My Lightsaber

thingiverse

I'm about to share a design I've been working on, though it's still in its early stages - the full project can be printed in three parts (you'll need an 8mm x 150mm steel rod & 6off 5mm x 20mm dowel pins; alternatively, you can try printing them yourself). 03/16/15 The prototype is finally printed (took a solid 7 hours) and although it's not as good as I hoped (has a few gaps), it's still passable – it just needs a bit of acetone to smooth it out before spraying with silver metallic car paint. Upon closer inspection, I realize the three sets of holes limit rotation to only 120 degrees; therefore, those who write with their left hand will face limitations in their usage - not exactly my intention to discriminate against them. Henceforth, I might alter this by adding two or four holes instead. Another point that caught my eye is that the parts do not perfectly mate (flatness of the top and bottom) – there's a slight gap between them, likely due to either printer or print settings; still unsure whether I should run them through the lathe to finalize their surface finish or use an acetone slurry to fill these gaps. The rib structure on the base part could also be improved upon - maybe printing them separate and bonding them onto the part using 416 glue would yield a better outcome. Next, it's time to tackle the next steps: fill the gaps, machine or smooth out the surface finish, mask off any exposed areas, and finally give the entire project a metallic silver coat.