Saber Forum

Hey folks, I'm creating a custom sonic screwdriver out of copper bits that I got at my local hardware store and thought I'd share it here. I've still got a ways to go, but this is where I started and where I've gotten to.

(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/11/25/eda4uzy7.jpg)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/11/25/uhehe5ez.jpg)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/11/25/utuhymu9.jpg)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/11/25/e6uvytu8.jpg)

Cant wait to see it done!

Thanks!

I put it in a wash after sanding everything, and now it's sitting in the oven covered in olive oil to simulate something that had been used for centuries or been in the Time War.

This is awesome, I absolutely cannot wait to see what you come up with.  Are you gonna try to pull something off with a soundboard?

Thanks man! I might try to stick the soundboard in from one of the toy sonics, but for now, it'll just be a stunt design. I'm going to go looking for a marble or some other piece to be the emitter stone tomorrow.

EDIT - Also did the olive oil bake and didn't have things as drastic as I would have thought. Apparently, that's because it was vegetable oil as my wife just now informs me. Still, I like the effect of the oil baking, and I'm sure it'll look nice as it patinas.

Here's a comparison pic between mine and 10's extended.

(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/11/26/urygy4us.jpg)

Awesome point for ingenuity. :)

Thanks! Well, here's my update after trying to weather it a bit. I wasn't able to find a stone that fit my purposes, but I do have some ideas. I think that this weathering job makes it fit with my goal; making it look like a sonic that survived the Time War. Without any further ado, here's the new pics:

(http://i1259.photobucket.com/albums/ii558/BenPass/Sonic%20Screwdriver/IMG_2845_zps77bfc392.jpg)
(http://i1259.photobucket.com/albums/ii558/BenPass/Sonic%20Screwdriver/IMG_2846_zpsf25f21ed.jpg)
(http://i1259.photobucket.com/albums/ii558/BenPass/Sonic%20Screwdriver/IMG_2847_zps5669393c.jpg)
(http://i1259.photobucket.com/albums/ii558/BenPass/Sonic%20Screwdriver/IMG_2848_zps08c029d0.jpg)
(http://i1259.photobucket.com/albums/ii558/BenPass/Sonic%20Screwdriver/IMG_2850_zpsb87f8bdc.jpg)
(http://i1259.photobucket.com/albums/ii558/BenPass/Sonic%20Screwdriver/IMG_2849_zps46061b54.jpg)

I should note also that the weathering was by no means complete, and the parts were not lined up the way they will be in the final product. Also, there is a 1W LED inside which will be my light.

Looks great!

Well done indeed!

Point!

Ah, thank you very much!

Do you plan on using some method of subtraction?

Vents, through holes, etc.

:)

I would certainly like to, but I'm not sure what, exactly, I'll end up doing. As I'm not overly proficient with my dremel and he only other main tool I have is my drill press, I'm limited to holes or thin slots.

A drill press with a vise or jig to keep it stable, to cut vents or a series of holes that create the illusion of a vent.  Easy peasy!

Ah, that would be a very cool idea! I'll have to practice on some scrap, but it'd be interesting to see :)

Well, I've changed the weathering a bit an drilled some holes. It's still in progress, but I'm definitely happier with it.

(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/11/29/eme5uza3.jpg)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/11/29/qy4u5a6u.jpg)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/11/29/a2ave2y3.jpg)

Very nice indeed!

Perhaps fit a small bit of Gallifreyan on it somewhere?

(http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/187q3apdtti38jpg/ku-xlarge.jpg)

http://timeturners.wikidot.com/circular-gallifreyan (http://timeturners.wikidot.com/circular-gallifreyan)

Very nice.

I am not a Dr. Who guy, myself, but I can appreciate craftsmanship and creativity.

Point

Thanks Rel and Chicago, and thanks for the idea! I'll have to do some thinking and see if that's something I could do. I'm planning to set an acrylic crystal in the vented section, a stone in the emitter, and a switch in the lower body (hopefully).

I am going to join you Ben, maybe this will get me inspired to finish the other projects lol.  I had a couple commissions that sucked my creative spark away.

:)

I'm glad to have inspired you to get back to work on projects! I can't wait to see what you come up with!

What is your sonic screwdriver's total length?

I'll have to get you some dimensions when I get home tonight :)

Rgr rgr!

Alright, total length is just a hair under 8.5", the width at the narrowest point is .25", and the width at the largest point is around .8".

Most of the piping is half inch, the upper section is quarter inch, and then the rest are fittings and connectors :)

In the .5" to .5" connector, there's room for a LED and heatsink.

(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/11/30/zavusyte.jpg)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/11/30/6u9e4yva.jpg)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/11/30/etubegeb.jpg)

Thanks I am off to get supplies  :)

Great! I can't wait to see what you whip up and how badly it puts mine to shame.

Ok here it is...scrap pieces and a couple dollars worth of ends and such, just about an hour with a first sanding to prep for patina treatments...

(http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn94/AtomicRay/sonic1_zpsec29d5c1.jpg) (http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn94/AtomicRay/sonic2_zps2162c7a9.jpg)

Yay that was fun!

I have a handful of LEDs and I may do a contact switch, I have a small sound driver and a little off center spinner to provide the sonics  :)

All 1/4" and 3/8" copper pieces, 8 1/16" in length  :D

Wow, Rel, that looks phenomenal! As expected, it puts mine to shame! Oh well, young, I still am :)

Also, mine won't be nearly as impressive electronically speaking. I'm expecting to be done late tonight or tomorrow morning. I don't want to give away what I've got done quite yet, but I still think it's a bit clever :)

Ben do not sell yours short, it is great and inspired me out of my holiday funk!

Thanks for the thoughts, I set a budget limit of $1 an inch lol.

I will start the vents and electronics tomorrow.

Thanks, I honestly wasn't fishing for compliments. Just think yours is better, and will be far better when you're done :)

I truly am looking forward to seeing what you get up to with it!

As an update for mine, I'm expecting to have the re-coat of paint and clear coat done and dried by a little after midnight, Atlantic time. It fits ticks the boxes that I had set for myself:

1 - Budget build

2 - Copper

3 - Coloured emitter stone

4 - Lights up

5 - Looks like it survived the Time War

And of course, there are other aspects which I'll show off later when I can put it all back together again :)

Good times, point for you  :D

Alright I have now, temporarily, completed my sonic screwdriver. In time, I want to add a brighter light source and sound, but for now, it lights up so I'm happy with that.

Features:

Crystal chamber (acrylic crystal) with vent holes and slot

Glass emitter stone in green

Complete copper body/pommel/emitter

Pommel switch

Three LEDs for light

Custom weathering job

Copper chassis/support for LEDs and crystal



And now, before I get to the pics, the idea that inspired me. A sonic screwdriver that had survived the Time War. It would be very old, very weathered, and would likely be utilitarian in design (hence copper piping).

So, without any further ado, here are the pics of my completed sonic screwdriver!

(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/11/30/garepyju.jpg)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/11/30/e4ubu2uz.jpg)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/11/30/5ydavyny.jpg)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/11/30/ezazehe4.jpg)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/11/30/du8a6yqu.jpg)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/11/30/vu5evevy.jpg)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/11/30/e4aqe9a8.jpg)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/11/30/ruvybuhe.jpg)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/11/30/etaduzum.jpg)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/11/30/usahehaz.jpg)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/11/30/ary7aha9.jpg)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/11/30/ygyjaju6.jpg)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/11/30/ana4ujy3.jpg)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/11/30/5ese6e9u.jpg)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/11/30/u8evu5at.jpg)

Good times!

Point  :D

I love the weathering.

Excellent job.

Neat job. Point

Thanks guys, I'm really pleased with it! It was a lot of fun to build!

In the words of the Tenth Doctor... BRILLIANT!  I really love how it turned out, the weathering and simple design remind me a lot of the sonic screwdrivers carried by some of the classic Doctors.

Thanks a lot, Nero! I'm thinking of looking around elsewhere and seeing if there is interest in selling these.

Here comes the first stage of electronics...three LEDs RGB, three strobes/flashers/and a contact trigger...no buttons, no drilling, one solid piece with electronics  :)

Enjoy!

Thanks to Ben for inspiring me to get off my butt and finish building something.  I have three commissions I have been putting off, so maybe the juices will allow me to act on them on  :D


http://s302.photobucket.com/user/AtomicRay/media/Video_zps7e9ae18c.mp4.html (http://s302.photobucket.com/user/AtomicRay/media/Video_zps7e9ae18c.mp4.html)


(http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn94/AtomicRay/sonic2_zpsbcce9570.jpg)


(http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn94/AtomicRay/sonic1_zpsd09e451a.jpg)


PS
Ben my wife liked yours also, saying mine looked newer and ready to use and yours looked older like it was from a battle or something!

Lol

Wow Rel, that looks great! Very impressive! I'm always amazed when I see what you manage to whip up!

Also, I'm glad your wife liked mine :) These are a lot of fun to build!

Thanks, it has three stages of lighting that is programmed in with a timing circuit...flash RGB, repeating sequence of a chasing RGB, and then fast strobing RGB  :D

you are Awesome Ben!!!! ;D

Thanks, man! I definitely love how it turned out. And the weight and feel are exactly what I was hoping for.

Wait, are you making it in to a saber? Cause I totally wanted to buy a sonic lightsaber as a gift...

No, sadly I'm not turning it into a lightsaber.

Although, I probably COULD make one of slightly larger diameter to house a blade.

Yea, I seriously wanted to have something like that. But all the places that made custom sabers were way too expensive

As a minor update, I swapped out the crystal and copper inner support out in favour of some 3/4" polycarbonate. This dims the light through the crystal chamber and increases the light through the emitter stone. The look of the body remains the same, but it now has a brighter light because of the polycarb.

And here are the updated pictures in celebration of Christmas and also in honour of the New Regeneration's arrival. Note, most weathering was removed as an experiment to see which way I preferred to have it. Also note that the first pic is meant to show you the just how far away the sonic was from the TARDIS sign when I took those particular pictures (probably a foot or more).

(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/12/26/atu9etet.jpg)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/12/26/hubeqa9e.jpg)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/12/26/y5a8y4u5.jpg)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/12/26/5eryde9e.jpg)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/12/26/5uqypy7e.jpg)

Looks pretty nice dude. I like it. Posted to Facebook so my brother could check out your build. He's a big Dr. Who nut. Lol. He might even want to do a build after seeing how easy this was. Did you use a 5mm LED or full P4/Rebel? We would probably use some 5mm LEDs so we don't have to do much wiring. We'd probably also do the switch type. Might even get one from FYE just to use the sound card in the build.

My LED and sound cost less than $4...total lol.

Fantastic! Hmmm, I wonder.....

Someone asked me to do a custom gold sonic build for them and these are the progress pics I sent tonight. I'm making this one a bit more compact than my first attempt.

(https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/v/t34/1618612_10153767026585459_1178132035_n.jpg?oh=39c6a8e85b36ecdc523e3312948a7f3b&oe=52F4946C&__gda__=1391764410_66a17d143beb593faba4acee111b8d9f)
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/v/t34/1601039_10153767026590459_325966422_n.jpg?oh=142556c29cbc70eed80791b88f04ab02&oe=52F48C7B&__gda__=1391743553_9f7755b9fdb9521f7a6a2ad34b488984)
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/v/t34/1781941_10153767026635459_732226628_n.jpg?oh=5c8354d2cafe041c6615c0ae45d5adf4&oe=52F46B27&__gda__=1391761129_a5c695a9a76172705bc30f0c5a85feab)
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/v/t34/1798648_10153767026770459_1214589551_n.jpg?oh=cd777d30bfdfdbbe461ee7de2051e181&oe=52F442F8&__gda__=1391748462_e823acaf9e6580c60d52b974a4ab8bb2)

Very nice!!! Most of the ones I've seen don't compare to yours! Have you thought of putting an LED in it/them?

Thank you very much! I do enjoy building these :) I do have those little LED flashlights in there...they make for easy switches, bright (but not blinding) light, and easy change for batteries. Like my original one, this will have a green light. I've got someone else interested in commissioning me to make one in the same style if I can only find a good, purple marble that I don't have to pay all of outdoors for!

I should note though, that the lights aren't on in any of these newest pics....those pics will come later.

Alrighty, I finished up the work on this particular build and have sent the pics off to the new owner. It's been a fun build and I was able to make this one a bit more compact than my original. There are some pics of the two side by side for comparison (note, I changed mine up to a more natural weathering).

(https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc1/v/t34/999433_10153770145670459_1334970132_n.jpg?oh=bf6bc69fe590bab6404713340532d9f2&oe=52F61019&__gda__=1391852257_3a0fd2cb08a00be035d6fa2ad4a47b1b)
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc1/v/t34/1660742_10153770145890459_64093238_n.jpg?oh=852627cc34e220d18c91237498f8d9a2&oe=52F5DEC0&__gda__=1391825339_2ebe708097b1daa2377eeb0e78e131bf)
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/v/t34/1014086_10153770144675459_127021215_n.jpg?oh=05177903b844f93310dfef0b2451227e&oe=52F5882D&__gda__=1391832535_eeb136b39c7e4c86f071d1de83722b16)
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc3/v/t34/1609579_10153770145070459_1818114067_n.jpg?oh=4ee1089ed546f03891776007e245e6b0&oe=52F59D87&__gda__=1391825203_b1af7a8638d76f7c566cac82699139a4)
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc3/v/t34/1604574_10153770142305459_2055752923_n.jpg?oh=6053387bbc48854229e5ca93830255d8&oe=52F57384&__gda__=1391822192_0ba122d585f49864d94a22da27910108)
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/v/t34/1622210_10153770141350459_334839684_n.jpg?oh=0056cdf1e10cf660a8d8eb1617e92cfc&oe=52F6196A&__gda__=1391826916_566ded93b7569c5190459b8f4a6a0c42)
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/v/t34/1016315_10153770138450459_1441823603_n.jpg?oh=1ae60b85220d499691e9a4a613f93fcb&oe=52F5FC8C&__gda__=1391850824_bb3ec425e5e20f3a199b249f6606b824)
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc1/v/t34/482560_10153770146245459_1517190628_n.jpg?oh=278c22909e3ff8539d8a24bed461dede&oe=52F599D7&__gda__=1391830127_49ea57bd6647ac32de8de676ac7ebe7d)
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc3/v/t34/1654053_10153770147870459_1100813935_n.jpg?oh=dd707ebf76d075b3fcbb77a9386195bf&oe=52F586E8&__gda__=1391841052_9bfe1053a275b6beb1bbf3322ecb1e03)
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/v/t34/1622881_10153770149600459_1993769826_n.jpg?oh=b976dfabe5e27a8c35773b4929683fad&oe=52F613AB&__gda__=1391837501_f3bc61e4b246aa866dadcb1a3b3f7873)
(https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/v/t34/1779687_10153770149615459_858395622_n.jpg?oh=9cdbe2bef1100065e97dd44e2805a5e9&oe=52F5CFA8&__gda__=1391848486_9675820545d985ea96c6aee568c2549f)

Very nice, Ben. You are quite the craftsman! :)
(+1)

Thanks a lot! The new owner backed out on me, sadly, but I can always use an extra sonic ;)