This article was published on January 12, 2011

How to: make your own Star Wars light saber


How to: make your own Star Wars light saber

Have you ever heard of Star Wars? Yeah, neither have we but apparently it’s a pretty popular TV program from the 70s. One very talented fan, Bradley W. Lewis, an Austin, TX local currently works at BioWare as a senior visual effects artist on Star Wars: The Old Republic. But at night he is a “robopirate builder” and has a hobby of making awesome-looking Star Wars light sabers.

To be specific, Lewis made a “A Return Of The Jedi Luke Saber, with crystal chamber, thin neck, and detachable blade,” in just under two months, documenting his progress on his website, Slothfurnace. First he started with these impressive sketches:

Then he began work on the collapsable grip section in hollow 1.5 inch diameter aluminum.

Then came a string of extremely bright LEDs, 90 in total, bent in place with needlenose pliers to light up a crystal chamber.

A few wired conduits, threaded rods, necks, pommels, pilot holes, lock knobs, retainer plates, anchor plugs, emitter shells, resonance chambers, grooves, set screws and enamel later…

And you have an official DIY Star Wars light saber.

On his Facebook page, he advertises that he’s doing pretty well: I sell art pieces, sometimes they’re saber shaped, and when I do sabers, depending on complexity, they take several months. I only take a few commissions per year, and right now I am booked solid!

Like his work? Follow him on Twitter here and become a fan on Facebook. See his portfolio here and contact information for pricing.

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