Looking to build my first Lightsaber.......Who Has the most accurate plans?

[KirbyHarder]

What is the easiest lightsaber to build? Where can I find accurate drawings to build from? There are all sorts of drawings out there, I know someone has it nailed, measured the original.....Those are the plans I want. Can anyone point me in the right direction? If I find the right set of plans I post build photos, I would like to machine mine instead of print from a 3D model. I have a few old machines in my basement that can make it possible.

Thanks.

 

[13doctorwho]

That question leads down a rabbit hole. First you have to decide which lightsaber you want to build. It makes a huge difference in the available information and what it takes to build one. Most of the original trilogy lightsabers were found objects with bits added (also found objects). The lightsaber book at the beginning of this thread is invaluable for getting started. Keep in mind every lightsaber has variants too. Anakins saber that is given to Luke in Star Wars has distinct difference from Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back... also from scene to scene. Pick a Saber style, then research the variants and pick one... after that you can know what "plans" to look for.

 

[kevin926]

Wannawanga.com has a free page to look at.

You've taken your first step into a larger universe. Lol

Good luck. Lightsabers are like potato chips.. you can't eat just one.

 

[KirbyHarder]

I'm ready to go down that hole.....Want to start simple. Just a bit of background the last weapon that recreated (not a movie prop) required me to travel to the military base in Quantico VA (Overflow for the Marine Museum.) where I was able to disassemble, measure and parts from a civil war weapon. I was then able to 3D model and recreate history, as far as I know I have recreated the most accurate Coffee Mill Gun ever since the parts were copied off the orignal.

Any how, I have a few skills, I know I will never get my hands on an original prop but i'm sure some one like me has? I know I can't get the original scrap parts they had (I can get them but they cost a bit) but I guarantee I can make my own and get darn close......

Thoughts on the simplest sabor a place to start (will get the book)? I enjoy the tech/design (movies/shows) not necessarily whose saber it was, I just want to recreate a cool movie prop. I have 3D printed several light sabers but so what it is still plastic toy (no satisfaction anyone can print one), I want to machine one from scratch, no CNC....Truly handcrafted.

If interested I have pictures of my prototype and final coffee mill gun that I recreated.......Too much info?

 

[Jedisushi]

Start with Luke’s saber from ANH. It’s the least expensive and easiest one to assemble using real parts – almost all of which are obtainable with a little effort. So you can get the real parts and replicate them and/or build a lightsaber using them. Some of what you need is probably for sale in the Junkyard now.

There may be scans/plans available on Etsy, but that’s not my area of expertise.

That said, if you’re machining the saber yourself there may be simpler options from a construction point of view like Luke’s saber from ROTJ.

Example:

 

[KirbyHarder]

Checking out ebay now....Will his the scrap yards when there is no snow. Real parts getting expensive....but I guess that is part of the deal....

 

[Jedisushi]

If you’re machining from scratch, making the ROTJ saber out of aluminum (example in the video above) may be the way to go. It’s the only one I can think of that you could reasonably do by hand...

 

[thd9791]

Youre definitely not going to get the simplest saber/simplest place to start AND get the most accurate plans in one go. You need to develop skills for that and a lot of people keep the plans they make private because of all the work they put in.

Building sabers is so much fun - enjoy screwing up and learning and sharpening your eyes - try not to shoot for perfection before youve even started.

The lightsaber bible .pdf has spoiled us who usially have to dig the internet for reference material. Youve got the RPF at your disposal too

 

[AJTaliesen]

Checking out ebay now....Will his the scrap yards when there is no snow. Real parts getting expensive....but I guess that is part of the deal....

Real parts are super expensive. I abandoned them years ago and even sold off what real parts I had.

The good news is, there are people who make replica parts. For me, it fills the same void as real parts: you're still finding the pieces and putting together.

If you're looking to make the parts from scratch, I'd go for one of the Luke ROTJ sabers (yes there are more than one, see the sticky at the top of this forum for more info on them, as well as several other threads here). I'd go for either the Luke ROTJ V2 or hero, since even though they both have some found parts, the bases were originally machined so you don't have to start with an impossible to find camera flash or grenade. Once you pick one, most of them have (multiple) of their own threads where people go DEEP into discussing details.

 

[AnubisGuard]

Any of the Graflex (Luke/Rey) or MPP (Vader) builds are probably easiest. They're just the camera flashes plus six or seven strips of t-track, a card in the clamp, and a d-ring. The absolute simplest is probably the ANH Graflex. It's also probably the most iconic, and there are plenty of replica Graflex flashes available out there.

EDIT: Or you want to machine the entire thing yourself, so, yes, the Luke V2.

 

[SethS]

Simplest if you're willing to buy a replica or pay a lot for a vintage. But from scratch? The shoulder pulls, curved cuts, bbunny ears-- I think the Graflex would be the hardest to do from scratch. Certainly harder than a Luke a ROTJ which could all be done on a lathe outside of the pommel.

 

[Anakin Starkiller]

All will take a lot of work, time, and money to get right. I'd start off figuring out which character/prop you want to put your time and effort into. Then, determine budget, tools, and your own skill lever. Then people will be able to give you a more useful direction about how to achieve your goal.
best
Dan

 

[JoeG]

Since you're making it from scratch, why not go with the one that has the most expensive parts. The Obi Wan ANH.

ANH Obi-Wan Lightsaber measurements guide

Hello and welcome to my first public project. I've been working in secret for many months to build what will become the perfect CAD model of the Obi-Wan ANH lightsaber, the part drawings of which I will share to everyone, hopefully there are those among you that will help me perfect this body...

www.therpf.com

 

[Darth Lars]

If you're going to machine it, not relying on ready-made real or replica parts, I think the easiest to build would be some of the more generic-looking ones from the prequels.
A few of these are mostly aluminium and/or brass turned on a lathe and engraved, with a window cut out for fitting a LED bar, and a few knobs and LED bezels.

 

[newmagrathea]

You could always make a pipe stunt.

 

[thd9791]

Dude, pipe stunts forever