Obi-Wan Kenobi Lightsaber Prop

Since the StarWars movie is coming out I thought why not make a light saber for the occasion. This instructable is all you need to know to make one yourself. The processes is fairly easy depending on your skills.

What you will need:

110lb paper

liquid glue

(metal edged:optional) ruler

x-acto knife

cutting surface

lightsaber template

http://maguireellsworth.deviantart.com/art/Scan000...

http://maguireellsworth.deviantart.com/art/Scan000...

The first thing you need to do is create hardened paper. this is done by spreading glue on an 11in x 8.5in 110lb piece of paper (cardstock). do this with four sheets of paper to get the right thickness. if you are using 20lb paper you may need to do more layers. Set this under a heavy object while it is drying. when it is dry cut out the following pieces and trace them onto the now hardened paper.

In this step you will be forming the actual tube that everything goes on. Trim the paper to be 9in in width. Spread glue on it and roll it up around a dowel that is 1.5in in diameter. Roll it up in a second piece of paper to help strengthen the tube.

Now you will have to make some more hardened paper but in a specific way. First, fold a piece of paper in half lengthwise. Then spread glue on the inside and fold and again but under a heavy object to dry. Then cut out the given circle and trace it twice on the now half sheet of hardened paper. Cut them out and make sure that they will fit on the tube. Glue them in place. The spacing should be about a quarter inch. Cut a thin strip of scrap paper and glue it to the outside of the two rings.

Measure and cut 12 strips of paper that are about 1/8 of an inch. starting at the lip start to wrap them around. Give a small space in between each strip. Then measure and mark a line 2 5/8 in from th bottom of the lip. Wrap a small piece at this mark. This will be used later.

Cut out the crown shaped piece and glue it on. Line up the bottom of the piece to the bottom of the strip. cut out small tabs the same width of the flat parts of the crown and the same length as the top of the flat parts on the crown to the bottom of the lip and glue them in place.

Next comes the hard part. It is pretty straight forward. Cut out the piece with all the small tabs from the big sheet of hardened paper. Round it out so it is easier to glue on. Glue it on with the large space on the top and make sure it lines up with the bottom of the tube. If you want, glue it on in such a fashion that the lines meet up on the tube to the conjoined part. I used small rubber bands to help keep all the small tabs in place. Next, the part that looks like an I will go on. Again round it out so it is easier to glue on. Glue it on with the large rounded corners on the top. Use rubber bands if needed. If you can make sure that the flat part of the pieces or back of the pieces are lined up with a tab on the crown. This may seem insignificant now but it completes the look of the project later. Then cut out the small strips given and trace on the left over hardened paper. Glue them on in the order shown. Make sure that they are in the correct position and orientation.

You are almost done!!! Now cut out the long strip of paper on the template. If you printed the template on regular paper trace it onto cardstock. Roll it up into a tube that is 1in in diameter. I found that the tip of the glue bottle works perfectly. Measure and mark 1.5 inches on the tube. Cut out some small strips of paper that have a width of the leftover space of the small tube. Wrap them on the tube around the mark. Wrap it enough times so that it fits into the end of the light saber. Once it fits glue it into place.

To finish the pommel cut out the larger circles and trace then on the half sheet of hardened paper. Once they are traced cut them out and make sure that they fit on the small tube on the back of the light saber. They should be spaced one centimeter from the back of the light saber and one centimeter away from each other. Now we are going to wrap it like we did to the lip. Cut out a strip 1 cm in width and glue to the outer diameter of the circles. Now cut out the largest of the semicircles. Connect the two ends so that it forms a circle. Glue it to the base of the circles that we just placed. Continue to do this with the other two semi circles. Unless you messed up like me and made the tube too short to not put the third ring on. In this case just trim the extra off and close up the tube.

Last but not least!!! Create a grid that has boxes 1cm x 1cm. Cut out a 1 x 5 strip and glue it into a square as shown. Then cut out a 1 x 3 strip and place inside the box, glue this into place. Create six of these. Now glue them around the flat part of the pommel in an orderly fashion as shown. Make sure that you have one at the conjoined grip and on straight across from that.

Finally the last decorations that ties the whole project together. For the button cut a strip of paper about 1/8 of an inch thick and wrap it around a sharpie. If you don't have a sharpie wrap it around something that is about 1/2 an inch in diameter. Trace the circle on a piece of paper and cut it out. Glue it onto the top off of the circle. Glue this on the right side of the handle under a tab on the crown. Now for the last piece cut a strip the same thickness of the button and wrap it around your x-acto blade handle. Glue this on the left side of the handle again under a tab of the crown. And just like that you are done!!!