Lightsabers & Blasters EL lightsaber

hey thanks for your help i have already looked at your tutorial it really simplifyed it for many im sure well thanks .and let the force be with you!

 

i also have qeustion about inverters even though there has been alot said about them i would like to clear some things up about them so here it goes..........I want my hilt to be 1 1/2 inch. in diameter or smaller to about an inch to and inch and a 1/4(somewere around there). I just looked a coolneon and i was wondering what is to say about the pipsquek driver/Inverter, is it good, is it bright anough. I also just wondering as a side qeustion when they say diminsions 1" x 1" x .75" does this refer to base times width times hidth, if not what does it refer to.

 

Those dimensions refer to height, width and depth, so basically, yeah.

The Pipsqueak inverters are not as bright as ones that you can get from Lightech, but they are a good price.

Coolneon.com may not have the smaller Pipsqueak inverters anymore, though. They have changed the size. You need to call them and make sure you can still get them, or you may end up getting a larger one that doesn't fit into a 1 1/2" tube, I know because that happened to me and I sent it back. I have bought and tried a lot of inverters over the last year and a half.

If you can't find the smaller Pipsqueaks at Coolneon, refer to my post of 4/20, to see what I recommend as a replacement from Coolight.com.

 

thanks and yes they still have the old pipsquiks that are smaller 1" x 1" x .75". I do like them because of the size and price but now since i know that for that i might have to sacrifice brightness. Do you know of an other small inverters that are reltivly cheap and that are bright.

I also have another qeustion. When i put the el wire in the tube do i just corksqrew it(twill it around) an just put it in there or do i a fix it arount something?

 

i was also wondering is the mini 9 from elwire-cheap brighter than the pipsqeak. Also why is the 9 volt mini from el wirecheap more expensive than the 12 volt which is sopposivly more brighter.

 

does anybody know the answers to above. Al repleys are welcomed even a little input would help.....jedi-loreen any comments??

 

i was also wondering what is the average length of a blade. I have seen 21- 40 inchers what is a good length.
also how big in diameter should the blde be

 

Typical dimensions given for the actual blade is 3 ft (36 inches), so a 40 inch tube will give you 6 inches of room to attach it inside the hilt firmly.

Typical tube width is 3/4 in outside diameter.

You can go with a wider tube (I've used 1 inch OD tubes for a display blade), but they tend to be heavier. Smaller than 3/4 inch just look too skinny when photographed. 3/4 is a good compromise.

Of course if you are short in stature a shorter blade can work, since it will appear to be better proportioned.

 

Um, Woofer I think you got your math was wrong. A 40" blade, (the "industry standard") would allow for 4" to go inside the hilt, for a 36" blade.

Though I would recommend a shorter length blade for double-bladed saber. That's one of the beauties of making your own blades, you can make a custom length.

"I also have another qeustion. When i put the el wire in the tube do i just corksqrew it(twill it around) an just put it in there or do i a fix it arount something?"

I just put a couple of folds in the wire to make it the proper length, I don't see any reason go twisting the wire. At the end of my blades, to hold 3 layers of tubing and "bushings" together, I drill and tap it for a polycarbonate screw, so the top folds of wire go over it. Then I seal the end of the blade with hot glue.

"Do you know of an other small inverters that are reltivly cheap and that are bright."

If I did, I would have posted it already. However, I plan on testing and comparing a double core inverter with the regular Pipsqueak, so see if it's any brighter, I will let it be known, after I get it.

"i was also wondering is the mini 9 from elwire-cheap brighter than the pipsqeak. Also why is the 9 volt mini from el wirecheap more expensive than the 12 volt which is sopposivly more brighter."

I haven't compared them directly, as I don't own any mini9 inverters right now, though I did try them when I went to the elwirecheap.com warehouse, they are just a few miles from where I work. The guys know me down there. I think the Pipsqeak is slightly brighter than the mini 9, if memory serves.

The mini 9 is a dollar more than the 12V version because it has a 9V battery clip attached. Those inverters are really meant to be run on 12V. I prefer the Pipsqueak, because of it's size. And BTW, the Pipsqueaks are also brighter when run off of 12V, I set up a 12V circuit, using a 9V and 2 AAA batteries, to try it. But I've been told the battery life doing it that way isn't very long. Some else I know tried it.

 

ok... by reading this thread, i really want to build an EL lightsaber. But, i'd rather not build the blade. can some please give me a more detailed list of what is needed and how to wire it for a hilt.

thanks!

 

yes...thanks again guy with all of this info i am getting closer and closer to completing my El saber(or is it sabre(which is it)). "Brother(name of guy who posted before me)" i had the same fellings toward building an el lightsaber when i first read this thread. I know it is kinda hard to understand all of the details by just reading it but in time and if you post anough of qeustions you will learn how to build your own El sabre.

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Also just a quick qestion..........Where would one find/buy a whiteish polycarb tube in 40 Inch. I think mabye micmastercar but dont know .....jedi loreen(or anyone else) where do or did you get your blade tube??

 

Crap i keep on forgeting all of my questions anyhow.......How long does the el wire need to be. How much wire do you use that is the perfect brightness for your sabre.......ok did i forget anyother qeustions ah ah ah no ok well laters...

 

If you take the time to actually read this thread all of your questions have already been answered.

 

If you refer back to page 4 of this thread, you will see that I have already posted a complete parts list for my blades, with my sources.

When making a blade that will be used with a Lightech inverter, I use 10' of wire, since 3 strands, when folded twice, is about as much wire as you can comfortably fit inside the 3/8" diameter of the diffuser tubing that I use.

When making blades for a Pipsqueak inverter, I've found 8' to be the optimum length for the EL wire. Anymore, and it starts to dim with the load on the inverter, though you could probably get away with just 7 feet, which will give you roughly 2 strands of wire.

I really am working on a blade tutorial, it's about half-way finished, I'm trying to be detailed in my explaination.

But let me offer a disclaimer: This is the way I make EL blades. I have bought some special tools and special parts that you might not want to buy if you are just making one or two blades. If you do something different that does not follow the instructions, I cannot guarantee how your blades will turn out.

I have made improvements on my blades as they have been "battle tested" over the last year.

 

Remember, the big issue is what do you want your blade for.

If you want to dual, go with EL. As Lorien has stated multiple times, theyre great for dualing, and look prety good too.

If you want looks only, go with a long neon tube. But remember, if you do that, you cannot dual.

 

I've tried the pipsqueak inverter using 2 nine volts in a series to get 18v out of them and 12 ft of wire (3 strands in the diffuser), and it runs for over an hour, and is really bright. probably shorten the life of the wire by a bit , but when the wire has a life of a couple thousand hours, who cares.

 

thanks alot guys and i looked at page 4 and it helped alot thamks again. and darth_reynn thanks alot for your post it helped alot. I will be ordering my stuff soon ....it wont belong now before i will have completed my el saber...thanks to everybody again and loreen im looking forward to that tutorial.!!!!

 

hey jedi-loreen on page 4 in you "tutorial of parts" you listed 2" piece of 22 guage stereo wire, to wire the EL wire to the conector and you mentioned you get yours at coolneon....well i was wondering if what you are refering to is the speaker/lead wire for 25 cents a foot. I couldnt tell if it was because on the website it gave no spicifics of what guage it was or anything, so if this is what you are refering to please let me know and also in that phrase you said 2" so you mean 2 inches i just wanted to make sure this is what you mean and that is not just a typo, if it is not a typo and does mean 2 inches this would mean i only need to buy 1 piece of this wire, right? thanks again and sorry for all of the trouble...let the force be with you....

 

can anybody get me a photo of a EL blade using coolneon highbrightness lime on a pipsquick inverter, thanks. You see the high brightness 2.3 shortlife(800 hours isnt that short to me) only comes in lime or orange wich bites. I know i dont want orange even if it is high brightnee so i would like to see the highbrightness lime before i decide on spending the extra buck and going with the highbritness long life. pics please!!

 

Yes, the speaker wire is what I was refering too. Guess I need to rewrite that part and make it more clear.

I don't have a digital camera, or I could oblige you with a photo with the Pipsqueak inverter and the High Brightness lime EL wire, sorry.

 

thats ok and thanks again for answering my qeustions....let the force be with you

 

OK I suppose "I told you so's" are in order, The two nine volt idea finally popped my inverter. Oh well, I thought I would post this so no one else would burn out their inverter. So...I'm going to try the other IFW 5541-2K inverter. Using a 9 volt and 4 AAAs to get 15v out of it, I figure that since inverters are pretty cheap, Ill just experiment with them until I get it right. I'll post results as I get them.

 

Hmm, that's not the kind of thing I want to hear about those dual 9V battery tabs.

I don't know why they would sell them with the inverters, if that's what is going to happen to them.

I'll be trying my own experiments with the those dual tabs and the double core wire inverter, which I'll be sending along to Woofer, when I get some EL wire wired up for him.

 

Will sombody PLEASE Tell or show me how tomake a EL saber out of a graflex!! thanks!!!!!!!!