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Step 4Blade Construction
FORMING YOUR BLADE
1) Forge a blade to the correct length: ~2.5ft or so depending on the height of the jedi. (use a
hack-saw to cut the polycarbonate)
2) The blade has to be made translucent if it is
not already. Any method that causes light to diffuse will
work for this step. Here are two ways to do this.
1. Sandpaper method: Sandpaper the blade in a lengthwise
direction until the surface is nearly white
and you cannot see into the blade itself.
2. Tissue paper method: Do the next step, step 3 first. Neatly wrap one layer of white (or any color will
probably work actually) tissue paper around the blade. Tape in place. Then, cover the entire
blade with clear packing tape to hold it in place.:
(back to blade construction!)
3) Chose one end to be the tip. Take the other end, and measure .25 inches
from the bottom. Then, neatly wrap duct tape around and around the blade starting at this .25 inch mark until the blade at this point becomes thick enough to wedge into the handle such that it wont wiggle or fall out.
Optional steps:
4. Find a stiff piece of wire or wood that can be cut to the exact outer diameter of the blade. It
needs to be long enough to not fall though, but short enough that it doesn't protrude and
become a sharp section. You want to be able to tie your string of LEDs -- made in the next step -- securely to this cross-bar to keep it from sliding down the blade. One for the bottom should serve the same purpose. This is optional but helps the performance and
durability of the lightsaber.
Ideally, a reflective tip and bottom could be
fashioned that has a hole to tie to in the center (see pics for a diagram.)
5. Tape tin-foil as neatly as possible to the tip. This will reflect the end light back down the blade. If you plan to tie in your LED string, wait until its attached to this bar before
taping the foil over the end of the blade.
1) Forge a blade to the correct length: ~2.5ft or so depending on the height of the jedi. (use a
hack-saw to cut the polycarbonate)
2) The blade has to be made translucent if it is
not already. Any method that causes light to diffuse will
work for this step. Here are two ways to do this.
1. Sandpaper method: Sandpaper the blade in a lengthwise
direction until the surface is nearly white
and you cannot see into the blade itself.
2. Tissue paper method: Do the next step, step 3 first. Neatly wrap one layer of white (or any color will
probably work actually) tissue paper around the blade. Tape in place. Then, cover the entire
blade with clear packing tape to hold it in place.:
(back to blade construction!)
3) Chose one end to be the tip. Take the other end, and measure .25 inches
from the bottom. Then, neatly wrap duct tape around and around the blade starting at this .25 inch mark until the blade at this point becomes thick enough to wedge into the handle such that it wont wiggle or fall out.
Optional steps:
4. Find a stiff piece of wire or wood that can be cut to the exact outer diameter of the blade. It
needs to be long enough to not fall though, but short enough that it doesn't protrude and
become a sharp section. You want to be able to tie your string of LEDs -- made in the next step -- securely to this cross-bar to keep it from sliding down the blade. One for the bottom should serve the same purpose. This is optional but helps the performance and
durability of the lightsaber.
Ideally, a reflective tip and bottom could be
fashioned that has a hole to tie to in the center (see pics for a diagram.)
5. Tape tin-foil as neatly as possible to the tip. This will reflect the end light back down the blade. If you plan to tie in your LED string, wait until its attached to this bar before
taping the foil over the end of the blade.
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