Home Improvement Store Lightsaber Prop Build

up welcome back Star Wars fans in previous episodes we constructed simple lightsaber properties and parts available from a local home improvement store in this episode we'll continue to use readily available parts but we are going to turn off the creativity a notch to try to get a more realistic hilt there's a little bit more work involved but the end result is a nice looking saber standard tools such as a hacksaw and drill will be used during the build please note the saber does not light up or produce sounds this is a prop that can be used for display for play and for use in your Star Wars photos and videos the actors in the Star Wars films use similar props when filming lightsaber duels the special effects team comes in after filming and adds the glowing blade effects Adobe Photoshop can give your photos a nice blade effect in just a few minutes by overlaying glowing rectangle on top of your saber prop Adobe After Effects and even Apple motion 5 can give you nice video results LED sabers may look good on display or for live shows but in a photo or video even the best LED sabers reflect avoid using a prop like this with the right effects can get your photos and videos pretty close to resembling Star Wars lightsabers that were used in the films like the previous two saber builds this saber not only looks good but it is also very durable it can take some heavy abuse in this great Ford or in previous videos we hit Hoth depot for our supplies in this episode I decided to give Lois Eisley a try let's take a look at the materials needed to construct the saber for the hill I picked up a one and a half inch by 12 inch sink tail piece made out of brass for the end cap I used a 1 inch knockout seal found in the electrical department for the belt clip I used a small d-ring the grip will be made out of 24 inch cable ties if you don't mind spending a little more and want a more realistic grip you can use windshield wiper blades just like episode 4 next I picked up two feet of one-and-a-half inch PVC pipe to use as some decor on the outside of the sink tail piece for the blade I picked up a 10 foot piece of half-inch PVC pipe last is the hardware the securing screw also doubling as a power button is a number 1020 for one and a half inch oval Phillips machine screw I added a finishing washer to make it look finished to secure the screw I used the 1024 rubber well not for securing the grip and the PVC decor I wanted to avoid screws so I decided to try three millimeter aluminum pop rivets I didn't have a rivet tool at home so I picked one up my local Lowe's didn't have a super cheap one but Home Depot had one for under $10 it did the job just fine there is one component that I did not buy I found an old Adaptec scuzzy card in our East cycling bin at work it had great potential so I rescued it and reused it as a circuit board on my Sabre not limit yourself to the idea materials and tools used in this video there is no right or wrong way to build this neighbor as your own personal touches and get creative take your sink tail piece and measure about two inches from the top using a miter box and hacksaw cut along the line you just drew to shorten the hilt from 12 inches to 10 inches I used two paper towel to minimize scratching on the pipe the brass pipe is relatively thin the 24 teeth inch blade saw through it pretty easily if you have any rough edges you can place some Emery cloth on the table and sand it off next we'll work on the grip take a few cable ties and cut a total of six four-inch pieces each piece doesn't have to be exact but try to get them as close to four inches as you can once you have them cut organize them so that the ridges are all facing the same way this will ensure that all six pieces are facing the same direction when we attach them to the pipe stack the six pieces on top of one another and tape them together like this using a sanding block with about 100 grit sandpaper sand the cable ties down on each side so that they are all the same length once they look even you can sand off the corners to round them out a bit next print out the group template located in the description section below cut it out and tape it near the bottom of the pipe leave about a quarter of an inch of free space at the bottom using a sharpie marker number each of the lines one through six inside of the pipe next number each of the cable ties one through six match each cable tie with the corresponding number on the pipe and tape it down with cellophane tape so that you can still see all of the lines on the template secure the top and the bottom of the cable ties with tape take the middle to prevent any slipping secure the pipe in the miter box or a vise with your drill use a small bit to drill a pilot hole at each intersecting line on the cable ties I used a 5/64 bit you can use any small bit you have once the pilot holes are finished use the 1e fit to drill the hole out this is the diameter of the pop rivets in the next step we'll start seeing the hilt come to life pick up your Riveter and twelve of the three millimeter pop rivets match the numbered cable ties to the corresponding number on the pipe remember to ensure all of the grooves on the cable ties are facing the same direction insert one of the pop rivets through the cable tie and pipe and fasten repeat for the remaining holes now we can work on the middle and top sections of the hilt measure about two and a half inches from one end of the one-and-a-half inch PVC pipe and make a straight cut this will be the middle section of the saber next make a 45-degree cut on one end of the PVC pipe after the cut measure approximately three inches down from the top and then make a straight cut now we need to clean up those rough edges on the PVC pieces using a sanding block and 100 grit sandpaper grind out those sharp edges and go for a round finish to get a nice polished look you can start with 100 grit and move your way up to finer grit sandpaper this next step is optional I know not everyone has access to a free Adaptec scuzzy card perhaps you can find other components around your home or office that can be used for decor if not feel free to skip this step I saw it off one of the edges cut off the connectors and used epoxy to fasten the connectors together after curing I epoxy to all of the components onto the middle section of the PVC pipe once the epoxy had cured I mixed up some epoxy putty and shaped it to fill in the gaps once that dried I sanded it down with 400 grit through 1,000 grit sandpaper to get it smooth any small gaps dents or scratches can be filled in with any type of filler such as bondo or squadron' modeling putty to prep the PVC for a nice paint job will apply some gray primer the primer will help point out any flaws in the PVC it helps with filling in tiny scratches and will help our topcoat adhere to the PVC after the primer coat has dried lightly sand with 1000 grit sandpaper to give it a nice smooth finish any imperfections can be filled and sanded again before applying our final color coat will fit the PVC components on top of the sink tailpiece pipe to prep for drilling I printed out another grip template and left the small gap between the two edges using a crayon I colored in a small straight line to use as a reference when trying to get our drilling targets lined up slide the middle PVC part on the pipe and Mark the tailpiece pipe at the PVC edges using some friction tape wrap two strips inside your lines the friction tape should allow the PVC to slide over but should be relatively snug repeat this step for the top PVC component only using one strip of friction tape instead of two next we will work on drilling the rear side of the hilt align your PVC components so that the backs are aligned with the crayon mark mark a drill hole target for your securing screw this will be where the well nut will be placed place a clear piece of tape on top of the target to try to reduce drill bit slippage start with a small drill bit to make a pilot hole I used two 5/64 bit and slowly worked my way up to about a 3/8 pit be patient gradually increase the size of the hole with small increases in bit size after you have a 3/8 of an inch hole in the rear drill straight through the other side of the front of the pipe with a 5/32 size bit the number 1024 one and a half inch screw should be able to pass through the front and the 1024 well nut should be able to pass through the rear now we'll make holes in the PVC and tailpiece pipe for the pop rivets place your PVC components in place on the rear of the hilt mark your drill hole targets place clear tape over the targets and drill a pilot hole with a small drill bit use a 1/8 inch bit to make the hole wide enough for the pop rivet now that you've primed drilled and prep the surface of the PVC apply the spray paint color of your choice I'm going to paint a flat black coat polish it with fine grit sandpaper apply a clear gloss coat and top off with a gun metal metallic coat you can choose any color you wish next will fasten the end cap drill a 1/8 inch hole in the center of the punch-out cap place one of the d-rings on top of the punch-out cap and thread a pop rivet through the hole use the rivet tool to secure the d-ring using a pair of needle nose pliers gently bend the tabs on the punch-out cap so that they are sticking out a bit place some epoxy putty on the punch-out cap tabs and secure it at the bottom of the tailpiece pipe cut the half-inch pbc blade to a length you are comfortable with in this example I'm using a 45 inch blade if this is for a child you may want a 36 inch blade place the end of the PVC blade into the hilt using a pencil make a mark on the PVC blade through the rear tail piece pipe hole the rubber well nut will extend into the PVC blade drill a small pilot hole at your target mark use progressively larger drill bits until you have a 3/8 inch drill hole drill through the other side of the PVC blade with a 5/32 bit the 1024 screw will pass through this side place the PVC blade inside of the hilt make a small mark on the PVC blade just inside of the top of the hilt remove the PVC blade and place it next to the hilt make marks on the PVC blade where the grip pop rivets are located wrap some friction tape around the PVC blade where the grip marks are located I wrapped the tape about six times this gave the bottom of the blade a secure fit in the hilt so that it does not wobble around I wrapped quite a bit of friction tape at the top that extended out about a quarter of an inch from the surface of the PVC blade find the right amount of tape that gives the blade a secure fit inside of the hilt things are finally coming together put your PVC components in place and secure them with pop rivets place the PVC blade inside the hilt and secure it with the 1024 screw a finishing washer and the rubber well nut now it's time to give our lightsaber a test-drive ready let's go for lucky 7 don't burn yourself on the lightsaber another big one yes Oh

Channel: HappyTrooper

Views: 359,191

Keywords: star wars, jedi, sith, lightsaber, luke, skywalker, darth, vader, sidious, maul, diy, how to, build, construct, home depot, saber, effects, your, own, easy, pvc, sink, drain, pipe, prop, hilt, blade, cheap, inexpensive, toy, kids, children, child, lowes, construction, how, to, duel, larp, lego, replica, simple, plumbing, parts, battle, choreography, fight, fighting, msaber, apple, motion

Id: P6kg_dM6KsY

Length: 16min 18sec (978 seconds)

Published: Sun Jan 31 2016