Build you OWN Lightsaber & Become a Jedi Knight Plans & Directions (Or just buy one

& pretend you did)

V6.0
Revised 11-11-2000 New & Even More Photos & plans Plans for PLASMA Lightsaber Legal Notice These plans are for YOUR use only & are NOT for resale! If you purchased these plans from anywhere other than Hawkware Inc., The-Hawk this document has been illegaly sold. You have paid for the compilation of this information.

Building a Lightsaber Replica As you know, you do not become a Jedi Knight until you have successfully built your own lightsaber. Now is your time to advance beyond the apprentice stage and become a Jedi Knight. This document will instruct you in the design & building of your very own lightsaber. And while we only deal with the light side of the force, we do realize that some of you may be drawn to the dark side, and provide you with the means to acquire a lightsaber without having to construct your own. But first some background: Fans were surprised to learn that the props for lightsabers, blaster pistols and rifles used in the Star Wars movies were created from old vintage camera equipment and machine guns. Quite a few of these items are still available, and are thus fairly easy for the Star Wars enthusiast to find. In the coming pages we will concentrate on creating your lightsaber from a Graflex 3-Cell flash handle, which was used to create Luke Skywalkers lightsaber in A New Hope.

Picture of a completed A New Hope lightsaber

Now some more background: Almost all of the lightsabers used in the Star Wars movies were made from flash handles or flash guns. These were the units that were used to house & supply power to the flash bulbs in old-style newspaper reporters cameras. In the REAL old movies with photographers, the cameras you saw had the Graflex or the Heiland flash handles attached. The flash handle is the long tube that holds the flash bulb, batteries, and the reflector. It was also used as the handle for the camera. These flash handles can make really detailed props because they have all kinds of buttons, screws, protrusions, pinch clamps and gold terminal points jutting out to really make a hi-tech item for the movies.

A Graflex 3-Cell flash handle with the typical reflector hood attached

As far as we know, the tings added to the Graflex flashgun to make Luke Skywalker's lightsaber from A New Hope were: Some plastic strips (probably from windshield wipers) for hand grips. A belt clip. A display lens from an old LED (not LCD) calculator. A strip of chrome tape (to cover the flashgun manufacturers name)

Beginning your journey to become a Jedi Knight Your first step on the path is to obtain a Graflex 3-Cell flash gun/handle. These can be found in various different places, but the best (and cheapest) place is at a vintage camera trade show. But a word of warning young apprentice! DO NOT TELL THE SUPPLIER WHY YOU WANT THE FLASH GUN/HANDLE! Vintage camera dealers frown on Jedi Apprentices obtaining the flash handles and then modifying/destroying them to create a lightsaber. Many of the dealers will either deny having the item or demand a Hutts ransom for the unit if they even suspect you're making a lightsaber. And as a further note, they dont accept New Republic Credits either. Another possible source is to look in a Shutterbug magazine for a listing or for notices of camera shows local to you. There is usually no need to make the jump to lightspeed in search of the item. As a rule, a Graflex 3-Cell in very good to excellent condition sells for as little as $5.00 to $10.00 (Remember, no New Republic Credits or your secrets out). Another possible place to find the flash gun/handle is in various camera-related internet newsgroups. However, word has reached these minions of the Empire of the uses for these devices, and they are demanding anywhere from $100.00 for a used/dinged gun/handle to over $200.00 for a gun/handle in minty condition. Remember that even though the Emires pawns consider these guns/handles outdated junk they will try and take you for every last credit you have. They know that no one, other than a desperate Jedi apprentice would pay more than $10.00 for one, even in perfect condition. Keeping these tips in mind, your chances of finding a Graflex at an affordable price are very good.

In times of dire need, substitutions can be made in the design and creation of your lightsaber. The Folmer Graflex Corporation made 3 basic models of the 3-Cell flash handle. Two of the models look almost identical except for the design of the push button. The original version of the 3-cell had a hinged type button and pin stripes around the terminals as shown below:

Early model Graflex 3-Cell

The movie version variation of the small red push-button is shown below:

The correct version of the push-button

The style of 3-Cell flash handle shown below is the one most camera dealers believe is the movie version (thus they want a LOT more credits for it). It's really just a long skinny tube with a black cap on one end. They're usually marked with "Cat#2773 3-Cell" and "Graflite". Believe it or not, this version was NOT used for any of the lightsabers except that it can be seen painted multiple colors on the control panel of Luke's X-wing.

A Graflite 3-Cell flash handle, with the mounting clamps used in the X-Wing

The next step in becoming a Jedi Knight: OK, youve managed through shear will and determination tp obtain a flash handle, you will now need to locate the other items needed for the construction: 1. A 7 digit LED calculator display lens The first hand held calculators made in the early '70's had LED (light emitting diode) displays. LED displays are still found today in most radio/alarm clocks. The display lens is used to magnify the individual numbers for easier reading and looks like a clear strip of plastic with a bubble over each LED. It's still possible to find old hand held calculators with LED displays. However, most models have 8 or 9 digit displays i.e. Texas Instruments TI-2500 or Datamath II. The seven digit display used in ANH was made by TI in limited quantities for export to Europe, never selling in the US and was soon replaced by the 8 and 9 digit display type.

TI Datamath II hand held calculator

9 digit LED lens used in the TI Datamath II

Modern calculators have LCD (liquid crystal display) displays with black numbers on a white background. LCD displays do not emit light and can not be seen in the dark. 7 digit LED displays are extremely rare so most Jedi Knights just find an 8 or 9 digit display lens and cut off the extra bubbles. This method works fine except that the bubbles are slightly too small. If you decide you want an actual size high quality exact replica of the 7 digit display lens used in ANH, one can be purchased for around $10.00, refer to the kit options at the end of this section.

Replica Display Lens

2.

Rubber strip for grips. The British prop maker who made the saber for ANH used windshield wiper blades for the six grips. While I am not sure exactly which windshield wiper blades were used, they must have been made for a large military type vehicle judging by the size and design of the material. The grips are made from a very heavy rubber which, when viewed from the profile, look like the letter "T". The material was cut to size, the edges were rounded with a razor knife and the pieces were fastened to the Graflex using double-sided tape. The top of the letter "T" was fastened to the Graflex leaving the bottom *fin* sticking out to form the gripping surface. With all six rubber strips in place the saber not only looks good but is also quite functional. The grip fits the hand well and offers a little bit of cushion and a great non-slip surface for dueling. A lot of time has been spent looking for the proper type of wiper blades to use for the lightsaber only to find that most 50+ year old rubber has long since dry rotted and is not much use for display. The blades found that are still in good condition have trouble sticking to the Graflex due to the flat back of the blades not conforming to the round surface of the Graflex. I'm sure it worked fine for the filming of the movie since the saber was only shown from a distance. But for display purposes, something better is required. To achieve total accuracy and display quality results, a custom rubber extrusion made from the same hard rubber material as the original grips has been found. The grip material is exactly like the military wiper blades except that the part of the material that contacts the Graflex is curved to match the curve of the handle. No expense was spared in achieving total professionalism in this design and I believe it to be the finest quality on the market today. A set of six pre-cut grips can be purchased for $10.00, refer to the kit options at the end of this section.

Rubber Grips Example

3.

Belt Clip While not much information is available regarding the belt clip used for the ANH version of this saber, various types exist and some excellent replicas have been made. Some people just bend some flat metal strip and drill a couple of holes in it. While this method works, the end result is lacking in display quality appearance. The belt clip shown below has been modeled after the version made by Icons. They had the chance to borrow the actual prop in order to replicate it. So, given the absolute accuracy of the rest of their saber, I don't doubt that what they made is a dead on copy. Just like the rubber grip material described above, no expense was spared in the design and construction this belt clip. It is formed using commercial metal fabrication equipment. The holes are punched, not drilled. And the entire assembly is nickel-plated. The result is a professional looking belt clip assembly that is identical to what Icons uses on their Luke saber. I believe this to be the highest quality and most accurate belt clip assembly on the market today. A complete belt clip sells for $10.00 and includes stainless steel fasteners, refer to the kit options at the end of this section.

Belt Clip Example

4.

Chrome tape Chrome tape is, well, chrome tape. There is nothing special about it. Its just a plain 1/2" wide mylar tape. Any good industrial tape or label manufacturer will be happy to send you a small sample. In the conversion kit mentioned at the end of this section, some is included at no charge. There is more than enough for a Graflex in the conversion kit. You'll need a long 5 1/2"strip to cover the word "Graflex" on the rail clamp and a short 2" piece to put behind the LED display lens to make it reflective.

Chrome Tape

The final step to becoming a Jedi Knight This is the most critical step in becoming a Jedi Knight, the construction of your lightsaber. Care must be taken or an inferior unit will come into being. To begin with, the calculator display is held in place by the flash handle's clamp, as shown below.

Display Placement

The grips are held in place at 60-degree intervals by an industrial grade adhesive tape.

Grip Placement

The only part of the Graflex that gets modified is the bottom half. The picture above shows how the grips are placed on the handle. Note that the bottom edge of the facing grip is in the same plane as the centerline of the wide slot. Install the grips with the band clamp attached to the bottom half. This will keep the grips the correct distance from the slot. If the grips are installed too close to the slot the bottom half will not lock into place in the band clamp. You can use the face of a clock to get the grips at 60-degree intervals by setting the bottom half end cap down on the face of the clock and making marks at two hour intervals.

The belt clip is fastened with button head screws mounted in the bottom of the handle.

Belt Clip Placement

The picture above shows the belt clip mounting details. The relationship between the grip edge and the wide slot as mentioned above is also shown here. The belt clip mounts 90 degrees off of the grip that is attached closest to the wide slot. Or, using clock coordinates, a grip at 12, 2, 4, 6, 8 & 10 o'clock as shown here with the d-ring of the belt clip hanging over at 9 o'clock

This picture below shows how all of the parts line up with each other when the unit is completed. Note that with the display lens pointing straight up (as shown here) the d-ring hangs straight down. Using clock coordinates and viewing the Graflex from the bottom end with the display pointing straight up, line your saber up this way:

Parts Alignment

Final parts reference with each other and with positions on a clock face:

Grips placed at 1,3,5,7,9 & 11 o'clock Display mounted at 12 0'clock Belt clip d-ring hangs down at 6 o'clock Red button on the front half at 3 o'clock

Graflex 3-Cell flash handle modified for ESB Although no reference was made in the movie, Luke's saber changed slightly for the filming of ESB. The prop was still based on the Graflex 3-Cell flash handle, but a few modifications were made.

ESB Lightsaber

The LED display lens was replaced with an edge connector from an old circuit board The grips were shaped differently and attached with rivets or screws Part of a Linhof flash unit was adapted for the belt clip An extra red button filled the original Graflex test lamp's socket A type of embossed chrome tape was used in place of the smooth ANH version

Constructing an ESB Lightsaber: First, you must convert the Graflex 3-Cell flash handle to make an authentic replica of the lightsaber used by Luke Skywalker in Empire Strikes Back. The first difference is the replacement of the LED bubbles with a machined piece of a circuit board edge connector. Anyone who has upgraded a PC should be familiar with an edge connector. It's the part of the circuit board that mates with the motherboard. The little lines, called fingers, are gold plated to assure the best possible connection. The type of arrangement used for the ESB saber is called a HP-44 bus and uses gold plated fingers spaced on .156" centers, giving the 2 inch board 13 gold fingers. Modern edge connections, as shown below, are very compact, yielding 10 or more fingers per inch and typically have shorter gold fingers than the HP-44 bus.

Modern Circuit Board