My Dumb Projects
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Code Geass: Emperor Lelouch's Sword
I was commissioned to make the sword of Emperor LeLouch from Code Geass. A scabbard to fit it was also requested.
Since the blade is so thin, I decided to make it from a solid piece of 3/4" maple. I cut the side profile on the table saw.
I then tapered the thickness of the blade using the belt sander.
I used a hand plane to bevel the edges of the blade.
I cut a slot in the top of the blade big enough to insert a 1/2" copper pipe which will serve as the handle.
I cut 1/2" MDF for the guard, running bolts through all the pieces to hold them together.
I cut the wings from 1/4" poplar and filled the gap between the MDF with more poplar.
The guard was getting too thick, so I re-cut it in 1/4" thick MDF.
Once everything was bolted and glued together, I puttied up the seams.
To further reduce thickness, I also re-cut the outer trim from 1/4" poplar. These also cover the bolts.
I routered out some shallow holes in the sides of the blade to hold the gems. I also cut some thin plastic to smooth out the bottom of the hole.
I made the blade gems using 1/4" acrylic, shaping it with a Dremel sanding drum.
After sanding, the gem was smoothed with a buffing wheel.
I cut trim from styrene and glued them to the holes.
The feathers on the wings were scribed using an Xacto knife.
The handle trim was made by heating and wrapping thin styrene strips.
Once it was wrapped around, it was trimmed flush. The ends were heated again and the soft plastic welds together.
The plastic trim was glued to the handle.
The pommel was a wooden drawer knob, secured with a threaded rod.
The hilt gems were cut from 1/4" red acrylic. The base was cut from thick styrene.
I glued mylar wrapping paper to the back of all the gems.
I painted the hilt in two gold tones.
When I got a shipping estimate, I found that the sword was too long to ship cross country for a reasonable price. I decided to cut the blade in half.
Fortunately there is a natural color split at the halfway point so the split wouldn't be too noticeable.
I drilled each end and glued an aluminum dowel into one side.
Back together! The client will epoxy it when he gets it.
The round beads were purchased and painted but I made the long beads from maple.
I glued some string into the end of the long bead and strung the round beads and grommet onto it.
I cut the sides of the scabbard from 3/4" MDF.
The top and bottom of the scabbard was made from 1/4" MDF. I glued in some fake suede lining into each side.
Once the sides were glued together, the MDF was sealed and the edges beveled.
I added two rings to the scabbard so that it could be worn from a belt.
I added styrene trim to the opening. I moved the trim away from the opening to protect the sword from getting scratched.
I added a heat formed styrene end cap to the scabbard.
The beads were glued to each side of the hilt.
The final hilt.
The finished sword in scabbard.
The sword outside the scabbard. The sword itself is over 5 feet long.
¶ 9:57 AM 11 comments
Since the blade is so thin, I decided to make it from a solid piece of 3/4" maple. I cut the side profile on the table saw.
I then tapered the thickness of the blade using the belt sander.
I used a hand plane to bevel the edges of the blade.
I cut a slot in the top of the blade big enough to insert a 1/2" copper pipe which will serve as the handle.
I cut 1/2" MDF for the guard, running bolts through all the pieces to hold them together.
I cut the wings from 1/4" poplar and filled the gap between the MDF with more poplar.
The guard was getting too thick, so I re-cut it in 1/4" thick MDF.
Once everything was bolted and glued together, I puttied up the seams.
To further reduce thickness, I also re-cut the outer trim from 1/4" poplar. These also cover the bolts.
I routered out some shallow holes in the sides of the blade to hold the gems. I also cut some thin plastic to smooth out the bottom of the hole.
I made the blade gems using 1/4" acrylic, shaping it with a Dremel sanding drum.
After sanding, the gem was smoothed with a buffing wheel.
I cut trim from styrene and glued them to the holes.
The feathers on the wings were scribed using an Xacto knife.
The handle trim was made by heating and wrapping thin styrene strips.
Once it was wrapped around, it was trimmed flush. The ends were heated again and the soft plastic welds together.
The plastic trim was glued to the handle.
The pommel was a wooden drawer knob, secured with a threaded rod.
The hilt gems were cut from 1/4" red acrylic. The base was cut from thick styrene.
I glued mylar wrapping paper to the back of all the gems.
I painted the hilt in two gold tones.
When I got a shipping estimate, I found that the sword was too long to ship cross country for a reasonable price. I decided to cut the blade in half.
Fortunately there is a natural color split at the halfway point so the split wouldn't be too noticeable.
I drilled each end and glued an aluminum dowel into one side.
Back together! The client will epoxy it when he gets it.
The round beads were purchased and painted but I made the long beads from maple.
I glued some string into the end of the long bead and strung the round beads and grommet onto it.
I cut the sides of the scabbard from 3/4" MDF.
The top and bottom of the scabbard was made from 1/4" MDF. I glued in some fake suede lining into each side.
Once the sides were glued together, the MDF was sealed and the edges beveled.
I added two rings to the scabbard so that it could be worn from a belt.
I added styrene trim to the opening. I moved the trim away from the opening to protect the sword from getting scratched.
I added a heat formed styrene end cap to the scabbard.
The beads were glued to each side of the hilt.
The final hilt.
The finished sword in scabbard.
The sword outside the scabbard. The sword itself is over 5 feet long.
¶ 9:57 AM 11 comments
