HOW TO MAKE LIGHTSABERS 2.0

I just bridged a new frontier in my world of 'saber construction. I got some of the 1/2"x40" carbon fiber blades they sell at RandomSabers.com (which Ryan/Dorkman use, and apparantly is the same kind used in RotS), and they're ridiculously light. However, my hilts have an inner diameter of about 1-3/8".
So, today I went to the good ol' hardware store and bought a dowel of that diameter. I cut off 10" which will fit nicely inside the hilt, and then I drilled a 1/2" hole through the middle to the length that would go into the hilt (about 4", leaving me with 36" outside).

It's late, so I haven't drilled a hole into the side to secure this into the hilt yet.. but I think it'll do very nicely. However, I can't get the blade back out. It's fitting in there pretty snugly. I still have an extra inch sticking out of the wood encasement, but it's not wiggling a milimeter in either direction. Therefore, this blade will only be usable with this hilt and if for some reason I break the blade (tho this hasn't been a huge problem with anyone so far), I'll have to repeat this whole process. I'll prolly end up just chopping off the extra inch at the tip, should my hammer fail me tomorrow.

I may go back to the store and get a tap, which will essentially create a precise hole for the screw to fit in, thus negating the need to go all the way through to the other side. In theory, this is how I could get it to fit in multiple hilts if I drill them all in the same location, but I'm not too worried about that right now. I don't mind having the spare blades, so long as I have an extra $30 laying around when I need one.

Still.
It feels amazing. I'm so glad I picked up a couple of these. I can't wait to go practice tomorrow, though for most practices I'll probably still use the heavier wood counterparts. They're cheaper, so I don't have to worry about so much wear and tear on the expensive blades, and also I don't mind getting my muscles moving a bit during training.

Yep.

-Vaportrail

 

Just wanting to know if anybody could give me a link to a good saber FX database, and any advise on designing an audio clip to go along with the visual effect. Help, anyone?

 

You looking for sound effects? If so, check out the various links in this topic - there are plenty in there to get you started!

Hope it helps.

 

I had a couple of questions I was hoping to get some help on:

1) Ryan W.'s adjustment layer method suggests setting the opacity of the layers at 100%, 75%, 50%, and 25% as the glow goes outward (or any other linear fall-off). But I've noticed my cores look really, well, fat with the 100% opacity blur on it. I tried it with 60, 50, 40, 25 opacity blur instead and it thinned up the core as I was hoping and the glows still seem about right. What's the general preference on setting opacity levels for those who use the adjustment layer method?

2) Vaportrail: I also have some of the carbon-fiber blades sold by Randomsabers. They're great, but I've not filmed with them yet, because they're not yet colored (I'm still using wooden dowels for that). Any specific suggestions on that regarding types/brands of tape or paint?

Thanks for your help.

 

Thanks for the help.

Argg! I lost my password and had to make this new user.
Oh well...

Anyway, I was wondering how long the trial adobe products work, or if they are not time sensitive then how limited are they?

Thanks.

 

The trial versions have no limitations but only last for 30 days.

 

Can someone make my sword into a Green Lightsaber? I read this tutorial. But I don't have any systems or anything.

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d24/Guardian14/027_24A.jpg

 

You seek this thread.


Edit:
[image=http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/8858/02724aglowebyg4.jpg]

 

I know I'm not vaportrail, but at wally world, (Wal-mart), they sell packs of colored electrical tape, four colors I think, I use that... Not for the entire blade, but just for the stripe things...

I'm sure you could get them at a lot of different places, but I just thought I'd throw that in for a suggestion...





-Jacob

 

So where's the best place to buy carbon fiber blades? Can they be found at local hardware stores like Lowes, or do I need to order them online?

 

Online. The only decent ones that I have found can be bought here.

http://www.randomsabers.com/blades.php

 

Do you know if they bend much on contact?

 

They don't bend or should I say they don't get bent. The may flex a tiny bit the amount of flex is so small that you will never notice it when sparring with them. They are extremely tough and can take a good beating. However that's not to say you should hit two of them together as hard as you can. That may cause them to break.

 

Many Thanx

 

Okay...well my friends and I are doign a fan film (Dorkman fear not, Birth of the sith was scrapped, now its some story about a renegade Jedi getting revenge on the council, story is irrelevant however)
We are working on props, costumes are done, locations are going well, the script is written and characters cast, (don't worry my qustion isnt how to make lightsabers)

The onyl problem is special effects, now we've spent a majority of the budget making stunt sabers, and things like that, now I need some manner of effects prgram for lightsabers and blaster effects and such. But everything is soo expensive. does anybody know of any cost efficient software, something that'll look good yet not break the bank

if u do email me at

Kuramayoko2@aol.com

u could post , but id pprefer email

 

Please read the thread (and the other one)--there are plenty of free solutions, but generally they will not give you the same results.

 

Awesome topic, lots of helpful info!

However, the lead post is missing something...it talks about stunt sabers, plumbing supplies, EL sabers, Parks, Random, SaberShop, & Master Replicas

...but it doesn't mention all the people that offer single-LED Luxeon conversions of Force FX sabers (thus making your MR saber much more possible for duelling), as well as some others making custom Luxeon sabers...

for instance
http://www.ultrasabers.com/
http://www.thecustomsabershop.com/
http://www.advanced-light.com/
etc.

 

Ok, Here are my hilts I created a while back for my LCC 18 entry, these are before they were painted, but it shows off the lathe work.

[image=http://img352.imageshack.us/img352/1322/img0371bf7.jpg]
[image=http://img467.imageshack.us/img467/7272/img0373wi9.jpg]
[image=http://img48.imageshack.us/img48/9758/img0377sl6.jpg]
[image=http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/8330/img0379gk6.jpg]

 

Awesome, I would think with the painting, knobs, etc, they could be very nice props.

 

Booyah.

[/spam]

 

Can I make a lightsaber video using GIMP and Sony Vegas? If so, how?

 

Oops...double post

 

Has anyone tried out escrima sticks as an option for blades?

 

Light sabers vanish in front of white : (

The best I can figure is to create a white solid, mask the layer, give it an appropriate feather, duplicate it, change the duplicates color to your desired saber glow color, expand the mask a lil, and place it underneath the white solid core. Lower the duplicated solids opacity. Tweak it of course until your happy, but thats the only way i figured out how to create a saber in front of a white back round.

Anybody else have any other methods would be greatly help full. Thanks.

AE of course. Also, you can create a light saber that way, just another way to do it, but the only way I know how to not loose it in front of the white, or overexposed back round.

 

They're supposed to disappear in front of a white background--you can't make white any brighter. If your saber shows up as a color over a pure white background, then it looks fake--that's not what light does.