For packing joints.
I made a little baseball bat years ago for that purpose and recently had fun making more different ones for friends.
As you can see I used a piece of rebar for the bat.
I "turned" it using a drill and angle grinder then going through different grains of sanding:
The lightsaber's hilt was made the same way, using a dremel tool to get more control on the details.
The "blade" is made of Corian, a synthetic stone commonly used for countertops.
The sword required a lot more precision to make and ended up okay but looking closely nothing is really symmetrical or straight...
I grinded it from a random stick of metal, the pommel is made from aluminum and the grip is two layers of sewing thread soaked in superglue, sanded, then superglued again.
A cross-guard would have added a lot of character but I didn't find a nice and easy enough way to do it, and I was short on time...
29 Comments
Sammy@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 18 pts · 1y
Wtf i love this please keep up the good work!
MacAnus@sh.itjust.works · 10 pts · 1y
Thanks I love that enthusiasm!
Kolanaki@pawb.social · 15 pts · 1y
You should make slightly bigger versions of the weapons from Clue. 😃
Bonus points if the revolver comes with tiny bullets that can actually be fired.
MacAnus@sh.itjust.works · 7 pts · 1y
Good idea!
The wrench and pistol would require me to seriously upgrade my carving skills though...
The rest seem easy enough :)
(forget the rope)
Windex007@lemmy.world · 11 pts · 1y
This is Brian Jaques saying "Welcome, to Redwall Abby, on the internet"
MacAnus@sh.itjust.works · 5 pts · 1y
Had to look this up and man I would love to arm mice
Windex007@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 1y
These would be perfect for it.
Also it was one an extremely early adopter of using websites for books. It was such a wholesome time on the internet. You could spend like an hour downloading a 3 second WAV file where the author welcomed you to the website. Blew my fucking mind.
MacAnus@sh.itjust.works · 3 pts · 1y
Well I had no idea thanks for that bit of info!
Make Internet Wholesome Again ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ
winety@lemmy.zip · 9 pts · 1y
I would have killed for this when I was ten. Love this!
wizardbeard@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 7 pts · 1y
You were packing joints when you were ten?
winety@lemmy.zip · 7 pts · 1y
I did not know what a joint was. But I knew that miniature versions of things are cool as heck.
MacAnus@sh.itjust.works · 4 pts · 1y
I would have too haha, thank you!
HalfSalesman@lemm.ee · 7 pts · 1y
You need some G.I. Joe sized action figures to go with.
MacAnus@sh.itjust.works · 6 pts · 1y
Yes! I'm giving those tomorrow but I'll see if I have anything that could hold these
Thcdenton@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 1y
Now use it to skewer a sandwich
MacAnus@sh.itjust.works · 5 pts · 1y
Sounds very satisfying but I'm leaving the christening privilege to their future owners :)
The sword is actually quite sharp, with some patience I'm sure I could cut a sandwich
Crackhappy@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 1y
This is FANTASTIC. You just invented your own industry.
MacAnus@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 1y
Thank you!
aramova@infosec.pub · 4 pts · 1y
I saw Cat's Eye as a kid, I know where that's really from!
(Damn fine work btw)
MacAnus@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 1y
Hahaha, thank you!
litchralee@sh.itjust.works · 3 pts · 1y
I am a big fan of makeshift lathes, for tasks that don't necessitate a full metal workshop. Though I do hope to have a small lathe one day.
MacAnus@sh.itjust.works · 3 pts · 1y
Nice setup! Everything looks nice and sturdyish ^^
How clean was the finish on that bar and how did you spin it?
I need a vise... I'm still free-handing the angle grinder and it's super hard to be consistent.
Edit: sorry I only looked at the "lathe" pic and hadn't read the words which answered all my questions :)
litchralee@sh.itjust.works · 3 pts · 1y
Thank you for the kind words! All of the tools I used were things that were laying around. I'm marginally better at woodworking than metalworking, so that's why the jig holding the bar was all wood.
I did think about attaching the motor from a disused drill press to spin the bar, but that seemed like it would invite all manner of complexity.
Lathe is in my future, but I kinda want a CNC first. But a CNC lathe would be god-tier.
MacAnus@sh.itjust.works · 3 pts · 1y
Well I am a woodworker myself and I gotta say that bench looks clean af, nice job!
I also think about that sort of things every time I need a lathe and have tried repurposing old motors, but i haven't yet made a semi decent one.
I feel you, I crave so many tools...
litchralee@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 1y
Well, since I've already linked to two of my not-quite-a-lathe projects, I might as well link to the one which started it all: https://sh.itjust.works/post/16087080
This one does have a motor, but not a conventional one at all. And this only worked because the thing I'm turning would need a center hole drilled through anyway.
MacAnus@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 1y
Woaw now that's a nice jig I'm going to keep in mind for later use!
I love the multitude of solutions people can think of to get to their goals.
Props on making your own stuff!
ClanOfTheOcho@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 1y
toothpick of destiny
MacAnus@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 1y
Haha thanks for the link, I didnt know that show
BULAJI@lemm.ee · 2 pts · 1y
All the miniature models are extremely excellent.