FX-Sabers.com
FX-Sabers Discussion - Including a Gallery of custom sabers. => Data Sheets => Topic started by: eastern57 on September 03, 2012, 10:48:51 AM
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This is how I do it. There's no secret, no tricks, no unrevealed machinist helper... just some good old fashioned MacGy-Fu and elbow grease. This isn't an all-inclusive, end all/be all, difinitive guide, just a "this is how I do it" to get the ball rolling.
Essentials:
- A good shop vac - hacking, cutting, grinding, sanding is a messy business. Good means reliable, strong, but versatile.
- Bench Vice
- Hacksaw
- Pipe/tube-cutters - I have 2: one for larger diameters (1.5"+), one for smaller diameters (3/4"-1.25")
- Files
- at least one very coarse for grinding
- a few for shaping (Rounds, angles, radius, etc)
- a few still for clean up
- mini set for detailing.
- Sand paper, I use 40g - 1500g, for shaping, sizing, and finishing
- Electric drill + bits
- Center punch (or manual punch + hammer)
- Never drill a hole with out punching first. *punching refers to locating the spot where you want to the hole, placing the punch's point at the exact location, and compressing it until it clicks or giving it a solid thump with the hammer. This creates a small guide-divot precisely where you want the bit to start cutting
- Taps (with correct size bits) - inch and metric. I like metric for tapping thinner walled or single layers of tube; there are more threads per inch/mm
- Expander bit (a.k.a. Uni-bit)
- Flap wheels
- Rubber Compression plugs (in various diameters)
- Dremel - I mostly use sanding drums and cutting wheels, so quick-changes for those are good
- Digital calipers... or a reeeelly good eye.
The materials that I get for telescoping tubes. *telescoping just means "stepped sizes" tube A fits neatly in the ID of tube B, tube C fits neatly inside tube B, etc.
Online metals, for serial - great source for tubes.
Telescoping (0.058" wall, separated by 0.009"):
1.5" OD x 1.384" ID
1.375" OD x 1.259" ID
1.25" ODx 1.134" ID
1.125" OD x 1.009" ID
1" OD x 0.884" OD
0.875" ID x 0.759" ID
etc. etc...
Also dxengineering is a great source for telescoping tubes, they're in the antenna section.
Using pipe/tube cutters will leave a raised edge and inward flare on the edge of the cut, which messes with the fit. It has to be removed before you fit it to another tube, or at least, reduced for a tighter fit.
I use the coarse grinding file and file it down to the edge of the raised section. It's important to watch the part as you're filing it down, and periodically rotate it in the vice, because you're always going to attack it from a different angle. Use the raised edge as your guide... just as if you had marked it yourself. This eliminates both the OD and ID bumps.
Use a finer file to get rid of the deeper file marks, and then finish it up with some hand-sanding with sand paper (350g). If you did it right, you should have a perfectly square edge that fits perfectly with the appropriate next step up and next step down.
A cut with the hacksaw, pipe cutters, or dremel is never a finished edge. always use files and sand-paper for clean up, squaring edges, fine-tuning a fit, etc. etc..
A lot of my process is just finding a way to achieve a certain look with either available parts, or modifying the parts I have. Here's some examples:
Example 1
For a ribbed section, similar to the MHS part, I can't lathe grooves, so my solution would be to cut rings out of one tube and slip them over the other. Does it look as pretty? No, but it looks close, AND, I can, 1) move the parts around, and 2) I'm not restricted to MHS size - it can be any size.
Steps:
- Cut the tube with the pipe cutter into equal sections
(https://i.imgur.com/B2q2Gsj.jpg)
- use either a sanding drum or flap wheel to reduce the inner edge
(https://i.imgur.com/DwwQcyh.jpg)
- use files to smooth outer edges
(https://i.imgur.com/nq8J6rv.jpg)
- use sand paper/fine files to clean up edges
(https://i.imgur.com/mAFK7Uk.jpg)
- repeat for all rings
The take-away with this example is that you can get clean lines (from raw parts, 2 tubes = $12) with a practiced process and patience. Use this (or similar process) for cleaning up edges, it's pretty much the foundation for everything else.
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Example 2
For my Kyle Katarn, there were angles and slopes that I couldn't get just by cutting & fitting rings of raw aluminium. Fortunately, I found a lot of those already in existence - MHS. Don't be afraid to cut MHS. Even if it's just an element of one part that you need - cut it off and save the rest, that stuff comes in handy too (the WHOLE buffalo). How did I get 9-ribs on my Luke ROTJ? I cut them off a second ribbed section.
I started with cutting the female threads off a ribbed section - and this goes in 2 direction...
(https://i.imgur.com/swFjx1d.jpg)
Direction 1: Pommel for Kyle Katarn - Left to right:
thick walled blade tip, old style heat sink adaptor, female threads, MPS #4
(https://i.imgur.com/bj3um2G.jpg)
End result (mixed in with some other cannibalized MHS parts)
(https://i.imgur.com/Zo7ZhF2.jpg)
Direction 2: additional ribs for a Luke ROTJ grip section (yes, I know the parts don't match, it's just an example ;))
(https://i.imgur.com/rNHfB0D.jpg)
Secured with a TCSS Maul conversion kit. which, btw, fits perfectly inside a ribbed section.
(https://i.imgur.com/ESgCnpg.jpg)
End result
(https://i.imgur.com/k8szc4R.jpg)
This is a Yoda that I made for a friend's son. I didn't have a good way to do the hood, so I used an MHS choke #1
(https://i.imgur.com/vRDBEtS.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/y79Dc3T.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/XoqfVj6.jpg)
Take-away: Shapes are everywhere. Sometimes the correct shape is attached to something else. Don't be afraid to go get it.
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Example 3
For my Rapier, the hand guard was just some 1/8" sheet aluminium, but I spent the better part of a week-off planning and shaping. It took a lot of time. My hands were sore, I sweated a lot, and I cut my fingers up. But it turned out okay in the end.
Basic drawing, used graph paper, taped it to the 1/8" aluminium sheet
(https://i.imgur.com/Sqi7Kvm.jpg)
Taped and ready to be cut out. Some people use water soluble glue to hold the pattern on, some use tape... it kind of depends on the design and the shape to be cut out. For this one I used an x-acto knife (back edge) and straight edge to scratch the whole shape onto the guard, so it didn't matter if it came off.
(https://i.imgur.com/bW1avwW.jpg)
Basic shape rough cut. Notice I left a lot of slack outside the paper - it's better to cut less and use the files to grind off excess, it's more controllable and you end up with straighter lines.
(https://i.imgur.com/bGHvRur.jpg)
Hand guard after clean up with files, flap wheel, and sand paper
(https://i.imgur.com/0nA1nGY.jpg)
End result
(https://i.imgur.com/J3C6OpZ.jpg)
Take-Away: be prepared to work hard FOR ONE PART. That one part took an entire day. Planning your build is important because it will give you an idea of how much work will go into each individual part.
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Example 4
Layers & Shapes
For my Starkiller #2 hilt, the only premade parts that I used were the Graflex head (+greebles) and a TCSS EL sinktube blade holder, the rest was raw tubes.
(https://i.imgur.com/e5s2cbE.jpg)
There were no fancy mechanisms - it just took a LOOOONG to to execute because of all the manual cutting, filing, sanding, and fitting. This is a good example of all the previous examples because it combines:
- careful planning, measuring, and though BEFORE I started cutting anything
- lots of work for individual parts, careful fitting at every step
- use of found parts. They had the shape I was looking for, I had never chopped up a graflex at that time, but hey, poop or get off the pot.
By itself, this is a good example of how you can use said examples to create complicated-looking hilts with unique shapes layered on top of each other.
The crystal chamber main tube was 1.125" tube with the "brass bars" cut out and shaped (I hand filed each one of those little grooves in the bars), it was fitted to 1.25" to provide layering and to reinforce the structure, and there was a shim of 1.375" on the front end as a go-between for the main tube and the graflex head.
(https://i.imgur.com/hsPjydW.jpg)
The diatium power cell was 0.75" tube with a triple-layered adapter. In other words, a small ring of 0.875"+1"+1.125" all stacked to serve as a thicker go-between for the 1.25" main tube
(https://i.imgur.com/BcDHGHi.jpg)
The grip was cut out of 1.375" tube, it fit over the main 1.25" main tube... if this were a graflex saber, this part would be the clamp and windshield wipers. It was secured to the EL sinktube blade holder by a ring of 1.25" tube.
(https://i.imgur.com/MXOHlQT.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/oA7aeCX.jpg)
This sliding guide was just a dremel'ed slot in the backside of the 1.25" main tube. It was caught by a screw on the grip section
(https://i.imgur.com/ZTk939w.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/Pexw0mb.jpg)
The front door was more 1.375" with a side cut out, and 1.5" ring with an edge ground down to blend the 2 ODs. The catch was, again - just a screw.
(https://i.imgur.com/TKD2i6n.jpg)
End result
(https://i.imgur.com/wiEpGj5.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/00AiPWo.jpg)
Take-away: "99-HIT COMBO - Excellent!" Mix it up, use multiple techniques. Starting from a multi-layered perspective will allow you to plan and create multi-layered hilts, which allow you to create a complex look. Complicated hilts aren't difficult - they just take time; time to plan, execute, and fine tune.
The big question is: "Is that the most appropriate thing for this project?" Sometimes, simple is just better. Complex layers are cool, but it's not always the best, most appropriate, for a given project. It's really just a couple more techniques for the toolbox. IMHO, Aesthetics and Purpose will always win the complex-vs-simple debate.
Good Luck!
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superserial... i'm done now. ;D
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:o
awesome examples!
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Great Tutorial E!
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great tutorials and inspiration! thanks, e57! :)
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Wow! You got my mind reeling with possibilities! :o ;D
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Mucho info to digest! Even though I have a lathe and (almost) cnc'd mill, I'm gonna bookmark this as a reference !
I wish this was around when I started building. Woulda saved me countless hours of trial and error, not to mention squinting @ other peeps' build logs.
Mods: if ya haven't stickied this, PLEASE do so!
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Very helpful info once again. Thanks. Def worth a sticky.
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Glad you likes. ;) Now that you have all my secrets, I suppose my builds will be nothing special... foot, meet bullet. dang. :D
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AWESOME THREAD, really to much useful information here not to draw as much attention to this as is possible .
these examples of building techniques will help many newcomers to saber construction realise just how much work may be required to complete a really fine saber model ..... EXCELLENT.
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Glad you likes. ;) Now that you have all my secrets, I suppose my builds will be nothing special... foot, meet bullet. dang. :D
I think now folks will have more respect for a scratch build, hopefully realizing how much work, time AND skill goes into them!
There have been Waaaaaayyyyy too many MHS's up in here lately with just a shroud on them. Maybe this will encourage peeps to go that extra step now that you've shown them how to do it right!
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Impressive sir! I love the ingenuity on these builds... truly skillful.
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Always use this thread for great examples before I get to smithing...
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A generous and very useful and also encouraging thread. Thank you :)
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Sorry if this is obvious guys, I'm new to the forums and just found this thread. It seems like it is super helpful and I've been looking for some tutorials on this kind of stuff, but are there supposed to be pictures that go with this? I feel like it's written in a way that suggests that would be the case? I was a tiny bit lost trying to understand everything going off just text, but maybe that's just me?
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Sorry if this is obvious guys, I'm new to the forums and just found this thread. It seems like it is super helpful and I've been looking for some tutorials on this kind of stuff, but are there supposed to be pictures that go with this? I feel like it's written in a way that suggests that would be the case? I was a tiny bit lost trying to understand everything going off just text, but maybe that's just me?
Ugh, never mind. I'm a dumdum. I see the pictures now. They didn't load the first time I viewed the thread for some reason. Please disregard. The thread now makes perfect sense and is exactly what I was looking for.
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Thanks for bumping this thread, I never noticed it before.
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I messed with the links, so the pictures work again :smiley: .... until they don't :sad:
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...I may or may not have already copied all the pictures already.
...and taken screenshots of everything while it's still up.
Thanks again, man.
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No Problem.
There is also a "Print" option at the top of the thread
- Select "With images"
- Right click, select Print, or ctrl P
- Instead of selecting a printer, you should have the option to "Save to PDF"
- Select folder, click "Save"
Now you have the thread for life... or until your hard drive crashes irrecoverably... :mad: :cheesy:
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No Problem.
There is also a "Print" option at the top of the thread
- Select "With images"
- Right click, select Print, or ctrl P
- Instead of selecting a printer, you should have the option to "Save to PDF"
- Select folder, click "Save"
Now you have the thread for life... or until your hard drive crashes irrecoverably... :mad: :cheesy:
Well, it's certainly faster than photoshopping all the screenshots into one image, at any rate :wink:
...BRB, just going to archive all the forum before Photobucket 2.0 inevitably happens