I had the day off from work today, thanks to deer hunting season (actually it was our "observed" holiday for Veteran's Day) and while waiting for the repair guy to come and fix the washing machine (long story there) I got some work done to this saber!
I started by cutting the grip window out of the chrome tube. I marked it off where it would reveal the most of the grips on the hilt:
I taped off the ends of the window:
I located the centerline of the top of the sleeve, then used my circle template to locate the centers of the sides:
I used my engineering scale to mark the line on the tube:
The triple sided construction keeps the scale level on the tube.
I taped off the sides:
I took the part to the drill press and used the cutting disc to cut it out:
After cutting out the grip window, I used the sanding drum to round out the corners:
After deburring the edges, and filing them for straightness, then also sanding them smooth, I checked the fit:
It needed some touching up, and that didn't take long:
There's only one issue with the grip window being as large as it is...the sides tend to bow out a bit:
This is one of the drawbacks to using a chrome plated 22ga. brass tube...if I had a piece of the TCSS sleeve material, this wouldn't be a problem. It actually doesn't feel that bad in the grip, though.
Now I need to drill and tap it for the switch box mounting screws:
I did the first screw, then secured the box to the hilt. I used the hole in the box to locate and drill the second hole:
I'll need to cut the front screw shorter:
I cut it off, and it fit just fine:
With it securely attached to the hilt, I used it to center and drill for the other holes in the hilt:
I did the recharge port hole, then the hole for the switch:
I'll need to remove the material in between the holes:
I used the cutting disc on the rotary tool for that:
I did the hilt first, then the sleeve:
I slipped the sleeve back over the hilt after it was de-burred:
I needed to do a little tweaking of the switch hole, but after a few minutes, the switch box fit right on the saber:
The only thing the sleeve may need now is a few scoring lines....if Jedi Exile wants them, that is. I thought about doing some thin ones like I did on CS-32:
It may give it the illusion of having a clamp on the saber, rather than a simple box bolted to it.
Now I can turn to the rest of the saber....I was thinking about putting the low battery led in the pommel insert:
I can drill the center out and bolt the yellow led directly to the insert.
I made up the led:
This is the high-bin green Rebel...should put out 166 lumens at 3.05v and 700ma....we'll be over driving it, but also using the CF's flicker settings to maintain the led's lifespan, and keep from going to far with it. I already tried it out in BS-2 and it's pretty bright.
These are the batteries....two Li-Ion 25500's....the current plan is to wire them in parallel and get some ridiculous run time out of them....hopefully. ;)
With any luck, they won't interfere with the sound waves from the speaker.
Before I go any further with it, I need to locate and drill for the CT button:
Usually when I put one on a saber with the larger grip window, I put it on the bottom of the saber, opposite the switch box:
I could put it on the side....well, sort of:
This would put it on the side, but at an angle to the control box. lately I've been putting them on the side, since they are out of the way when holding the saber, and make the buttons face forward when wearing the hilt on a belt.
What do you think, Exlie?