First Lightsaber Build (from Stuff Laying Around) UPDATED

Like the title says. This is a build of a lightsaber. I built it from stuff laying around. I have not made a lightsaber before so wanted to see how this one would turn out. I had no plan just some crates of plumbing, lamp parts and computer parts. Most of it old or found items.

I lucked out as most the pieces just fell into place and didn't need much modding. Each picture is annotated with what I did exactly with each piece.

Parts needed:

Pop up drain assembly
brass knurled nuts x2
small brass screws x2
Lamp bits
broken toy (for the red button and the spring under it ripped out of the battery compartment)
Hard drive rotor
chrome faucet handle cap
Pack of faucet washers (mine was an old pack of assorted washers)
Knob from a bathroom faucet (all I had were the two knobs and no name on them)
a covering for the flexible part from a broken lamp
rubber plug ( i think it was to block a pipe temporary while working on it )
chunk of shiny red plastic from a sled. (

Tools used:
Dremel
Drill
bit of sandpaper
hairdryer
some liquid dish soap
drill mounted hole saw
drill bits
workmate (a portable work bench that can be used as a vice

Step 1: Main Tube

I started off just taking all the bits and pieces I had and messing with them till I could see what would fit well together. I ended up with almost the whole thing assembled before to long, I only had to sand down the rubber stopper with the dremel, drill the drain plug, tear apart an old toy, and drill through the upper part. So I'll just go through each picture and explain.

Step 2: Controls

This wasn't that difficult either. Clamped down the upper pipe and drilled a hole clean through the middle and centered. I then stuck small brass screws through the small holes sliped on the black washers that I had hit with the dremel to match the contour and spun on the knurled nuts. I did this on both sides.

The activation button was pretty easy too. I just dropped a red plastic disk down into the ball joint housing dropped in a spring from the battery box of a toy i scavengend from droped a button from the same toy and screwed the cap back into place.

Step 3: The Emitter

This was fairly easy. As I had already torn apart a hard drive. (I'm sure there are how to's here on Instructables but this site has really nice pics. http://www.m3design.com/hard-drive-comparison/ )

I used a hole saw on my hard drive because the case was formed and machined aluminum. The hole saw I used was the perfect size and cut out the rotor element in seconds. The faucet cap fit snugly into it and then I just dropped the rotor and cap into the upper drain housing and the flange part screwed right down on top of it locking it into place.

Step 4: Finished Saber

This project took less than 2 hours. Luckily I had all the pieces laying around and it was more a "Those look like they would make a great lightsaber."

I haven't built one before and I can already see where I could make improvements. I may actually work on something a bit nicer in the future. I have more bits and pieces but I see where I could do a lot of stuff with a few more cheap parts.

Feel Free to ask questions, comment, or critique.

.

Step 5: Small Update

I finally got around to hitting up the hardware store and baught out all their 1 1/8 O-rings to add to the handle. They had 13 and I need 9 more. they were $0.40 a piece so not to bad. I could probably find them in bulk online for cheaper.

So here are the before and after pics.

Step 6: UPDATE 2

Ok hit the hardware store again and they finally had the O-rings in so bought 10 more. I think the handle looks much improved. The only thing I want to change on this is the upper handle where all the control knobs are. I know I've seen others without the brushed finish. If I see anything close to what I want in the future I may add to it but until then I think this project is finished.