Don't want a toy lightsaber for your costume, but can't spend a lot of money on a screen accurate or custom hilt? A Hardware store lightsaber hilt is a cost friendly alternative.

I spent around $20, including paint, but did use some existing materials.

Including shopping time, it took around 3 hours to complete this project. Outside of shopping the most time was spent waiting on paint to dry. You can absolutely do this in a single evening.

There is no blade, or electronics. This is just a prop hilt for a costume.

Step 1: Parts List

I bought parts from ACE Hardware and Home Depot. I didn't write the names down of the parts as I got them, so the names are approximate. The longest part of the project was looking through the PVC pipe fittings and looking for interesting combinations that fit together. I probably spent 1 hour looking at parts between the two stores.

¾” Male adapter (pvc to threaded)

¾” Female coupling (threaded to threaded)

¾” Female adapter (pvc to threaded)

6 inch extension downrod (non-threaded) (6 inch of PVC pipe can be substituted)

5/8” male hose clincher mender

O-ring #18

D-ring hanger

Picture hanger (used to hang on belt)

Spray Paint (not pictured, whatever color you want is perfect)

Sand Paper (not pictured, I used 250 grit)

I already had the 6 inch downrod. It came with a ceiling fan I replaced. I used two different colors of spray paint, but only needed to buy 1 of them.

Step 2: Sanding, Painting, and Then Sanding, Painting and Sanding

Sorry for no pictures of the steps. This portion of the project took so little time I forgot to take pictures.

1. Sand each piece to remove the bar codes and allow it to take paint better.

2. Wash and dry each piece.

3. Paint each piece.

4. Wet sand each piece. Just get a cup of water and wet the sand paper, wet the piece and sand. Don't take all the paint off, just enough to smooth and "weather" it out.

5. Gently clean and dry the pieces.

6. In between layers of paint, I drilled pilot holes into the 3/4 inch female adapter and screwed on the D-ring hanger.

7. Apply a second coat of spray paint.

8. Repeat the wet sanding process.

I sanded with 250 grit sandpaper. It was all I had, but you would not want it much coarser than that. I let the paint dry for 20 minutes between the sandings. You may want to repeat the painting and sanding process. I was happy with the results after 2 layers.

Step 3: Assemble

I have simply dry fit the pieces together. The paint was not completely dry and while I could force the pieces apart, they are not going to just fall apart. Elmers or gorilla glue would suffice for a more permanent solution.

The emitter section:

1. Screw the 5/8" male hose clincher mender into the 3/4" female coupling.

2. Screw the 3/4" female coupling onto the 3/4" male adapter.

The handle:

1. Fit the 6 inch downrod into the 3/4" female adapter

2. Space o-rings onto the 6 inch downrod

Complete:

Fit the emitter section onto the handle section and it's done.