Be A Jedi & Create Your Very Own Lightsaber for less than $30

What You Will Need

• 1ft PVC pipe for the handle-1.25” diameter $1.29/foot~$1.6
• 3ft of translucent polycarbonate tubing for the blade-$9.41
• 20 Light Emitting Diodes of your choice ($0.02 @ amounting to $0.8)
• Few pieces of 1/2 inch woodscrews $0.125 per piece~$1.25
• One touch/ toggle switch $0.79
• A pair of AA batteries and holder $4
• A ply wood ½” X 3ft long $1
• Black and red wires from an old radio or cell phone charger
• Small motor- ravaged from an old walkman
• Hack saw blade $1
• Rounded piece of old woods-same diameter as the PVC
• Cello tape $0.49
• Sharp Knife $1
• Soldering Bit and reel of soldier- $5

Total Approximate Cost: $26.34

Step 1

You will need to start by creating the handle which will hold the AA batteries, toggle switch and motor inside. Take a hacksaw blade and cut the desired length for the handle. The ideal size is 1 foot. Close the upper side of the PVC handle with the tight fitting rounded piece of wood. It should just cover an inch of the handle. Cut the PVC handle you have just created in two pieces at the ratio of 1:3 from the closed side. You should now have one hollow Pipe with 9” and another closed with 3”. The battery pack and switch will fit on the longer side.

Step 2

Drill a small hole on the 9” part using a hot soldering bit and fit the toggle switch. Make sure you have soldered two wires on the switch correspondingly input and output. On the battery pack, let the positive wire run through the switch connection but leave the negative side hanging. Take your motor and add cello tape around it to make it fit on the PVC pipe firmly. Connect its two wires. One side of the motor goes directly to the negative battery side while the other one connects to the switch.

Solder two connections for the LED lights; one directly on the negative side of the battery and the other right after the switch. To put it in perspective, the motor and light emitting diodes should be powered when the switch goes on. Insert the battery pack comfortably on the PVC pipe but leave the two wires for the lighting system hanging.

Step 3

You now have two pieces of PVC pipe, the 9” and the 3” (one side covered) both making 1ft of your handle. You must join them by inserting a piece of wood in between them and then fastening with about 4 wood screws. Make the initial screw holes with your hot soldering bit. Two wires for the Light emitting diodes and the switch are the only visible parts now. When you press the switch, the motor should vibrate and the two hanging wires will have a current.

Step 4

Cut a piece of plywood -same size as the 3ft of translucent polycarbonate tubing. The plywood will be used as a bread board to hold the Light Emitting Diodes. Make pairs of holes on the plywood after every 4 inches. You will have a total of 10 pairs of holes and you will need 20 bulbs. Position the light diodes one after the other while bending their leads to avoid falling before the soldering. You may put some pairs at the upper side and others on the button for maximum lighting.

Step 5

Solder the Light Diodes in parallel so that they take power from one source. Remember to check the polarities again. Insert the whole set in the 3ft of translucent polycarbonate tubing. Support the plywood on the ends by using rounded pieces of woods trimmed using a sharp knife to be of the same diameter as the blade. The LED lights are now ready to be powered and can be connected to the power source. You may use a Molex connector here.

Then, wrap the tip of the polycarbonate tubing that goes near the handle with a clear cello tape until it becomes the size of the inner diameter of your Lightsaber handle. Switch, your Lightsaber and you are ready to join the fantasy of Star Wars fans.

What Now?

Go fourth and do your best, recreate your favorite Star Wars moment today for less than $30!

About Author | Amie is a freelance electronics writer, frequently writing for a range of electronic components, such as Farnell Element 14, in her spare time when not writing she enjoys keeping busy with a range of electronics such as capacitors and analog devices.

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