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Author Topic: Slothfurnace's Luke V2 Epic Reveal - CFLS - Russrep Conversion - W.I.P.  (Read 47060 times)

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Offline slothfurnace

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Greetings everyone!

It's been a while since I posted a large build here, so I thought I'd pop in and post where I am at with my Russrep V2 conversion.  This one isn't finished yet, but I usually don't have them complete when I post here anyway.  This will be a springloaded chamber reveal based on the recent Russrep V2 run.

This one is being done concurrently with my 2013/2014 commission, so it might get put on hold here and there while I work on that, and vice versa.

So here are the specs:

Slothfurnace Epic Revealâ„¢ ROTJ Luke V2
Plecter Labs Crystal Focus for LED Strings
Seriallel LED String
Russrep V2 Blank
Springloaded crystal chamber featuring green quartz
2x 18350 Li-Ion Pack
Custom machined locking tailcap
TCSS Bladed and Non-Bladed display emitter heads



Here's the crystal I will probably use.  A green Quartz,, one I picked out of a stack I got in the other day.



Here I am drilling out the pommel in preparation for boring it out to fit the CFLS. 



Note that there was enough room to still retain the threads, though I might ditch those soon anyway in favor of more customized internal frame.



Here I am milling the bolt recesses in my chamber retainer plate.  This plate will keep the grip and emitter from flying off the chamber under spring pressure.



The angle matches the internal angle I machined into the stock clamp section after I did away with that set of threads.  I also bored out the grip section a lot, and polished it so the reveal would be smooth.



The chamber will be machined and milled out from this solid rod, there's a step at the end of the rod that stops at the retainer plate.



So yeah, imagine some kind of milled chamber there where the rod is. 



Will have some time today to machine on this, but I wanted to get some ideas down first.

More to come shortly!
« Last Edit: May 30, 2013, 07:08:02 AM by slothfurnace »

Offline Goodman

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Re: Slothfurnace's Luke V2 Epic Reveal - Russrep Conversion - WIP
« Reply #1 on: May 29, 2013, 06:28:20 PM »
I love it, Sloth! Your build logs are always exciting, precise, and filled with yummy pictures! I'm a big fan of your sketches, also  8)
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Offline slothfurnace

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Re: Slothfurnace's Luke V2 Epic Reveal - Russrep Conversion - WIP
« Reply #2 on: May 29, 2013, 06:30:52 PM »
I love it, Sloth! Your build logs are always exciting, precise, and filled with yummy pictures! I'm a big fan of your sketches, also  8)

Thank you so much, Goodman!  Means a lot coming from you!



Milled a bit on the chamber today...



These cuts will reveal the crystal and mount, and I'll fit some piping to conceal my wiring in the recess at the base of the chamber, and through that piece of conduit I have in there.

Those three holes in the section underneath the clamp are for clearance for the three cap socket screws I have holding the retainer plate on.  I'll replace one of them with the longer latch plug once I get it made.

Sketching out some ideas...



Ok, so I am integrating one of my radiator assemblies in one of the open windows.  I might open up another window on the back to view the crystal a bit more, as this main window will be full of art guts and wire conduit.
« Last Edit: May 29, 2013, 06:38:08 PM by slothfurnace »

Offline slothfurnace

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Re: Slothfurnace's Luke V2 Epic Reveal - Russrep Conversion - WIP
« Reply #3 on: May 29, 2013, 06:56:52 PM »


Cut some wire channels for the LEDs, installed the main wire conduit, and have been fiddling with the chamber details a lot.


I needed a way to make sure the grip/emitter section didn't get out of rotation with the rest of the body...



So I drilled a hole for a piece of broken 3/16 drill bit through the stock (now modified) Russrep center section,



lathed a point onto one end of the drill bit, and turned the other end down and threaded it for 4-40 to replace one of the 4-40 retainer ring screws.  Then dipped both ends into Birchwood Casey super blue to oxidize them to match the rest of the rod.  Shown here is a bunch of aluminum grit I need to clean off...



Not sure if I will use this for any kind of locking mechanism yet.  Still wavering between having the cone knob be a chamber release or the recharge kill key.



But this allows smooth rotation-locked travel for the grip/emitter section.  And I reckon it's straight enough, no binding at all when closed.

I still need to clean off a lot of that sharpie, and hit the chamber housing with some files and sandpaper to clean it up. 
« Last Edit: May 29, 2013, 06:59:57 PM by slothfurnace »

Offline slothfurnace

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Re: Slothfurnace's Luke V2 Epic Reveal - Russrep Conversion - WIP
« Reply #4 on: May 29, 2013, 07:19:23 PM »


Got some work done on the radiator element last night, Trying some aluminum fins this time in preparation for the radiator section of the 2013 commission.  Had to run some 4-40 allthread on either side of my 1/16 piping, to keep it all straight.  Will machine some kind of thing to make that look ok once I get closer to being done with this.  I'll only need five fins, the other two were just extra in case I mess something up.

I'll also machine some 4-40 spacers out of those nuts, or something thinner.  Also, not sure if I like the copper or the brass yet, but I couldn't find 1/16 aluminum rod/tube.

*time passes*



I have some stuff in here that needs cleaning up and straightening, but it is taking shape.

The chamber release also works great.  That wedged cylinder engages the latch that pivots on the clamp lever.



Running some lighting tests, got the crystal mount almost done, routed some brass and copper pipe...



Gonna need to straighten and clean and polish a bunch of it before I am done, it's looking kind of rough in there.

*more time passes*

Ok, so...



There's the chamber release mechanism test.  This is just a test.  If this were an actual emergency, the saber you see would have been followed by screaming and running.



There's a lever between the clamp bars, in the natural gap of a graflex clamp that pivots on the clamp lever bolt. The spring is under the back of the lever, towards my thumb, and it pushes the lever up when the chamber is closed.  That spring sits inside a 8-32 threaded hole, with a short setscrew at the bottom.  If my latch needs to be tighter or looser, I can adjust that set screw and change the spring pressure on the latch lever.



The lever's actually much more tucked away compared to the obi, no accidental releases
« Last Edit: May 29, 2013, 07:27:33 PM by slothfurnace »

Offline Jin

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Amazing work!

Offline Sanjuro

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Brilliant.

At a certain point, seeing all this becomes painful...  Just too much for one person to bear - see but never own...

Respectfully,
Sanjuro
« Last Edit: May 29, 2013, 09:38:04 PM by Sanjuro »
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Offline slothfurnace

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Thank you much, Jin and Sanjuro...



Replaced the central tubing, drilled for a setscrew to hold the crystal mount down underneath the piping, milled a bit for the front tubes to fit better.  Will polish and clean all this up once I get them all fit correctly.



Also drilled for some extra brass and spring details...



Will mill out the battery compartment next I suppose.

Offline Fat Ewok

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Your sabers were always fun to look at. I kinda wanted your Satele and Derelict, and I've been a fan since. :) Nice job with this one, love that CC detailing! :D

Offline Telestar

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These pictures...the design, the detail, those sketches!  This is fantastic, thanks for sharing.   8)

Offline Habbena

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Absolutely excellent work, once again.  Fun to watch unfold!

Offline Deke

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This is, as I'm sure you know, a work of art. I only hope I can one day own something as detailed and perfect as this.

Offline slothfurnace

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I might just make both heads from scratch so I can make sure I have enough to work with for the DIN plug section.



Also, Katie got me a minecraft redstone, woot!

Offline Vercify

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This might be the most incredible thing i've seen around here. Im going to go devour all of your old build logs, brb.





Offline Darth Ryô

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Being the owner of a RussRep Luke V2, I can see how awesome these mods are :D
Really impressive and leave one speachless :o

 

retrousse