my main duelling saber: log

[RevanReborn]

Thanks Morgoth136 .  There have been some really aweome sanding jobs in the last little while from members like thereisnostrike and telepathictraffic etc.-  def worth checkn out.  MTFBWY

[Morgoth136]

Thanks Morgoth136 .  There have been some really aweome sanding jobs in the last little while from members like thereisnostrike and telepathictraffic etc.-  def worth checkn out.  MTFBWY

il have to check out their stuff. what did you use to sand it? a full sander? block? paper?

[RevanReborn]

I just used 120 grit sand paper, cut into strips of varying thicknesses (some narrow slivers, some as wide as the whole body section I was using it on).  I'd put the strip in my open palm, place the saber in the palm aligning the area to be worked on up nice n straight with the sand paper strip, then close my hand- wrapping the strip over that area of the saber and spin nice and easy, concentrating on making a nice straight grain/ fade pattern.  I'd stop often to check how it's looking, and to go over with a fine grade contour sanding sponge to blend all in/ together.  The sanding sponge was such fine abrasion that it almost wouldn't even wear the black down in colour at all, it kinda just smooths the grain/ softens its appearance. 

It so fun to do .  Was tempting to keep going and going lol, but I really wanted the look to stay as dark as poss on this one.  Telepathictraffic has a video of the process on his post so you can see how simple it is to do- pretty much same technique, only thing I did different was maybe press bit more lightly when spinning/ sanding, but makes sense because I didn't intend to take nearly as much black off as he did.  Pressing hard will create wear a lot quicker, but less forgiving if not keeping the grain straight/ consistent.  Lightly sanding can still remove any/ all finish, and is more forgiving in that sense, since it happens much more gradually that way, but obviously it will take longer. 

[RevanReborn]

Didn't have a lot of time today before bed, work still crazy... But hey, it's almost the weekend!!  I did manage to get a little bit going on one of the little fabrications/ accents I'll be putting on.  This isn't the one that will go in the lower choke that I mentioned before- this goes on the side of the grip section, reminiscent of the positioning of the circuit card in a graflex only a fair bit lower- it's going to contain electrical pins, and a faux switch, as well as a some kind of faux port, with wires coming out and running along the hilt and down inside through another spot (a la kylo or even the screen accurate MPP) . 

This piece itself is like the little activation box or main module that all the other little accents are attached into- it's a REALLY solid hunk of stainless almost as thick as my finger lol!  Gonna carve a very shallow silhouette of this base piece into the hilt itself when comes time to attach, so that it sits nice and seemlessly against the grips.  Before I can go any further I gotta decide if I'm attaching with pan machine rivet looking screws or using socketed machine screws and recessing them into these holes I just drilled so they sit down in/ flush.  I really like the way both would look and honestly can't decide lol.



(and believe me my fingers aren't small lol, nice solid hunk o stainless)



Somewhere deep inside a little ocd side of me I didn't know I had really wanted me to centre this accent in the grip section, but after way too much time thinking about it and testing the grip lol, I decided that 1) this is gonna be a sith saber, one with wires stickn out and jagged inscription all over it etc... Not centred is decorum and 2) the functionality simply/ automatically trumps anything since this is my life on the battle field lol.  Where I'm putting it up high on the grips I can't even tell you how AMAZING this thing grips!!  My trailing hand just gets LOCKED on in a way I've never felt with any other saber (well I guess that makes sense since I've never tailor made a grip section for one before lol).  The cover tech fits right under my hand,up in the underside of my palm on the bottom, and the top side of that same hand is butted up against the side of this chunky base-  it's got nowhere to go, it's such a good feeling, like its nestled in it's own cozy little spot lol... AND READY TO DESTROY!!! Lol

Keep you posted- MTFBWY

[RevanReborn]

So, I mentioned in an earlier post about repurposing stuff or using cheap hardware store stuff for a lot of this.  The Easiest way to find cool parts I know of is to take apart old junk you have lying around- in this case an old phone.  I got caught in a crazy downpour waking home from work one morning and the battery exploded lol, so I made like Rey lol:

Picked through everything, and pulled out a few gems that seem to suit this piece and what I've got planned for it- and began planning the positioning of things:


At time of pics there was still a little snaggle of wiring harness hanging out from the edge of that little aluminum plate, I've since cleaned that up.  There's a little chip attached to the underside of the plate, which gives it a really cool look when glimpsed from the side or underneath.  I'm just gonna metal epoxy most of these little bits on, it's easy but it's also the best way to secure- this stuff won't budge once it's adhered, theyr such tiny/ light pieces and the bond of that stuff is so strong there's no way it'll be jarred loose by clashing blades.  An actuall blade strike could do the trick, but if a swing is connecting to that area of the hilt then I'll have bigger problems than some free/ easily swapped bits and bobs lol.   

If you look down on the side of the chunky base that will be screwed into the hilt, right under where the little plate sits, you can see a small black dot- I marked where I'll be drilling a hole to tap and insert a little knurled control knob looking thingy.  On the other side of the base, I'll be making/ tapping two more holes very close together for some electrical pins, I just don't want to pay for the pins, so I'm waiting to come across some fluorescent lights.  Shouldn't take long, they're in just about every building around, so somebody's always replacing theirs- and each tube has four brass electrical pins (two on each end cap).  Soon as I score the garbage light bulbs I'll have at least four pins . 

Also, next to the pins, I'll be attaching a little port (headphone jack pulled out of phone), out of which some wires will run up along the hilt, eventually making their way to the other add on feature I'll be doing, where they'll then go down into the hilt.  It's kind of hard for me to explain, or probably for you to picture, where I'm taking this part, but I think once I've got it more complete you will be able to see the look im going for .  Actually now that I can see exactly how it's going to be done I'm pretty excited- gonna be gnarly!  Keep you posted- MTFBWY.

[GregG124]

Good stuff as always Revan!

Hey wait... A dark Sentinel in BR with a circle blade plug.

Did you rob that from Darth Arlo?!

[RevanReborn]

Thanks Greg! 

SHHHH! Don't say that too loud lol, arlo hasn't noticed yet . 

I decided to recess the screws on this activation box piece:




Keep you posted- MTFBWY .

[GregG124]

Arlo is not gonna be happy. But maybe he just thinks you're improving his glorious weapon.

[Antron007]

After seeing it, recessing the screws on the actbox seemed to be the right move. Really digging this build. Can't wait to see more.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

[RevanReborn]

Thank Antron .  Appreciate it.

Oh, and Greg, dude you have no idea how right on the money you are lol!  It's hard to explain, but once you've spent so much time around arlo, you can totally tell that he looks at everything and everyone as if they belong to him- I've no doubt that's exactly how it is in his mind, he probably wonders why I spend so much time fussing over his shiny noisy metal things lol!!

Well, I don't have a ton of progress on 'his' saber lol, but here's the bit of engraving I managed to sneak in (I haven't gone back over it with scribe yet):

It might be hard to follow along at the moment because I haven't put the base line on yet- will be a line running straight down the hilt so your eye can easily pick up the flow of text ( like the starting of one line of text and when it ends and you jump down to the next line etc.). Here at the grips/ pommel it picks up at:

"...broken.  The Force
shall free me."

[RevanReborn]

Thanks D7 .  For sure, its gonna be a one of a kind!  This one's gonna look like mad sith science... but i guess thats kinda becoming a thing with me lol!?  I'm looking forward to doing some Jedi saber projects too tho i swear lol.  Keep you posted, MTFBWY.

[Halnis]

Im highly intrigued! Ive loved following along! What was that hunk of steel before? Or was it simply a spare hunk

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

[RevanReborn]

thanks, Halnis .  The hunk, I'm like 99% sure- and i've even double checked with the maintenance guy lol, was a spacer of some kind from the machine i run at work.  its not used any more thats for sure lol, was just in a box of nuts and bolts etc. I work at a commercial printing press... i can't really talk about it by name or in detail cause they're a bit paranoid about confidentiality, we sign agreements and people have gotten dinged before for seemingly innocent stuff on social media .  But its a really big operation, and the equipment there is constantly changing with technology, so its an amazing source of bits and bobs!  But there was nothing really special about it, just a nice shape that saved me a lot of cutting and sanding, nice thickness to give me freedom to attach a lot, etc- once you start visualizing and dreaming up things that'd look cool on a saber, you'd be surprised how easy it is to come across great parts!  You'll start seeing them everywhere lol, and you'll annoy everyone around you by stopping every two seconds everywhere you go, talk'n bout "oh, this would be sick for blah blah blah.." lol . 

like seriously i can't even go near hardware stores anymore unless i've got time to kill lol.

I attached the control knob to the side of the activation box accent thingy lol.  I also got to attaching the little port (headphone jack out of old phone) where the wire will come out of, and i was a bit worried about the subtle torque, over and over again from the wire being slightly pulled taught under my hands gripping the saber, and figured it would be a bit too much for metal epoxy (maybe- stuff is strong) so i recessed a 6-32 socketed screw in through the back of the plastic casing and into the main steel box.  its not going anywhere now thats for sure . 
I'm gonna be getting some edge connecter/ circuit card (like in the clamp of a graflex) in soon- gonna trim a piece to fit neatly on top of the main base, so that the little plate and wire etc. will be sitting on that, it'll really complete the look of this little accent- then I'll be adding electrical pins on the side:
(sorry i had to create that picture on my phone while doing stuff lol)

keep you posted, MTFBWY

[RevanReborn]

ugh, lol, i'm so bummed out .  I just found out that there's been another set back in regards to something I've been trying, and REALLY looking forward, to getting my hands on for a while now.  It's nothing for the forum, but it is definitely related to the hobby in gen- i've just had my sights set on something lol, and funny enough how it always seems to work out that way, when you really want something the whole journey of getting it's often full of little episodes of disappointment, frustration etc.  I'm sure everyone can relate, been doing a lot of planning, and like been getting a lot of things geared up, things coming in, etc. in relation to this nameless project- not really important anyway, more just the general sentiment- and i just found out that this item had already been sent i guess, but got returned, tho I've been watching the mail like crazy and all my info is totally correct on their end, so its a total unexplainable bummer lol.  These things happen.  It's just a disappointment timing wise, i'd had a feeling it'd be coming in any day now so was excited lol.  It'll work out.  Actually, the person I'm dealing with, despite what I've been hearing from ALL OVER THE PLACE lol, has actually been really good- responding to me very fast and being really helpful with info etc.  I honestly think the problem is with my mail people and neighbours- i need to rent a p.o. box for my saber stuff lol!     

I have to say, Jed's graflex project couldn't have had better timing .  It definitely brought a much needed smile to my face before i crash n get ready for work tonight lol.  And actually its hilarious, because he got that for his b day, and i had actually considered this thing i mentioned as a sort of early b day thing for me too.

i've been really swamped with work and a bunch of other projects/ plans n whatnot- but i have managed to progress on my sentinel .  I finally found the hidden mother load of dead fluorescent tubes at work... i KNEW it was there somewhere lol.  Grabbed two on the way out this morning.  One thing you might notice if you ever go electrical pin hunting- the size and quality of the pins will really vary across diff tubes.  I just eyeballed what i thought would be the right size... and hit the nail on the head . 
             

Just a quick word on this... obviously everyone knows to be super careful when working with tools etc, even seemingly simple stuff like pliers n hammers n whatnot- but thats always when the stupid injuries happen is with the easy stuff so its worth being extra cautious.  you REALLY do need to be careful doing this, for a million reasons.  The tubes are pressurized so they'll really blow sometimes, and they're just absolutely full of disgusting, terrible things you don't want on/ in you.  Be super careful WHERE you do this, powdered glass and chemicals n whatnot should never be anywhere your pets or kids go, ever, period.  Yada yada... ok.


and for scale:

The pins themselves were mounted in a sweet synthetic particle/ composite board, basically like a circuit card- so i've kept a couple mounted in case i end up making use of that in this or other projects . 
Gonna get back on this like crazy this weekend- keep you posted, MTFBWY.

[GregG124]

Rev, if I wanted to use pins of a fluorescent tube, could I just shatter the light outside to lower my overall risk? I'm clumsy and I would hate to get the pressure crap on me.