TOPIC: Custom Built TCSS - Sink Tube

I finished this back in 2009. It was my first attempt at building a lightsaber. All of the research that went into this project was done on The Custom Saber Shop forums over the course of a few months (I’m registered there as gcnywaldork also).

Only pieces I used from TCSS for the hilt were the one ]1.25″ Sink tube LED/Blade holder that I used as the emitter and all of the electronics. The rest were all spare plumbing parts I had lying around (thanks to my dad, who happens to be a plumber…) with the exception of the outer brass covering which was custom machined.

LED & Sound:
Luxeon III Amber, 5 deg lens
1999 Qui-Gon Hasbro Soundcard

I made the blade using THIS method stickied in the LED Blade Discussion section of the TCSS forums. Though, I doubled up on the amount of cellophane that was used in the tutorial. The blade is also removable via a spring loaded push and twist mechanism. There is a spring in the emitter, as well as two screws that hook into two L/U-shape cuts in the base of the blade. The spring keeps the blade tight against the screws. I think I spent about $120 USD on this build back then, though it was a while ago so I'm not 100% on that.

I feel like its a little rough looking but overall I’m really happy with the way it turned out, especially with it being my first one.

I have more finished pics and progress pics posted on my project website (www.PolyverseForge.com), though I do admit they are in need of an update since they're not the best quality (they were taken on a first generation iPhone back in the day lol).

Anyway, it's named Aerea, which is latin for "covered in brass".

gcnywaldork, that's a pretty impressive build even if you think it's primitive. I'd certainly have no complaints if I came remotely close to achieving this. 7 years on since it's completion, have you made any further upgrades to it or is all focus driving towards another build? There's a sense of pride and achievement with completing a build, a feeling I can only imagine. I'm proud of able to witness it as I'm sure you're proud of the creation. Well Done.

gcnywaldork wrote:



I'm a sucker for brass on a lightsaber! Great work!

Bit of a Sidious vibe to it. Neato. *thumbs up*

I agree with the others, this is a great job, especially for the first attempt!

that came out great... looks like sidious re-imagined

Wow. Very impressive for a first build. I know that without even having built one! I agree with the others about the Sidious similarity. Veeeeeeery nice.

2009? 7 years ago? Holy $&@#, that's right. Of course there's a relevantt XKCD. There's actually several on this topic.

OvrcAHst wrote:
Thanks! I built another about a year after finishing this in 2010 with higher quality electronics (I'll get around to posting pics eventually on here...) But since then my funds have been put towards other projects. Also, I've got some funds tied up in an ASP pledge for my third custom saber that I'm excited about

There are a few minor things with this one that I want to tweak, but I don't want to change it all that much as I feel like it is sort of a time capsule of my skill level at that time, and I like looking back and seeing the progress I've made personally on overall quality of the finished pieces.

Some minor things I may want to change one day:

1. Change the silver under-layer to have a bit more of a weathered / brushed look to match the brass over-layer.
2. Swap out the nut around the switch to something that is actually metal (the current one is a plastic piece i had lying around that happened to fit).
3. File down the black momentary switch so that it is flush with the nut. As it is now it is easily triggered by accident.
4. Replace the blade. The current one has seen alot of battle and is pretty beat up at the moment.

Glad you guys like this one!

gcnywaldork wrote:
If you're willing to dremel/file/drill a slightly wider switch hole, you should be able to fit a 12mm AV switch with the nut hidden inside the hilt. Metal 12mm AV switches seem to be out of stock most places online, but I managed to pick up a black plastic 12mm AV switch from Radio Shack a little while back for another project.