In an increasingly paperless society, writing implements are becoming an obsolete technology for many of us. Certainly not the kind of thing the average person would think to spend more than a couple bucks on, to say nothing of machining one out of a solid piece of aluminum bar stock. But clearly [Bob] is not most people. He recently dropped us a line about a video he uploaded to his aptly-named YouTube channel “Making Stuff”, where he goes through the steps required to turn raw materials into a writing instrument worthy of a Jedi.
Starting with a piece of aluminum chucked up in the lathe, [Bob] cuts out the iconic ribbed profile of Luke’s saber and fills in the gaps with nothing more exotic than a black Sharpie. He then moves on to the more complex shape of the emitter, and then flips the handle over in the lathe and hollows it out so a brass tube can be inserted.
Somewhat surprisingly, it seems more effort ends up being put into the acrylic “blade” than the aluminum handle itself. A chunk of acrylic is drilled and tapped so that it can be mounted in the chuck, and then turned down into a long cylinder. A tip is then cut in the end, the length of the blade is hollowed out, and finally it gets polished up to a nice shine.
The build is completed by inserting a standard ink pen cartridge down the center of the now completed saber. Surely the pen aficionados will lament that he didn’t attempt to build his own ink cartridge as well, but we think he gets a pass considering the rest of it was made from scratch.
If even a glorious writing instrument such as this isn’t enough to get you to re-learn how to write your name, fear not. Whether you’re making music or capturing flags, we’ve played home to numerous other saber projects; eye-safe or otherwise.
Looks more like a sonic screwdriver
I’se always wanted a logic probe that looks like a sonic screwdriver.
I’d prefer a sonic screwdriver that’s a crystal radio, like the old fashioned “rocket radio”:
http://www.crystalradio.net/misc/rocket/
I remember thinking of one of the early props- “The tip of that looks like the earpiece of a crystal radio”
Didn’t watch the video, but it looks uncomfortably unbalanced for actual writing. I wonder if anodized aluminum would look okay as a “blade”…
Frosted acrylic, with an RGB LED to light it up, for the blade. Make the writing tip come out the pommel end, for better balance. Sometimes I wish ideas were a little less cheap and time a little less precious.
Clearly Luke Skywalker’s hilt, and yet the blade is red? Pfft. Literally unusable. Fake Star Wars fans. /s
Seriously, though. This is a very unique concept and brilliant execution. Seems a bit unwieldy for casual writing, but I’d love to have it on a stand on my desk.
I can’t wait for version 2, where the pen retracts into the light sabre handle.
Hey, what is everyone’s go-to pen? I tend to use G2 Pilot pens for everyday use, but recently I’ve really been liking the small 0.1-0.5mm tip micropigment ‘sharpie’ pens you can get at art stores in all sorts of colors.
I like this little mini ballpoint I stole from Alamo Drafthouse. Sorry Alamo.
Bic Crystal. Stick with the classics. Just don’t get the “Bold” ones.
Also, WRT the video – I was wondering how he was going to do the black insets – Sharpie is pure brilliance. I’m totally stealing that.
free pens from agri shows
As a pen-nerd… grar. That looks horrible to write with, being all top-heavy. Also given all that effort, why did he put a s**tty ballpoint in it?
PS to HaD eds: pen-turning is a significant little subculture and wide-spread hobby. There are loads of standard parts you can buy (for very cheap, or not) to make a working pen out of whatever cylindrical-like thing you care to fashion.
It’s clearly made with a lot of care, which is perhaps why it bothers me so much that the pen isn’t gripped by the lightsaber hilt. With the pen at the other end the balance would be better for writing.