Finally...
I've had the vintage Graflex for about 6 months. It was a bit of a challenge to gut it and get it ready for conversion. Then I got Erv's CF in November. All I needed was a chassis. I was contemplating making one but then Yoda busted out the ones he had for sale and here I am.
I must say that putting it together was not that bad. I never got really frustrated (like with the USB 2.0) and I just did a little bit here and there in the evenings. I'd say the worst part (which really wasn't that bad) was discovering the CF is setup for a latching switch and Yoda's chassis are made for momentary. Since I have a Mac, I had to find someone with a PC so I could format the SD card and make some adjustments. Luckily, my sister lives nearby and she has a PC laptop. I was able to load some different sound fonts and make the swing more sensitive (and change to momentary power on switch). Even that went will with no glitches. I was actually surprised. The only thing I need now is a kill switch because the batteries drain pretty fast when not in use and it's a hassle taking them out.
I'm running a blue 5W LedEngin led at 1300ma which is pretty bright. The Ultrablade fits the best and looks pretty good too. I have a TCSS Corbin+cellophane that looks good too but is a tight fit. I love the flicker. No pics but the camera isn't accurate anyway. It's bright and blue.
I shimmed the blade holder with black vinyl tape so now it fits tight and solid. No more rattling.
Here are some current pics of the hilt. I still need to put the screws on the grips. I'm not planning to put chrome tape around the clamp. I like the way it looks with the GRAFLEX stamped on it. I don't need to be "movie accurate".
The little red ribbons sticking out of the batteries are what I use to pull them out to cut the power. I'm going to have to put a little kill switch in there somewhere so I don't have to do that anymore.
I'm super happy with it and just blown away by it. It feels so good in your hand. Heavy and solid - like you'd expect a "real" lightsaber to feel like.