Hello there,
This is a build thread for a custom lightsaber based on a Canon Y and some fabricated parts that I'm doing for a friend (and customer in this case), actually, the very friend that made me discover the RPF
The Canon Y is probably my favourite flash, I love working with it, they are quite complex to convert but it's always worth it. Here are a couple conversions inspired by Luke's lightsaber and Obi Wan's lightsaber I did previously on that base:
My friend liked the base but wanted something less similar to the known characters lightsabers. I'm not going to show the concept so you can discover the result along the way, it will be quite a complex build, hence why I want to document it here and I have no precise timeline and no idea when I'll be able to work on it or finish it as I'm primarily working on my next prop run. (still secret for now but it will be awesome! hint: It's not something Star Wars related)
So, I'll finish this, but at the moment, this is not my priority
warning, If you don't like seing vintage flashes destroyed, turn around now because this Canon flash will be permanently destroyed, sorry about that
let's get started, the top part of the canon flash is held by 3 tiny screws, easy to remove.
for this build, I'm disassembling completely the insides as i'll need as much room as possible inside the tube. I'll keep the rotating "micro-sync" wheel but I'll reduce its size to the minimum later on. The wheel is held by two screws, the red button assembly is held by three screws and then you need to press the button and push the whole assembly from the inside out slowly, the red button, I'll normally not keep this time.
ok, now let's add a handle to the 2 cell flash. For that, I cut a 38mm aluminium tube:
Of course, 38mm is a bit too wide to fit inside the clamp, so it needs to be adjusted a bit. Which is hard for me as I don't have a lathe yet.
to achieve that, I use a metal chuck that I put on a handdrill and just file the tube by hand carefully. This is obviously a bit dangerous and I'm wearing protections and being carefull about it, this is not something to do carelessly!
first, the big ass file
then finer file
then different grits of sandpaper
OK, now I need to cut the grooves into that tube to be able to twist-lock it into the clamp of the canon flash,
this is another operation that I do with hand tools, first I trace what I need to cut:
then cut with a metal handsaw:
then i clean that with small metal files and adjust everything until the fit is perfect:
now, we need to close that tube at the end. For that purpose, I use the original cap from the Canon flash that I modify to fit the tube:
this actually has two parts that thread together and are held by a tiny screw on a side, you can disassemble it easily to get that:
Now, I need to adjust that part which is still too large to fit inside my tube, for that, I simply use the threaded tube at the center to fit in my drill and use a file to reduce the diameter:
once this fits, I use the tiniest drill bit ever to put two really small screws to make sure the bottom cannot be removed from the tube:
tadaaa!!:
Ok, this is the fun part of custom lightsabers, after all this work, I now have some kind of Graflex like flash base to start working on, this is just the begining of the journey!
that's it for now, I don't know when I'll work on that again, hopefully soon. Don't hesitate to comment or ask questions
cheers
This is a build thread for a custom lightsaber based on a Canon Y and some fabricated parts that I'm doing for a friend (and customer in this case), actually, the very friend that made me discover the RPF
The Canon Y is probably my favourite flash, I love working with it, they are quite complex to convert but it's always worth it. Here are a couple conversions inspired by Luke's lightsaber and Obi Wan's lightsaber I did previously on that base:
My friend liked the base but wanted something less similar to the known characters lightsabers. I'm not going to show the concept so you can discover the result along the way, it will be quite a complex build, hence why I want to document it here and I have no precise timeline and no idea when I'll be able to work on it or finish it as I'm primarily working on my next prop run. (still secret for now but it will be awesome! hint: It's not something Star Wars related
)So, I'll finish this, but at the moment, this is not my priority
warning, If you don't like seing vintage flashes destroyed, turn around now because this Canon flash will be permanently destroyed, sorry about that
let's get started, the top part of the canon flash is held by 3 tiny screws, easy to remove.
for this build, I'm disassembling completely the insides as i'll need as much room as possible inside the tube. I'll keep the rotating "micro-sync" wheel but I'll reduce its size to the minimum later on. The wheel is held by two screws, the red button assembly is held by three screws and then you need to press the button and push the whole assembly from the inside out slowly, the red button, I'll normally not keep this time.
ok, now let's add a handle to the 2 cell flash. For that, I cut a 38mm aluminium tube:
Of course, 38mm is a bit too wide to fit inside the clamp, so it needs to be adjusted a bit. Which is hard for me as I don't have a lathe yet.
to achieve that, I use a metal chuck that I put on a handdrill and just file the tube by hand carefully. This is obviously a bit dangerous and I'm wearing protections and being carefull about it, this is not something to do carelessly!
first, the big ass file
then finer file
then different grits of sandpaper
OK, now I need to cut the grooves into that tube to be able to twist-lock it into the clamp of the canon flash,
this is another operation that I do with hand tools, first I trace what I need to cut:
then cut with a metal handsaw:
then i clean that with small metal files and adjust everything until the fit is perfect:
now, we need to close that tube at the end. For that purpose, I use the original cap from the Canon flash that I modify to fit the tube:
this actually has two parts that thread together and are held by a tiny screw on a side, you can disassemble it easily to get that:
Now, I need to adjust that part which is still too large to fit inside my tube, for that, I simply use the threaded tube at the center to fit in my drill and use a file to reduce the diameter:
once this fits, I use the tiniest drill bit ever to put two really small screws to make sure the bottom cannot be removed from the tube:
tadaaa!!:
Ok, this is the fun part of custom lightsabers, after all this work, I now have some kind of Graflex like flash base to start working on, this is just the begining of the journey!
that's it for now, I don't know when I'll work on that again, hopefully soon. Don't hesitate to comment or ask questions
cheers
