole.

After repairing my MHS sanding adapter,  I had this:
 
Both parts have been re-wet sanded and polished!

The two pieces test fit:
 
There was still something small inside the sleeve that scratched the extension as I slid it on,  so I sanded and polished the extension again,  and worked some more on sanding the interior of the sleeve.

When I finished that,  I moved on to the switch hole/slot:
 
I'll start drilling that hole out by using a smaller bit then stepping up to the 5/8" that is required for the AV switches.

I drilled for the main switch,  installed the box again,  marked off the recharge port's center,  then drilled another 5/8" hole for that,  and moved to the Dremel with a cutting disc to create a slot:
 
Everything is a perfect fit!

I did a test assembly next:

So far,  it's coming together nicely!

The rear grip slots:


 
The main switch....this was supposed to have an AV with a green ring,  but I've gone through two of them so far and neither of them would thread into this box for some reason....I have a green dot in there at the moment,  and it is a perfect fit in the threads...as does the orange ring that is in Cs-21,  along with just about every one of my other long style AV switches....it's weird...anyone else having the same issue?  I can't help but wonder if there are bad threads on the latest batch of the green ring SPST switches TCSS got in recently.  If I can another ring style in green to fit,  I'll do that.

The other side's rear grips:


Now we get to the fun part:
 
I mixed up some epoxy for this brass ring,  and it is currently curing as is the brass ring piece I added to the blade holder's choke point:

The black marks are where I marked it so the alignment will put the seam of the brass piece on the "bottom" of the saber while it's on display.  The only issue with it is that I cut just smidge too much off one end while squaring it up,  so there is a slight gap....If it looks too bad,  I'll try to remove the piece and cut another one.

The gap might be more visible here:
 
Once these parts are finished curing/hardening,  the majority of the hilt work will be completed.  

Left to do on the hilt itself will be:
  • sand and polish brass strip on blade holder
  • polish blade holder
  • create chrome plated speaker grille for pommel insert
  • sand and polish control box
  • add aux button to control box
  • drill and tap for blade set screw
After all of that,  it'll be ready for the electronics installation once the CF v5.1 arrives from France!
« Last Edit: December 19, 2011, 04:43:43 PM by QUI-GON JINN »


 

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