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How To Make Authentic Lightsabers
IQpierce writes "My good friend Bradley W. Lewis has set up a site for his hobby: building replica lightsabers at home. These aren't your average cheap pieces of plastic, in fact they're more authentic than the Master Replica sabers: Brad tracks down the pieces of equipment actually used to build the original props — or, when they're unavailable, very close replicas, that he further customizes with a metal lathe in his garage — and puts them together with loving attention. My favorite part is the embellishments he does add, on the inside of the saber — his replica of Luke's saber from ANH can be opened to see authentic-looking internals such as a glowing crystal (as well as another surprise — an autograph from Luke himself, Mark Hamill). Each project is documented step-by-step with hundreds of photos — whether you're a hobbyist, or just a big Star Wars geek like me, you'll find it interesting."
Truly, news for nerds.
-- I ignore anonymous replies to my comments and postings.
They're not authentic until I can cut my neighbor's car in half with it.
A sonic screwdriver, on the other hand, is pretty easy to make if you have access to a ceramic resonator and a quantum power source.
Whaddya mean, "prop"? Whaddya mean, "movie"?
Holy midi-chlorians, are you claiming they're just FICTION?
Next thing you know someone's gonna insist that the moon landings were filmed on a soundstage.
I, for one, find your lack of faith disturbing.
Welcome to the Panopticon. Used to be a prison, now it's your home.
I saw some of the original props at the Children's Muesum in Indianapolis several months ago, and close up, to be honest, they look like crap. You might not want to use the original movie props as your standard to aim for.
The price of Graflex synchronizers has gone through the roof because of Star Wars nerds who want their own authentic-looking light sabers. This is a real nightmare for those of us who love flash bulb photography, since new Graflexes aren't being made anymore (except replicas without the electronics, specifically for building light sabers). Please, if you want to make a light saber, buy a Graflex replica instead of an original. They're cheaper, in better condition, and don't deprive anyone of a now-rare useful tool.
Scratched Emulsion
This has been my hobby for quite some time now as well. Less with lightsabers and more with many other Star Wars props. You pretty much can not buy official licensed replicas that are more than about 75% accurate. I've always been shooting for 99-100% accurate. I have rebuilt the stormtrooper E-11 blaster from an original demilitarized sterling SMG, the tank scope, industrial counter, slide rails and other original parts used to make the original prop. I've also done the same thing for Boba Fetts blaster made from an antique British flare gun, 2 cell graflex tube, parts from the Rivel visible V-8 engine, and many other parts.
It's a hobby as much as anything else. Geeky in the scifi/fantasy realm as well as gives me a chance to build things.
Paying taxes to buy civilization is like paying a hooker to buy love.
to get hold of a Speed Graphic/MPP flashgun nowadays thanks to these damn buffoons who need an "authentic" lightsabre. They're almost as criminally culpable as hotrod builders who take increasingly rare classic vehicles and prostitute them into something only a deranged magpie would love.
Once the Chilean miners have been rescued, I would like to post lightsabre makers and their customers DOWN the rescue shaft.
Bah!
I do not think it means what you think it means.
Alexander Peter Kristopeit bought his basement from his mommy for one dollar.
How did you manage to fit so much stupid into such a short post?
A TRUE Jedi builds his own lightsaber.
I think the equipment list would put this safely outside the hobbyist category.
All the tools listed are multi-use and frankly not very impressive. Buying a two to three figure drill press hardly makes you a "professional". Even my metal lathe and associated gear is probably barely over three figures.
Also, the computer hobbyist industry is oriented around zero resale value and extremely fast obsolesce, whereas all the tools you listed are pretty much "buy once per lifetime" (assuming you don't buy chicom garbage). A 30 year old PC-XT clone motherboard is probably not as cutting edge and useful as my fathers 30 year old dremel tool... My decade old metal cutting bandsaw is much less obsolete than a decade old graphics card.
My computer hobby mostly results in full landfills, whereas a hobby like metalworking is a bit more like a real capital investment.
"Science flies us to the moon. Religion flies us into buildings." - Victor Stenger
Big deal. Until someone makes one that actually has a useful blade, it's just a handle.
Those lightsaber guys never fought very well. See Hit Girl's first fight, in "Kick-Ass" for someone who can handle a double-ended weapon. Chloe Grace-Moretz spent a few months at the Toronto Circus School, plus martial arts training, to prepare for that fight, and it shows.
It's a shame metalworking and electronics don't have any applications other than building lightsabers.