The Official Lightsaber Hilt Thread

OK...well mine aren't machined b/c i'm broke and wouldn't know how to work the equipment.

My "plans" (aka...notes for me to go by).
[image=http://www.madhorizons.com/images/sinkpipespecial_labeled.jpg]

1st...I apologize for the crappy quality...was using a cell phone. I wanted the "teardrop" shape...it's a little different than what is normally out there. I'll post better ones when i take them. Dunno how much the design is gonna change yet...it's been changing as i've been going. All i've gotten done so far is the emitter shroud. Here's those pix.

[image=http://www.madhorizons.com/swga/Image051.jpg]
[image=http://www.madhorizons.com/swga/Image104.jpg]
[image=http://www.madhorizons.com/swga/Image108.jpg]

 

I love the tear shape to the emitter shroud, but that has to be a sith saber for it's aggressive edges.

Look forward to seeing it completed : ) EH

 

Thanks!!! It is certainly going to be a Sith saber. It's going to be my "until i can afford machining" Darth Nihilus saber. Eventually, I'm slapping LED stuff in it...for the time being since $$$ is so tight, i'm going w/ painted dowel.

Much appreciated and i'll post when progress has been made. I have a parade in 4 days, so i'll probably spend a lot of time on it this week.

Anyone have suggestions on the best way to put a dowel in this for the time being?

 

O-ring madness!!!

Here be another saber hilt I made. I just finished it today. It's one of two I am making for a radio station in Tempe Arizona for a promo ad they want to film (I haven't started on the second hilt yet).

The emitter was actually made by Rob Martinelli of RLSA Sabers and was powder coated white when I got it (twas in a box of misc. parts). I lathed off all the powder coat and thinned down the part where it meets the top of the handle so it would be the same thickness. The rest of the hilt is all me. As usual, all comments are welcome.

[image=http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y237/Evil-Henchman/ARKM%20Saber%20Hilts/Saber7-1.jpg]
[image=http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y237/Evil-Henchman/ARKM%20Saber%20Hilts/Saber7-2.jpg]
[image=http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y237/Evil-Henchman/ARKM%20Saber%20Hilts/Saber7-3.jpg]
[image=http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y237/Evil-Henchman/ARKM%20Saber%20Hilts/Saber7-4.jpg]
[image=http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y237/Evil-Henchman/ARKM%20Saber%20Hilts/Saber7-5.jpg]

 

I like this one, but where is the emitter switch? I think I see it and the blade adjust, just would like to see a larger activation matrix on the powder whit center of the hilt.

Either way that looks very nice : )

 

Thanks... and I think you are mistaken about one thing. I said that the emitter/blade holder, not the handle, was originally powder coated white but is now it's natural aluminum color. The part of the handle that looks lighter than normal is also natural aluminum color. It looks lighter because it is knurled.

As far as activation buttons go, that is currently a problem for me as I have nothing good to stand in for one. I have some larger plastic knobs in different colors but they look like knobs, not buttons. I could always install an actual electronic button (which would be needed anyway if electronics were to be added later to have a light up blade) but would like to find a good fake (and hopefully cheaper) substitute. Also a lot of people have mentioned that they thought the red buttons on the PT sabers looked to gaudy. I need to find something black or metallic that looks like a button, not like a knob/screw. I guess I could try to machine something... hmm. For now, just assume the brass knob or the knob right above it is the activation button... or that it's [cheap copout]an internal button activated by the force[/cheap copout]

 

those are awesome!!
aww man....xbox 360 or lightsaber hilts....hilts or xbox....too many decisions!!!

 

Dude, go for the 360! Mass Effect, Assassin's Creed, Force Unleashed, and much more future awesomness lay ahead!

_Max

 

Alrighty, here is my last hilt before I have to move to a new home. It is the second hilt of two that I made for a radio station in Tempe Arizona.

As you can see by the pics below, the hilt design was very heavily influenced by Anakin's saber from Episode III. I did not try to make it exact (not that I could anyways), just very similiar.

This is the first hilt that I have done buffing work on as well as the first hilt that I have made that has vertical rubber grips AND a covertec knob (as opposed to a D-ring).

[image=http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y237/Evil-Henchman/ARKM%20Saber%20Hilts/Saber8-1.jpg]
[image=http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y237/Evil-Henchman/ARKM%20Saber%20Hilts/Saber8-2.jpg]
[image=http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y237/Evil-Henchman/ARKM%20Saber%20Hilts/Saber8-3.jpg]
[image=http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y237/Evil-Henchman/ARKM%20Saber%20Hilts/Saber8-4.jpg]
[image=http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y237/Evil-Henchman/ARKM%20Saber%20Hilts/Saber8-5.jpg]

 

Crazy, I just found this old disk. It had a bunch of picks on it. One of them is this pick I took about 6 years ago of some sabers I made when I was way younger, may as well post it.


[image=http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z265/elemental_fantasys/CYW.jpg]

 

That one with the white colored hilt kind of looks a little like the new Sonic Screwdriver from Doctor Who.

The two hilts I've made:

My cutaway saber with flashing lights (made out of an Episode III Kenobi lightsaber):
[image=http://photos-b.ak.facebook.com/photos-ak-sctm/v155/214/39/736530864/n736530864_687177_8636.jpg]

My first PVC saber:
[image=http://photos-864.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-sf2p/v82/214/39/736530864/n736530864_313398_1233.jpg]

[image=http://photos-864.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-sf2p/v82/214/39/736530864/n736530864_313399_1414.jpg]

 

Nice C man, the only thing I gotta say is that the "power field conductor" is a bit off and the "cycling field energizers" are a bit off, I also dont see "power gates" , or should I say, of different internal structural origins. Nice work!!!

P.S. I really like the "Diatium Power Cell"

God, I need a social life.

Anywho, Great Job

 

http://hempworx.com/

 

What the --?

 

WTF???

Bastards stole my design from 6 years ago.... lol

 

I am going to do a couple of lightsaber duels, we have done one already for a school project but we noticed that our blades were too thin. We can easily make them thicker but it would look weird because out hilts are also thin. They are only about 2 cm in diameter. For our prop blade we used a dowel that we wrapped with tape and tissue paper on one end so that it would have a snug fit inside our hilt. Does anyone have any suggestions on what we could use for prop sabers? I know that you can purchase sabers off people but we'd like to keep it cheap.

 

PVC pipe is really cheap and you can make some neat looking hilts if you have a rotary tool. You could use duct tape wrapped around the prop blade to make it fit snug in the hilt and screws to hold the blade in.

 

Yep. PVC pipe is very useful for sabers. Very cheap, and with creativity, a little electrical tape, wood, and spare parts, you can make something unique and cool. Proof:

[image=http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/8928/pb240048uy3.jpg]

[image=http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/5003/pb240054sw7.jpg]

Sure they might not look like lightsabers, and aren't very clean and polished. I made these in a day or two. They're not hero props for close ups. But they are unique and allow for a lot of customization. The dowels are held in snug with duct tape wrapped around the bottom. And if you can find some thin foam insulation, you could make some blade covers, as seen here. Makes 'em safer, and quieter, too.

 

I think I'm gonna have to make a PVC duplicate of my aluminum hilt made by Evil_Henchman. I don't want to toss the original around or scrape it against the ground or anything. It's too nice to be mistreated.

 

Why thank you.

Now that you've mentioned it, I do believe an (almost) exact replica of that particular saber hilt could be made from PVC. Neat.

 

You're welcome

And yes, that's true. I can make an almost exact replica of it with the parts I can buy here. And as a stunt hilt the greater differences (which still will be minimal) won't show too much since it'll probably be tossed around, or something. I'll try to get to it by this week. If I do it I'll post pics of it done. Not that it'll be any cool to show of

 

http://www.advanced-light.com/

Loads of really cool lightsabers here !! I assume nobody's posted this link already !

 

I've been to this website before. My main issue with this particular hilt maker is that his hilts are the most expensive of all of us custom hilt makers (I think) and he does way to much texturing on his hilts.

I think if he lowered his prices and stopped using so much textured paint (or whatever it is he's using to texture them) and also left more of the metal unpainted (assuming he's using metal and not PVC for most of the hilts... hard to tell with all that paint) he'd have a lot more business as a lot of his hilt designs are pretty killer looking. However, he's been around for awhile so I guess there are people out there that like that over-textured look and are willing to pay his high prices.

 

IllumiSabers.com

Don't know if it's been linked before, but it's the same concept as randomsabers, afaIk.

 

http://www.illumisabers.com/diy/index.html

Dude stole my method. He changed it a little bit, but same premise.
He uses a larger pipe for the hilt though. I use the 1-1/4' diameter pipes. They're much more 'saber sized, especially if you chop a couple inches off the end. However, they don't come with an endcap which he uses to hold the reducer in place.

Eh. That thing's not really necessary though. If you've screwed your blade into place, it's not going anywhere.
I should look into seeing if there's a reducer that'll fit inside the smaller pipe and hold the carbon fiber blades snugly. That's a good idea.
It'll be hell drilling through that thing though.

-Vaportrail