Lightsaber

This was a challenging project to be sure, back in 2005 when I was just learning the basics of 3d drafting in AutoCAD; Star wars episode 3 had just come out, and I had been debating purchasing one of the Star Wars Force FX Light sabers that everyone was selling at the time. I am a fan of all sci-fi especially Star Trek, however Light sabers are just cool, and one day when I was at best buy about to purchase one of these things; it occurred to me that I could just design my own light saber and have it built for about the same cost. So why not, if I was going to pay for one of these things why not have it be my own personal design.

So began the research, now there are a great many sites on the internet that sell "varying quality" "custom" light saber hilts. There are sites that sell parts for a modular system that you can just buy parts you like and mix n' match them. However they all have a tendancy to be verry generic and this was not what I was looking for. Then I stumbled upon a website called RandomSabers.com which custom fabricates aluminum light saber hilts from scratch. They have an inordinately long waiting list (it’s about 2 years) with a 50% deposit due upon the placement of an order. Once I got my name on the list, and paid a $50 dollar deposit, I needed to figure out what the hell I wanted my design to look like.

Now let me tell you that I believe firmly in the ideology of "form meets function" and if you browse Randomsabers you will see the antithesis of this sentiment. So I decided that the easiest way to approach the design of this project was from the standpoint (of model or not this is a weapon and should follow the design principals of one) I then immediately began setting into stone, design guidelines based on the Star Wars fiction about Jedi lightsaber construction.

• This is a weapon, it must be durable
• This is a reflection of your personality
• Is it Practical?
• Is it elegant?
• Form Meets Function!!!

They may not sound like difficult guidelines to follow, however believe me; when you like a design element it’s very hard to say to your self "its not practical, or elegant so its out" so yes every element of my design had to meet all of those guidelines.

Now obviously my design takes inspiration from Anakin skywalkers, that’s because I have always like his lightsaber. It’s simple, elegant and practical. So that’s where I started my design process, "what do I like most about this design?" the answer was " the font end (knob, recharge ports and vents) so I focused on that aspect. Then I looked up the "standard" measurements for a light saber (11"x1.5").

First I drew an 11" long cylinder at 1.5" diameter, and then I drew in the recharge ports, vents, and the wheel knob on top. I also liked the end cap/pommel from Anakin’s light saber in episode3 it’s a flat stepped design, so I added that. Next I subtracted a .75" diameter hole in the font of the hilt, where the Polly carbonate blade would eventually slide into. Then I drafted up a covertec clip to scale and placed it on the rear of the hilt. Now it was beginning to look like a light saber! When I was out one day, I saw a column behind a star case and it made me think that’s a neat shape. For a few days it kept popping back into my head and I wanted to integrate it into my light saber design, however I couldn’t find a way to do it. One morning before work, I was looking at my design and I thought hourglass... then it came so naturally to me, it was as if it was always there. I cut out a 1.5" section from the middle of the hilt, and I drew a stepped hourglass, "it took a few revisions before it was perfect" This was it now the design was coming together.

The grip probably took me the longest to conceptualize, of all the grips that I thought up, among the top were:

• Rubber O-Rings in indentations on the rear of the pommel.
• Windshield Wiper style rubber strips (like Anakin’s).
• A Foam rubber coating.
• A beveling that is exposed through cutouts in a shroud around the grip.
• Something like samurai armor. (Plates)

Well Plates Won! it took allot of revising before I had plates that I was satisfied would function properly as a grip, there was allot of tweaking involved in the design. Meticulously changing little things here and there. The last detail I added was the bevel on the font around the opening, but eventually I came out with this.

Here is a 3D DWF of the lightsaber

You will need this free program to view it

That’s a picture of the AutoCAD file; it’s also the first glimpse of what I would eventually hold in my hand 2 years later.

This is the first image i got of my hilt when it was finished by randomsabers.

Now once I received this I was pressed with trying to figure out how to fit the electronics inside it. Simply figuring out how to get the 1/4" monojack to fit inside the hilt (this is what the blade uses as a plug) was a task and a half. The button alone took me a few months to realize, (no one makes push/lock on/off switches anymore, its all just momentary contact) I had to build my own switch out of two switches to get the look I wanted. After I had the driver installed for the Electro Luminescence wire, with the switch, and the battery, and the mono jack. I ordered a (purple) EL blade premade from randomsabers.