Laser Cut Energy Sword

My six year old son came across a Halo outfit at the Halloween costume store and decided he must have it. Having devoted nearly half my waking hours to that game about 10 years ago I was plenty excited that there would be a Mater Chief walking around my house. Problem was, he came with no weapons and that is unacceptable.

This Instructable covers the creation of a very simple laser cut Energy Sword. It is a simple mechanism complete with a blue LEDs to give it that energy sword glowing effect. I'm not artistic so I cut the build short of painting it, just wood tone here.

Everyone knows Master Chief can carry two weapons, so I also made a Spartan Laser, check it out at: https://www.instructables.com/id/Laser-Cut-Spartan-Laser/

Here are the items you need for the build:

- Coin cell battery

- Coin cell holder

- Scrap wire

- Tactical switch

- Blue LEDs

- Two sheets 12" x 24" x 0.25" plywood.

- Assorted small screws

Tools Needed:

- Soldering iron

- Laser Cutter

- Wood glue

- Drill and assorted bits

Does it get any cooler cutting stuff with a laser? I think not.

Use the attached files to cut out the various pieces. Consists of two main outer plates, spacers to give it depth and rigidity and a channel to run the wires. I created this in Inkscape using a silhouette image off of a quick google images search. Thanks to whoever did all the hard work for me!

They are attached as PDFs, ready to send to the laser cutter. I tried uploading the .svg files but Instructables didn't like it.

Take one side of the Energy Sword that you cut out and glue the spacers to it using wood glue. Get everything lined up perfect and then either clamp or stack some books on top overnight for the glue to set up. Be sure to wipe off any glue with a moist towel so you don't have to sand it off later.

The blue LEDs were robbed from a light up Shark Sword that broke, RIP shark. However they were already the perfect length and soldered onto a strip in parallel waiting for me to take advantage of. I mounted them with electrical tape directly to the frame and spacers. Easy peasy.

Solder the coin cell holder to the negative and positive of the LEDs with scrap wire but leave a break in the negative/ground wire and route it to the button. That way when you press the button the circuit is complete and the LEDs light up.

Route the wires through the channels so your top sword face will mount flush later. Leave a bit of slack in the wires near the coin cell holder to you can easily reach in and pull out the coin cell at a later date to replace it.

Install the other side, line up carefully and clamp in place. I found some small screws in a scrap drawer and installed them in 4 spots around the perimeter to hold the side on. Do yours as you please, I chose not to glue mine just in case I need to repair something later.

This thing glows beautifully in the dark and my son loves it. The best part of all is seeing the smile on your kids face when it is all finished. This is an easy project to build with your little one. Mine loves going to the FabLab with me and running the laser cutter.

Be sure to check out the Spartan Laser at https://www.instructables.com/id/Laser-Cut-Spartan-Laser/

Vote for me please!