Darth Dave's Lightsaber - I

This is another rendering from UGS NX4.0. It's actually four parts mated together, but I didn't think it'd be worth it posting four different parts and the model of the final product.

It's a model of a lightsaber I've been working on putting together for a while. For scale, from end to end including the tip, it's about twelve and a half inches long. The reason I chose such a long handle is that I intend to convert it to a light-up model by adding a Luxeon LED to light up a polycarbonate tube to give the energy blade effect as well as speakers for sound - similar to a ForceFX, just better. Plecter Labs carries the electronics. The polycarbonate blade is to be held in the emitter by four equally spaced set screws.

I had some engineering drawings of lightsabers posted up here a while back but I took them down after I changed the drawings. I realized several of the design features were too difficult or too costly to machine, and I had run into some problems with the drawings themselves.

This lightsaber is similar to the old drawings, but it has a few changes, changes like and chamfered edges instead of fillets and rounds, as well as the use of standard sizes so it can be machined without me having to make special tools to do the job. I also added undercuts by the chamfers, so a lot of the precision machining could be eliminated, as well as (you can't see them here) permissions for slight radii on the undercuts to prevent stress from becoming too concentrated in the shoulders. Also I improved clearances and redid a lot of the structure, so now it can be made with a lathe with a boring bar and a vertical mill with a dividing head. No need for CNC machining, so I may be able to get this done by next summer if I can find the time and the money.

The two large holes drilled in the body are for the power and auxilary button (for triggering lockup, blaster deflection sound effects) and the slot is for a battery life indicator. The last hole by the bottom of the body is for a recharging plug that will double as a master power key to save battery life.

The emitter and tail cap screw onto the body and sit up against a rubber O-ring that helps keep them tight. The tail cap has a half-inch hole drilled in it, and the pommel weight (the large spike) on the end has a male thread that is attached to the end cap with a locknut. I didn't want to tap the hole and attach it directly because I want to make two of these and bolt them together, and two sabers forming a saberstaff would come under a good deal of twisting, which could cause it to unscrew. The answer was to use a bolt and lock nut.

There are twelve holes drilled on a circle in the end cap that serve a double purpose. They let the sound out, but when the two sabers are connected to form the saberstaff, I intend to insert bolts into two of them to prevent the saber from twisting when it is moved. There is also a short boss concentric with the rest of the saber on the end cap that serves as a spacer (so the holes don't get completely covered when they're assembled as a saberstaff or when the pommel is screwed on) but also as something for a holder to clip onto so the saber can be carried on a belt and unclipped quickly.

The body is to be made from 6061-T6 Aluminium 1-1/4" Schedule 80 Pipe, and the emitter (the part that holds the polycarbonate tube) and tail cap are to be made from 1-7/8" T-304 Stainless Steel round bar stock. The spike on the end will also be made from T-304 Stainless Steel but will be made from 1" hex bar stock.


Last but not least this model's always changing. I'm always finding new ways of improving how it looks or how easy it is to make, so keep checking back.

All in all I will be looking forward to making this when I have more time.