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Author Topic: 2nd scratch built custom saber build log  (Read 7394 times)

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Offline Sethski

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Re: 2nd scratch built custom saber build log
« Reply #30 on: April 04, 2018, 09:36:23 AM »
Thanks so much for encouraging words and glad it's liked. Exar Kun - means a lot to me that it looks 'in universe' - I hope the end result manages to keep that, or at least some of that. Very elusive (feels so for me anyways) to follow your nose with something original and not deviate from that too much (if that's what you're after - I've also loved some themed sabers that aren't so 'in universe' for star wars, but totally for the world/universe that inspired them).

It'll be good to have the pommel finished in the hopefully-not-too-distant future and get on with the rest of it.   

Offline Morannon

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Re: 2nd scratch built custom saber build log
« Reply #31 on: April 04, 2018, 11:29:48 AM »
You mean it's NOT finished?! Jesus what more can you do to a pommel?

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Offline Darkjedi

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Re: 2nd scratch built custom saber build log
« Reply #32 on: April 04, 2018, 03:50:57 PM »
 :cheesy:

You mean it's NOT finished?! Jesus what more can you do to a pommel?
:laugh: sometimes things just keep evolving.

Offline Sethski

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Re: 2nd scratch built custom saber build log
« Reply #33 on: April 05, 2018, 05:55:06 AM »
It still needs stuff in the blank spaces and some brass detail bits under the fin/rib type bits to be 'proper' finished  :cheesy:

Offline Whosle

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Re: 2nd scratch built custom saber build log
« Reply #34 on: April 07, 2018, 08:36:10 AM »
You captured the perfect Star Wars style/aesthetic.

I have a desire to copy this exactly (I won't because that's sort of lame, but I'm certain someone will eventually), but I would rather have your eye and talent!

Amazing inspiration! Your process is awesome. Thanks for sharing. I like how you just fill in the "empty" spots until you are satisfied. 

P.s. more pics!!!  :azn:

Offline Sethski

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Re: 2nd scratch built custom saber build log
« Reply #35 on: October 21, 2018, 07:09:48 AM »
Yikes! Last updates April 4th...

- late thanks so much, Whosle, that's pretty much it for a large part of the process haha - fill in the empty spots til satisfied  :undecided:

This got kicked into the long grass for quite awhile and have just picked it back up in the last couple of weeks.

Made the main part of the midsection.

Idea is to have internal details on a battery holder tube, with the cut away part revealing semi-enclosed crystal chamber.









Also some pics of progression while making it:











Offline Sethski

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Re: 2nd scratch built custom saber build log
« Reply #36 on: October 21, 2018, 07:17:30 AM »
Also...

Part of my intention for the saber and specifically the mid section has been to have some sort of wooden overlay/shroud.

As it's had a bit of an insectile/skeletal look/feel come together as part of the aim, I decided to try and make something reminiscent of insect wings or wing casings for this.

I still don't know what to do with the front end, but took a photo of current where parts so far are at roughly mocked up together:



You can see a couple of the pieces of wood 'veneer' by it.

I'd found some lovely wood on eBay a bit ago described as 'black and white ebony' or 'pale moon ebony'. I bought it after lots of internetting to see what else was available and prices and couldn't find anything that I liked as much, so I coughed up and bought it (it was about £20, so not crazy, but well worth shopping around before buying, I thought). It was 2 'book matched' pieces - with the two sides of the cut roughly mirroring each other, which I thought would be great to somehow integrate so they mirrored each other on both sides of the saber. The original photo on eBay made the wood look more monochrome and less brown/woody than it was in person:



It was about 1.5cm thick so , for want of having a bandsaw or other tools more suited to the job, I milled it as thin as I could (a little over 1mm), leaving enough structure to keep a 'frame' to hold the shape. The intention was to try and steam bend the wood, which I'd come acros some info on looking into how to bend wood.

For the quarter circle I wanted (12.5mm radius, matching the corner rounding mill I used for the top curves of the mid body part), it turned out I could get two pieces for each side, so I thought at best it'd be cool to have two layers/'wings' on each side, and also that it'd give me a couple of test pieces which would still leave me with a second chance and two good pieces if something went wrong with the process of trying to bend them.

I thought it's probably snap the way this is conventionally done and that perhaps making some sort of press/jig type thing would apply pressure more evenly and so would be more likely to succeed, so I made a little press type thing, with the idea of steaming the wood and then feeding it in, tightening the bolts down, opening it to feed a bit more in, repeated until the whole piece was curved if it went as hoped.

This was the makeshift press thing:




So I steamed the first piece of wood for about 10 minutes with a wall paper steamer:




...and the press thing just didn't work very well at all, which was disappointing  ??? the wood softened a bit and it did curve a bit, but the aluminium wasn't fully holding it's shape and or pressing down evenly along the length or something - whatever was going on, it wasn't working as I'd hoped! ...so I (frantically) thought of a plan b and tried it with the parts of the 'press' just squeezed in a vice with the wood - which, thankfully, worked better (like this, but with the wood in there and a heavy mist of steam and me dashing around and swearing a lot):




It still wasn't quite there, so, after a minute or two of 'refresher' steaming, I taped it rightly around a 25mm aluminium bar (to match the 12.5mm radius curves on the saber part) and it fit snuggly without any snapping noises. Very relieved at that point...






Then I followed the same process with the other 4 pieces.

The next sensible step, I think, will be to set up something to hold the pieces in shape while allowing some air to get to them so they can dry out without the risk of 'unbending' while that happens over a couple of days.

It was good learning, even though it didn't go as planned, and also gave me ideas for a better two piece 'press' that sits in vice jaws (kind of 2 L-shaped parts with a negative and positive that line up) and could be used for more wood bending and also to bend thin, flat metal pieces to a curve, both of which appeal to use as part of build processes in future and might open up some options that wouldn't be possible with curved/tubular metal.

Offline EXAR KUN

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Re: 2nd scratch built custom saber build log
« Reply #37 on: October 22, 2018, 06:14:48 AM »
That's so cool trying new materials and techniques.

I love doing that, too.

Interesting how your process is... I like to see those 'behind the scenes' things that happened like how plan A doesn't work so you have to go to plan B.

Happens a lot when I'm doing things for the first time as well... you think plan A is definitely going to be 'it' (that's why you made it plan A, lol) but then it doesn't go down as expected. Like when Anakin met Grievous for the first time and he wasn't as tall as expected.  :cheesy:

BTW: Really loving that cut metal part! Great idea and execution with that
« Last Edit: October 22, 2018, 06:16:58 AM by EXAR KUN »



Offline Sethski

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Re: 2nd scratch built custom saber build log
« Reply #38 on: October 23, 2018, 10:39:31 AM »
Cheers! Defo a few plans that have needed more letters of the alphabet before ditching them in my experience hahaha  :cheesy:

But it's worth it (I think) - everything from what I'd read pointed to this bit with the wood being likely to fail - like the degree of the bend and the bend being across the grain rather than along it and consequently along the wood fibres. But there wasn't another way I could think of to get what I wanted from it, so gave it a go coz I really wanted that reflection and the curve and it actually worked out mostly OK.

Process update:

I set the wood pieces in makeshift thing to hold them in place/shape while they got some air to them for a couple of days



As it is the main pieces have stayed intact and the secondary pieces have split a little but are still in one piece.



I also brushed some wood hardener on the underside to strengthen them and hopefully help hold the shape, and that's cured and they feel more rigid and a bit stronger for that.



Next I'm going to push my luck a bit again and try bleaching out the wood to get it to more a pale/grey type of look (on the secondary pieces first in case it doesn't go so well). Fingers crossed...  :undecided:


 

retrousse