Lightsaber Prop Tutorial

Build at your own risk! I accept no responsibility for anything you do resulting from these construction methods. These tutorials are just here to help others accomplish some of the things I have. I have made mistakes and learned from them. You will too. Here, I try to share some of the lessons I've learned. Remember to always wear safety gear when working with tools, including safety goggles and breathing masks, and always use glues and paints in well ventilated areas. Thank you.

Okay. I decided to make some glory stunt props that would look good on camera as well as be functional. The saber actually pictured was never used as "combat" saber. But there is no reason that it could not be. Some of the methods illustrated here can also be used to modify other lightsaber models such as those from the Big Yellow Box. All the parts here you can get at a decent hardware store like Lowe's, Ace Hardware, or Home Depot. Total cost is almost $10 a saber...maybe.
This saber is of my own design but is clearly inspired by the Graflex 3 cell-based SW:ANH variant. I took the standard 12" chromed sink tailpiece and, using a Dremmel tool, I cut the top of the sink tailpiece so it would match the contours of a Graflex handle, and then drilled 3/8" holes on either side. I used sandpaper to grind the edges smooth. Then using a small pipe-cutter I cut down 3/4" copper pipe (that will be used to hold the dowel rod, or just for cosmetic value) so that it's length was the same as the bottom lip of the Graflex-cut sink tailpiece.

The other pieces pictured to the right are two plumbing rubber shank washers, a casting of a Obi-Wan SW:ANH type hilt, and a cast of Graflex 3-cell button.

Place the base of the tailpiece over the shank washers as pictured. Using a marker, trace the diameter of the sink tailpiece onto the shank washer. Then using a strong pair of scissors, cut the excess off of the shank washer. Be sure to leave the shank washer intact as a ring. Just cut the excess off of the outside diameter.

Fit the trimmed shank washer onto the copper pipe. It should be a decent fit but shouldn't be too tight. Now, slide the copper pipe with the shank washers into the sink tailpiece. It should be a very tight fit, and you may have to use a screwdriver to work the shank washers into the tailpiece while they remain on the copper pipe.

This is what the cut sink tailpiece looks like with the copper pipe mounted inside it with the shank washers. It should already be very very firm and the pipe should not come out very easily. If you shaved too much off of the shank washers the pipe may slide in and out on its own. If so, you may want to try again. Or you can try to fix it later. However, if this is going to be "combat" saber. I suggest re-cutting the shank washers if the copper pipe is loose. And maybe even use 3 shank washers instead of 2.

Now to make the Graflex "clamp" I used another sink tailpiece and cut it to about a 3" section. And then cut it up the side. I used the Dremmel tool to brush the metal and then used flat acrylic paints and a matte clear coat to make sure the metal looked different. In case you don't have a cast of a hilt that you want. Faucet handles work very well and come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and designs. Pictured at right are the cut pieces to make the Graflex "clamp" and some sink faucet handle pieces after they've been painted silver.

Since these were "cosmetic" sabers, I used a hot glue gun to reinforce and fill in the bottom of the tube. I used 1 miniature glue stick per saber. Also...I was able to luck into some casts of some Graflex buttons on Ebay and painted them up.

In the sabers pictured to the side, I used Sculpey clay molded shapes for the activator boxes. In the end, I was dissatisfied with this design and instead used activator boxes formed from balsa wood. The "button" other than the Graflex button are made from the 3M picture frame rubber bumpers that I painted on the bottom. The "grips" are made from 24" rubber truck windshield wiper refills. I used metal aluminum tape to help mount the pieces together along with "Goop" ( a type of glue).
To make this combat ready:

Simply drill 2 holes in the handle about 90 degrees from one another. Make sure that the hole go at least part way through the copper pipe so that you can put some thin screws all the way in. Then all you have to do is mount a 3/4" dowel and tighten the screws. The dowel shouldn't go anywhere, And if the dowel breaks during your "combat" simply release the screws, drop the remains out, and swap it for another dowel.

I will include close-up picture of this model saber. Right now, all the ones I've built are already out the door.

I hope this helped!