Jedi Council Forums - Custom Saber with an extra-long hilt.

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Author	Topic: Custom Saber with an extra-long hilt.
Darth_Shadox Registered: Jun '09	Date Posted: 6/21 3:49pm Subject: Custom Saber with an extra-long hilt.
	I am in the process of designing a custom lightsaber and figured that I would get some peer input into the matter. I am a rather large guy, 6' 4" and 280 lbs. I've seen and held standard saber hilts and they just feel too small. The saber that I am designing will have a normal grip below the activator but also an extension with a lower grip near the pommel. This is so that I may use my strength as well as my off-hand to quickly guide the saber in combat. I'm designing the hilt size off of a Celtic battle axe. It is elegant yet exudes power. My questions are: 1) Should I machine and mill my own aluminum for the main body and accessories or would it be cheaper to just buy them right out? 2) When working with a lathe, is there a particular bit I will need for aluminum over soften metals such as copper? 3) What have been some interesting gadgets/parts/pieces that some of you have used in the past with similar projects. I want something original but I don't mind consulting my fellow geekdom. Regards, DS
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Evil-Henchman Registered: Jul '04	Date Posted: 6/21 8:34pm Subject: Custom Saber with an extra-long hilt. - Date Edited: 6/21 8:37pm (2 edits total) Edited By: Evil-Henchman
	Hi DS, welsome to the forums. First off you should probably know that while this forum is titled "Costumes & Props", 99% of the people who post here are not into props/custom lightsabers and are instead into costuming. In fact I'd even go so far as to say that while most of the people here in this forum are into Star Wars based costumes, they probably are not all that really into Star Wars itself. I won't go into the "why" as I'm sure you can figure that one out. Anywho I'm part of the 1% here that is into custom lightsabers. That said you would be much better off asking this question at The Custom Saber Shop forums or the FX-Sabers forums. Just be careful when on the Custom Saber Shop forum, not to solicit custom work or ask where you can get a custom saber made (even via PMs) as that forum is linked to a store where custom sabers parts are sold. Custom saber makers post their finished stuff there anyways (without advertising it as being for sale) so you will get an idea of who does what and can ask them for their email address if need be. Now to answer your questions... 1. If you already have the tools, it is much cheaper to machine your own hilt. 2. Aluminum is softer than copper so if you already have lathe and mill tools for copper than you're set. If not, well, I use indexable turning tools and both my lathe and end mill bits are TiN (Titanium Nitride) coated and that works fine for the aluminum I use. I also prefer 4 fluted end mill bits over 2 or 3 fluted. 3. Here is where you're best off asking this in the forums I posted above as I have not really done that to my own hilts. However plenty of other custom saber makers have. I tend to machine everything I put on my hilts. BTW, my username is ARKM on both of the forums mentioned above. I hope that info helps. Good luck and I look forward to seeing your completed saber. -----signature----- http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y237/Evil-Henchman/ARKM%20Saber%20Hilts/
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Jedi-Loreen Title: OCSWS Secretary & Master of the Blades Registered: Dec '02	Date Posted: 6/22 5:38pm Subject: Custom Saber with an extra-long hilt.
	Evil-Henchman posted: BTW, my username is ARKM on both of the forums mentioned above. AHA!! lol -----signature----- In order to see the Light, you must sometimes risk the Darkness. "The Force is my Ally" Builder of EL Sabre Blades
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Evil-Henchman Registered: Jul '04	Date Posted: 6/22 6:03pm Subject: Custom Saber with an extra-long hilt.
	Jedi-Loreen posted: Evil-Henchman posted: BTW, my username is ARKM on both of the forums mentioned above. AHA!! lol Oh noes! lol, Hi J-Lo. -----signature----- http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y237/Evil-Henchman/ARKM%20Saber%20Hilts/
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Darth_Shadox Registered: Jun '09	Date Posted: 6/26 8:40am Subject: Custom Saber with an extra-long hilt.
	Thank you for the help. I have very little metal handling experience but I do have worked with wood a good deal. I'll head over to TCSS and start this thread there I guess. My main need at the moment is the anodizing of the 2 or 3 pieces. I've contacted several machine shops that do anodizing and have not been contacted back because i'm not doing things on a large scale. le sigh. Anywho, thanks again for your help. DS
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AramysStrael Registered: Mar '04	Date Posted: 6/26 10:57am Subject: Custom Saber with an extra-long hilt.
	Evil-Henchman posted: Jedi-Loreen posted: Evil-Henchman posted: BTW, my username is ARKM on both of the forums mentioned above. AHA!! lol Oh noes! lol, Hi J-Lo. J-Lo, huh? Now that's funny! - Bill -----signature----- "In for a micron, in for a meter. No one makes a victim of folks I'm sworn to protect." Corran Horn Corellian Security
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Jedi-Loreen Title: OCSWS Secretary & Master of the Blades Registered: Dec '02	Date Posted: 6/26 6:00pm Subject: Custom Saber with an extra-long hilt.
	Yep, that's my nickname on many of the other message boards I'm on. It all started years ago when I was a regular poster at Dewback Wing's ASAP. My user name there is Jedi Loreen Shadowchaser. One day a guy was asking me something and he said "Jedi Loreen Shadowchaser is too much to type. Mind if I just call you J-Lo?" I said, "Sure, that's fine" and the name stuck. I recently had the Admins on the RL boards change that same long name to just Jedi Loreen. -----signature----- In order to see the Light, you must sometimes risk the Darkness. "The Force is my Ally" Builder of EL Sabre Blades
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AramysStrael Registered: Mar '04	Date Posted: 6/29 12:28pm Subject: Custom Saber with an extra-long hilt.
	-----signature----- "In for a micron, in for a meter. No one makes a victim of folks I'm sworn to protect." Corran Horn Corellian Security
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