How to build your own PVC Lightsaber!




This is a general overview of how I built my last Lightsaber.
A Jedi could follow along and recreate my saber exactly. I welcome that,
It is, however, my hope that a Jedi will read this guide and use the information here to create their own individual Saber.
Because of this I will not give exact lengths of Pipe and coupling cuts. You can customize to fit your preferences.
Honestly when making these sabers I just go with what looks good to me unless I am making a copy of a certain saber to add a blade too.

It is simple to adjust the lengths.
A slightly longer saber would require more O rings, A shorter Saber would require less.
Or perhaps you may wish to not add the small ring or to skip cutting the Pommel end to add some length. You may wish to cut is shorter.
A Jedi must decide for his or her self. I will gladly answer any questions you may have, You can email me at doright36@yahoo.com


I will show some Variations at the end of this Guide.





A few General notes on making PVC Lightsabers before Beginning:

I use Schedule 40 PVC pipe.
1" PVC Pipe needed for the main shaft of this Saber can be purchased in 5 foot sections.
I can usually make at least 4 sabers from one of these pipes.

There are 2 types of 1" PVC end Plugs that I have found in stores.
I use both depending on the type of saber I am making
Type A I use for the Pommel end and Type B I use for the Emitter end on some sabers.
Some stores have both. Some only have one kind.
If anyone knows what exactly the difference is Please tell me. You can email me at doright36@yahoo.com

I paint the parts disassembled
I usually only paint the Visible portions of the Main shaft unless a piece is loose.
Painting under a loose piece usually helps to make it snug. If not just glue it! :)
I use Short Scrap pieces of Pipe and Couplings to hold Saber Pieces when I paint them.
I use Pasticoat Car paint, both the spray paint and the "touch up" paint found in small bottles
Use of a clear coat is highly recommended

Cutting PVC will leave a lot of dust and particles. A breath mask and Eye protection is recommended.
Cuts in PVC will have Shavings and Cut marks, These must be sanded smooth before painting.
Sanding Drum on Rotary tool can be used to some extent to clean up cuts but use of 400 grit Sand paper is Highly recommended.
A hack saw is good for angle cuts and non visible cuts but for cuts that need to be Straight I use a Miter box with a PVC saw.

Lengths can Very slightly of PVC couplings. They average around 2 to 2 1/4 inches long.
The 1" or 1/2" I use when naming the parts refers to the inner diameter of the pipe or refers to the type of Pipe the Plug or coupling is made for.
Couplings have a lip or raised line in the middle of the coupling on the inner wall.
Couplings are made to connect 2 pipes together.
They will fit tightly onto the End of a Pipe with the pipe going about half way into the coupling.
The inner wall must be sanded to allow it to slide all the way onto the pipe
Some Couplings and Pipes come with Bar codes printed on them. Use of 400 grit sand paper usually removes this.
Others have Bar Code Stickers and I use Goo-b-gone to get all of this off.
Some couplings have a small Raised line or dash on the outer wall. I use the sanding drum to sand these off usually and then 400 grit sand paper to smooth.
End plugs and couplings have Earthly writings on the ends and edges that should be sanded off





Parts Needed:

Three 1" PVC couplings


One 1/2" PVC coupling


one 1/2" PVC end plug


one 1" PVC end plug


One 5/8" Furniture tack


one 1" PVC pipe cut to length


26 Orings


1 fake Jewel color of your blade



Tools Used:



A drill with 5/8" Drill bit and one smaller bit depending on type of Furniture tack you buy
A Rotary Tool with Sanding Drum.
A hack saw or PVC Saw. I use both but a Jedi could get by with one)
A Miter Box.(This is Optional as well. I use it to help me cut straight lines)






step 1: Make your Emitter Shield
Take one 1" PVC coupling and make an Angled cut to shape your Emitter Shield.




step 2:

I recommend using a breath mask and eye protection for this part. There will be lots of PVC dust.

Take a second 1" PVC coupling and use a Sanding Drum to sand out the inside walls of the Coupling.
Make it so that the Coupling will snuggly slide all the way onto the 1" PVC Pipe.
Be careful not to grind too much, making the coupling too loose on the Pipe.
Glue or Paint can help to correct this error somewhat if your coupling slides too easily.



Take a 5/8" Drill bit and Drill a hole in the 1" Coupling that you just grinded out.
This will Make an indentation when placed on your main shaft for your Activation button.





step 3: Make your Pommel

Take your third 1" coupling and Cut a small ring from one end, giving you 2 smaller pieces.
You can make this ring as big or as small as you want,
however be sure that you leave at least a 1/2 of an inch on cut side of the inner lip for connecting the larger piece to the pipe.

Then place 1" PVC end plug into the NON CUT end of the larger piece that you just cut. This will usually slide in all the way tightly.
You do not need to slide this end plug in all the way, however if you want it to stick out a bit you may need to use a small bit of glue to hold it into place.

So from this you have 2 pieces. 1 small ring that we will use on the main shaft of the saber and a large piece that will be the Pommel end of your lightsaber.



step 4: Make your Emitter


This step will also have a lot of PVC Dust. Breath Mask and eye protection Recommended.

Take your 1/2" Coupling and grind one end of the coupling so that one end will fit snuggly inside of the 1" PVC pipe.

Place the 1/2" end plug into the end of the coupling you just grinded and then grind the bottom of the Plug so that it too will fit into the Pipe.


This piece is your Emitter



step 5: Cut pipe and Assemble your Saber!.


The Number of O rings used will depend on the length of your Saber.
I recommend assembling the Emitter shield, small ring, Center coupling with hole and O rings on to the 1" PVC pipe before cutting the Pipe.
This will help you decide on the length you want. I used 26 O Rings Total. 24 in the grip section and 2 between the Middle coupling and the smaller Coupling piece.
My small ring was a bit loose So I used an extra O ring to hold it into place as a temporary measure. I did not put this ring on after I painted
When I painted I painted under where this ring would be and it was enough to hold it tight.
I could have used glue as well to hold it tight when I assembled after Painting
Once you have your desired length cut the 1" PVC Pipe leaving enough Pipe past the O rings on the Pommel end for the last coupling piece to fit onto the end.
Then attach the larger Coupling piece with the End plug in it and your emitter piece if you didn't already.






step 6: Get your Saber Ready to paint!


First things first. Completely disassemble your Saber. Remove all O rings and couplings.
Mark lightly onto the Main PVC Pipe where the visible portion will be.
Now Sand all surfaces that will be painted with 400 grit sand paper. Make sure all bar codes and Imprinted words are removed.
Once sanded, wash all pieces with warm soapy water and let dry completely!
drying with a lint free towel is also recommended.
Tape off with masking tape the parts on the main PVC pipe that you will not be painting.




step 7: Paint that sucker!



I use Plasti-Coat Automotive Paint.
The colors used were Gunmetal, Astrial Silver Metallic and Black, Plus I also used Plasti-Coat Clear coat.

a few notes on painting
I found that Automotive Primer doesn't always stick the best onto PVC so I found another and what I think is a better way.
I get the small bottles of Automotive touch up paint in the same colors that I want to spray.
Then I use a brush to paint a coat of the touch up paint on the pieces, making sure all white is covered.
Then once I have them painted with the touch up paint I spray on the Automotive Spray paint in 2-3 very light coats.
If you spray too much in one coat it will run.
Painting with touch up paint alone will leave brush marks on your saber but these will disappear when you lightly spray.
Once this is dry I paint with clear coat.


Painting For this saber:
I painted the visible portions of the main shaft and underneath where the small ring will sit Astrial Silver Metallic.
I painted the visible portions of the Emitter Piece Astrial Silver Metallic
The Pommel end, Center piece, Emitter shield, and small ring I painted Gunmetal Grey.
The furniture tack to be used for the Activation button I painted black. Note: for this small piece I only needed the touch up paint and clear coat


Let completely dry and then Clear coat all pieces with at least 2 coats of clear Coat.

Let dry.



step 8: Put it back together again and add your button and Jewel

Ok put the saber back together.
Make sure that you slide the center pieces from the bottom up so that you do not scratch the paint on the visible portions of the Main pipe.

Once the saber is put together you need to add the Activation button.
First you will need to center the hole in your center coupling piece where you want the button. There may/should be white pipe Visible through this hole
Use the touch up paint to paint the showing parts either Black or Gunmetal.
Touch up paint dries fast so if you wait about 15 minutes you should be able to continue.

Once your ready to continue you will need Drill a small hole in the center of the area you just painted, but first check your Furniture Tack.
I have found that 5/8" Furniture tacks come with different size nails depending on the brand and Store
only the diameter of the tack head is the same and this will be the only visible part of the tack when done.
You should just make sure that the hole you drill in the indented area is smaller than the nail portion of the tack.
You just want to make sure that the nail will go in far enough so that the Tack head fits snuggly into the center of the indentation.


The last step is to simply glue your colored Jewel into the center of the Emitter.
The fake Jewels I use are 13mm Plastic Craft Jewels but I have also been able to grind down a 18mm one to fit.
Other items may work or you could just leave it off since it is only visible when looking inside the Emitter.
When you look into the emitter it will actually be the inside of the 1/2 Plug that you will be gluing this too.
I recommend just rolling up a piece of scotch tape on the eraser end of a pencil. stick the up side of your Jewel to this
Then put glue on the back end and use the pencil to place inside your emitter.
Once the glue dries the Tape and pencil should lift out easy



step 9: Add a belt Clip


Choose what kind of belt clip you want. Each Jedi will have their own preference.
A D Ring can be screwed to the flat bottom on the Pommel end and a Covertec or Pager Clip wheel can be easily screwed into the side of the Pommel end piece.




step 10: Admire, enjoy, and Showoff your Saber











Variations on a theme:






for this saber I put the small ring in the center of the O ring Grip.
I Place a few extra O rings on the Visible portions of the main pipe to give this saber a cool look.
I also drilled two small holes behind the button and place Gold Craft beads on this saber
I still have mixed feelings on if this was a good addition or not







This saber is a similar design but I used an old Vacuum Cleaner hose for the grip instead of the O rings.
I also just added the button to the back of the Main shaft so it was raised and not indented.



Feel free to contact me with any questions, Advice, or to show off what you made

doright36@yahoo.com