McQuarry Concept Saber Tutorial

By ??? (Please contact me if this was done by you)



This will show you how to create a hardware version of Ralph McQuarry's Luke concept saber

We'll start with supplies: (Make Walmart your first stop)

A set of casters (the things you set chair legs on) 1 13/16 inch. ($1.48 for four at Walmart)

A set of stainless steel measuring cups - unfortunately, they have handles spot-welded on. ($6.99 at Walmart) If I were to do this again, I might find a ladle with a bowl about 1 3/4 inches or a little bigger across.

Now head over to the Hardware store. I like our little mom & pop Ace, but Lowes or Home Depot should also have everything needed.

A six inch piece of chrome pipe, 1 1/4 inch. ($1.99 at Ace)

The pipe should be in the plumbing section, and while you're there, grab a sink trap that will fit snugly in the smallest measuring cup. It should be about an inch or so across, and it'll be your emmiter. ($1.29)

In the same section of the store, pick up 8 rubber sealing washers. They're gray, and are used to seal piece of pipe. Get the MEDIUM ones and make sure they'll fit snugly on your pipe. (about $.25 apiece)

Now, get thee over to the pvc section...

Grab a cap to use as the base of your saber. McQuarrie's drawing shows the cap as smooth, so that's the way I went, but there are some cool pieces with texture there also. Find a cap that is the same diameter as your caster. ($.79)

You also need an adapter. This'll fit between the base and the bottom caster, and provide the space necessary between them. I got one that went from 3/4 of an inch to an inch, and had some texture on it that would show in the gap. You've got some leeway here, though, so just experiment as you stand there in the aisle, dropping various pieces into the cap and setting the caster on top to see how it looks. ($1.09)

Get 6 "O" rings that fit your pipe. I alternated between the grey rubber spacers and the "o" rings when I made the grip. ($.20 each)

A couple of wide black rubber washers for either side of the grip. Not sure where I found these in the store,probably in the same section as the "o" rings. ($.50 each)

A small brass spacer for the bowl. This was in the plumbing section and was the most expensive piece, since it came slipped onto a steel nut with a gasket around it - it's some kind of spacer, or adapter or something. Here I might also do something a little different if I were to do it again. It seems a little long. It also cost almost $5.00.

Finally, you need a bolt, 1/4 x 6 inches, and a few small washers (3 or 4, none bigger than 1" in diam), and nuts. ($.50)

The piece on top of the emitter came from the nut section too, it's flat on the bottom and has three sharp little points pointing up from the base. The threaded part is about a half inch long. ($.25)