Geek Time! Help me make a Lightsaber
 

I've got a lill bit of a problem...

i have low $resources$, next to none soldering and/or eletrics/eletronics abilities and am required to get one of either: 2 Toy lightsabers, 2 custom made lightsabers.

The toy ones, ofcourse, will be those really cheap ones.. with the light, and the sound (maybe) and perhaps a retractable blade. The custom ones would be either just a hilt or a full one with glowing blade.

Now, hence my problem... i've already checked on google (a lot) the sutff i could find was only alwasy required me to do soldering or cutting and vice-gripping stuff. Which are things that i sadly, cant do. I dont mind getting the toy ones, but they look a tad too silly. And i wouldnt mind just having the Hilt if it looked really good.

Thsi is all for a Cosplay Attempt next month.

So, anyone can share some tips or ideas?

At first i thought about getting one of those metallic Flashlights (the top comes easily off in most cases) and start from there. Changing the light to a colored one and Glueing some details all around. The blade, though, is tricky. I could fill a transparent tube with some Optic fiber, but i dont know what KIND of tube i could use for it.

Surely i dont plan on doing battle, but i want something that isnt glass-fragile. It's an anime/manga/nerd/geek convetion that im going, and i wouldnt want the thing falling apart in the middle of the crowd

Why don't you just make the handle and if anyone asks where the blade went, say something like "Violence is a Jedi's last resort." Anyway it'll look more movie-accurate if you don't add the blade.

Check a hardware store for the plastic sleeves that go over fluorescent lights. With the right paint (a translucent enamel in whatever color), that should work fairly well for a blade. It won't be retractable though, and I'm not sure how much those run. You can find the paint online for around $5 a spray can though.

Also, "if violence isn't your last resort, you failed to resort to enough of it." (Yes, I'd make a horrible Jedi. But since their philosophy is almost as impractical as the Sith's, I'm okay with that.)

-Anim

And here I was hoping we would try to build an actual lightsaber. I just did a course on laser design too :(.

As for actually helping, can you tell us what resources you have and what tools you can use? It might help. Like do you have appropriate cutting devices like a bandsaw or a welding torch?

Lightsaber Creation technique #1
Lightsaber Creation Technique #2
Lightsaber Creation Technique #3

The lightsaber made in that video looks pretty shabby, and to be honest he's going to want it to look as good as possible.

If you can make an actual working lightsaber then a million geeks worldwide would line up to give you sexual favors.

pfft. you're all weiners

http://www.parksabers.com/ for all your sabering needs.

I believe that line knocks parksabers out of the running.

well, I mean define low resources... I don't think Park Sabers are all that expensive to be honest. Given the materials, and contruction, the $225 sabers seem like a great price to me..

edit: for the record I have the Rogue, and it's a bitchin' piece of equipment