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TOPIC: Basic Lightsaber
Basic Lightsaber 1 year 8 months ago #813
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Hey there,
So I am working on constructing my first lightsaber out of PVC (I thought that would be a good idea before I move on to more expensive materials!). I have the hilt entirely assembled and ready to go, but now I need some help with electronics. I just ordered the 12w green LED and a blade from the website, but I have a couple of questions. 1.) The LED on the website has three leads coming from it in the picture, does anyone know the reason why? 2.) Is it easy to make a blade removable? It seems like a lot of people just use one screw to press the blade up against the inner tube to create some friction which holds it in there. 3.) Has anyone ever seen/heard of anyone using a little hobby motor to make a humming sound whenever you turn on the lightsaber? I don't want to do a soundboard, but this motor thing sounds pretty simple. Any help you can offer would be greatly appreciated! |
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Most jokes about the Jedi seem so forced.
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Basic Lightsaber 1 year 8 months ago #820
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Making the blade removable with a single screw is quite easy. I have an Ultrasaber with a set screw (needs an Allen wrench to remove/tighten) so I went to the Custom Saber Shop and ordered a knurled "thumb screw"-type with the same thread as the set screw my saber came with. This still holds the blade against the emitter wall to hold it in but I can remove the blade without having to use that shitty tiny wrench. Way faster and doesn't look clumsy doing it at a con.
Sorry I can't answer any other questions, electronics are not my strong suite (rewiring a 74 VW right now... For the last 6 months it's been sitting in my driveway). Someone will be able to help you with that, though. Some crazy talented people around here. |
Basic Lightsaber 1 year 8 months ago #822
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There are three leads beause one is common and the other two are the I put for the two led colors. Even if it is a single color led it uses 2 of the six watts to make it brighter.
Using the motor can make a humming sound but it needs an off center weight to do it and will be much quieter then a sound board and speaker. It may also use more power to run the motor reducing you battery on time. If you have a clash sensor the motor can set that off making it think it is always clashing so you have to be very careful with placement. |
Basic Lightsaber 1 year 8 months ago #823
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Thanks for the help! One last question, will 2 AAA batteries be enough to power the saber? The space I had inside didn't fit any of the AAA battery holders so I had to put one on the outside that only holds two.
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Most jokes about the Jedi seem so forced.
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Basic Lightsaber 1 year 8 months ago #825
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2 AAA will power your LED for a while. If you have the motor they will work as long as its a e volt motor but they will drain fast. Make sure you have the right resistors or a buck puck or something like so you don't burn out the LED. If you want to go rechargeeable 10440 li ion batteries are Tue same size as AAA. Keep in mind that they are 3.7 volts not 1.5 like AAA, and you will also need the right type of charger too.
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Basic Lightsaber 1 year 8 months ago #832
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Awesome thanks! I think it said on the website the LED's were "pre-resistored". I'll keep this updated with progress!
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Most jokes about the Jedi seem so forced.
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Basic Lightsaber 1 year 8 months ago #878
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Ok, for PVC builds: use a threaded furniture insert. It binds to the PVC better than the screw alone. They can be found at any place that sells wood working materials. Lowe's carries them and so does Woodcraft. I use 8-32 inserts for my PVC builds. Much less likely to strip threads that way.
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Basic Lightsaber 1 year 8 months ago #1163
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Finally finished putting it all together! The Saberforge 12 W LED looks great, and the blade is super sturdy. I decided to go with a screw from a flag pole mount to hold the blade in and it hasn't failed yet! It's also easy to secure/remove the blade without using tools. I found out that the LED's can be powered with 4 AAA batteries with no resistor/buckpuck too. So far everything is great and the saber looks wonderful! Unfortunately I don't have a good camera, but hopefully I can get some pictures that do it justice soon. Thanks to everyone who helped me out!
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Most jokes about the Jedi seem so forced.
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Basic Lightsaber 1 year 5 months ago #2415
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I am also making a lightsaber out of PVC, but I am having difficulty finding the right electronics. The saberforge website says that the LEDs come pre-resistored for a 3.7-4.5v set up, and a rep from Saberforge said that the LEDs are built to run on NCR18650 cells. When I looked those up, each battery is 3.7 volts. Does this mean that a 12W LED is programmed to run on a single NCR18650 battery?
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Basic Lightsaber 1 year 5 months ago #2419
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Pyro,
Yes, SF LEDs come wired in parallel and pre resistored for a 18650 3.7V 3400mAh battery. |
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Basic Lightsaber 1 year 5 months ago #2421
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Miraluka,
Thank you very much for the reply. I am not very familiar with electronics, and this is my first time I am using Saberforge LEDs. I used an LED from TCSS for my first build. |
Basic Lightsaber 1 year 5 months ago #2422
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No problem at all.
Do you have photos of your first build? Always cool to see a custom. |
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Basic Lightsaber 1 year 5 months ago #2423
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I actually did not think of taking a picture of just the lightsaber, but I did make an unveiling video:
It is currently disassembled at the moment; I wanted to see if I could make the color more even throughout the blade. When I put it back together, I will definitely take a picture! |
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The following user(s) said Thank You: ZWeaver
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Basic Lightsaber 1 year 5 months ago #2424
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This is AWESOME!!!
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Basic Lightsaber 1 year 5 months ago #2425
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Thanks! =D
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Basic Lightsaber 1 year 5 months ago #2426
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Sorry, couldn't watch the vid on my work computer. Nice work
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Basic Lightsaber 1 year 5 months ago #2443
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Thank you very much!
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Basic Lightsaber 1 year 1 month ago #10581
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LascoSaber,
Did you have any problems with your LED getting too hot and melting the blade? I just finished my latest PVC saber project; two sabers, one with an arctic blue 12W LED and one with an amber 12W LED. While dueling with a friend, the arctic blue one went out. Upon further inspection, the area of the hilt where the LED is was hot to the touch, and upon removal of the blade, I found that the bottom of the blade has started to melt, and there was melted plastic on the LED. |