made this lightsaber replica because, come on, how cool is it to make
your own lightsaber? It isn't an exact replica, but it is based on the
Luke lightsaber from "Return of the Jedi." I spent quite a bit on this
one, though all but $15-$20 went into labor, as I don't have my own
machining equipment.I got a professional machinist to help me, made
up plans and told him exactly what I wanted. The machinist had never
really done something like this before, so I think it turned out pretty
good. The following description should give you an idea if you want
to make your own lightsaber...
lightsaber plans
I started with a 3"
diameter, 15" long piece of solid aluminum.
For
reference, I used a picture from the book "Star Wars: The Visual Dictionary."
It is published by DK Publishing Inc. I enlarged this so it would be
11" tall and used this as a 1:1 reference. We used calipers to measure
as we went to get the exact measurements.
We used the lathe
for the turning of the main body.
I'm guessing it
was a mill that we used for milling down the knobs at the bottom end.
The thing I am guessing is a mill looks a bit like a drill press, but
more precise (has a readout that gives you the x and y coordinates)
and has a large diameter bit.
We cut out the
switch piece with a jigsaw before milling it down to the right dimensions.
We made the
flat area where the switch would go with this milling machine, too.
We used a drill
press to drill the holes for the screws with which we attached the "switch."
The screws are countersunk, so you can't see 'em.
I used a plastic
piece from a 1970s TI-30 Texas Instruments caluclator for the bubbley
piece on top of the "switch." This is what they used for a couple of
the actual props in Star Wars. Though on the Luke ROTJ saber, they used
a piece of circuit board. I had the calculator piece and I like the
way it looks, so I used that instead. One of the details that makes
my saber not an exact replica.
I
painted the black areas and copper areas and put a d-ring through the
hole drilled through the bottom. You can sort of see it in the scan.
made this lightsaber replica because, come on, how cool is it to make
your own lightsaber? It isn't an exact replica, but it is based on the
Luke lightsaber from "Return of the Jedi." I spent quite a bit on this
one, though all but $15-$20 went into labor, as I don't have my own
machining equipment.I got a professional machinist to help me, made
up plans and told him exactly what I wanted. The machinist had never
really done something like this before, so I think it turned out pretty
good. The following description should give you an idea if you want
to make your own lightsaber...