Bill of Materials (BOM)
Carefully read the specifications to order the correct component.
Hardware
| Component | Qty | Specification | Where to Buy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hex socket screw set | 1 set | M3 / M4 / M5 assortment, stainless steel | AliExpress · Amazon |
| Hex socket screw | 1 pcs | M4 × 50mm | AliExpress · |
| Countersunk screws | 2 pcs | M3 × 5mm, flat head, stainless | AliExpress · Amazon |
| Hexagon Socket Allen screw | 2 pcs | M4 5mm It’s often available as a spare part for printers (check before buying—you may already have them). It’s used to secure the heat break as well as pulleys on shafts. | AliExpress |
| Bearing | 4 pcs | 4 × 12 × 4 mm 604ZZ | AliExpress |
| Spring | 1 pc | 0.6mm wire, 40mm length, 6mm OD | AliExpress |
Main electronics
| Component | Qty | Specification | Where to Buy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Motor | 1 pc | JGA25-370, 12V 399 or 620 RPM | AliExpress |
| Speakers (pair) | 2 pcs | 40mm, 5W, 4Ω | AliExpress |
| Switch ON-OFF | 1 pc | MTS-102 | AliExpress |
| Limit switch (button/trigger) | 1 pcs | Limit Switch KW12-3 AC 250V 5A SPDT 1NO 1NC 3 Pins Switch | AliExpress Amazon |
| MP3 player board | 1 pc | DY-HV20T | AliExpress |
| Resistor | 1 pc | 1kΩ | AliExpress |
| Micro SD card | 1 pc | Any size — stores audio files | — |
| Battery Holder | 1 | Battery Holder for 8 x 1.5V AAA | AliExpress |
Printing
All parts are designed to print without supports — where supports are needed, they are already integrated into the model and will need to be removed during assembly (more on this in the Assembly section).
A ready-to-print Bambu Lab project file is provided with all parts pre-arranged on build plates. Each plate is named after the assembly it belongs to: Hilt, Blade, Body, etc. The parts are already oriented in the correct printing position — just slice and print.
Print Settings
Minimum settings for all parts: 2 walls, 10% infill.
Exception — Blade parts, main body: print with minimum 3 walls and 30% infill. This part bears higher mechanical loads.
Some parts in the 3MF files also include modifiers to locally increase strength in specific areas.
Material
Any common filament will work: PLA, PETG, or ABS. There is no significant difference in performance for this project — choose whatever you are most comfortable printing with.
You’ll need at least 2 kg of filament for printing; it’s better to take extra in case of defects.
Where more than one copy of a part is needed, the quantity is indicated in the file name.
There are two versions of the chain links available: **tight** and **loose**. Before printing the full set, print a few tight-fit links first. If they rotate too tightly during assembly (the movement should have minimal resistance, but without wobbling), print the loose-fit version instead.
⚠ CHAIN ELEMENT COUNT
Demon style: 78 chain elements
Infantry style: 82 chain elements
Girls style: 82 chain elements
Viking style: 92 chain elements
Eagle style: 92 chain elements
Crusader style: 92 chain elements
Red Angels style: 92 chain elements
Prepare these parts before assembly.
For a better understanding of the next steps of soldering the wires, I will provide the final wiring diagram of the entire electronics setup.
Motor wiring
You will need approximately 40 cm of wire for the motor connection. Solder the RED wire to the motor terminal marked with a red dot — this ensures correct polarity. If the chain rotates in the wrong direction after assembly, simply swap the two wires .
Speakers
You will need approximately 20 cm of wire and a short 5 cm jumper wire. The speakers must be connected in series, since the amplifier is designed for 8Ω impedance and each speaker is rated at 4Ω. Wiring them in series gives the required 8Ω total. If you find 8Ω speakers of the same size, you can connect them in parallel instead.
Preparing the Limit Switch Button
Solder the following wires to the switch pins:
- Pin 1 (C — Common): solder a black wire, 20 cm long.
- Pin 3 (NO — Normally Open): solder two wires together — a black wire, 40 cm long, and a yellow wire, 20 cm long. At the free end of the yellow wire, solder a 1 kΩ resistor.
- Pin 2: solder a blue wire, 20 cm long.
If you don't have wires in the specified colors, you can use any other colors you have on hand — just mark them clearly with electrical tape, heat shrink, or a marker so you can tell which one is "yellow" and which is "blue" during assembly. Color coding is critical here because the wires connect to different functions later in the build.
Preparing the Battery Compartment
Take the 8 × AA battery holder. Most battery holders come with short pre-attached wires (typically around 10 cm) — you'll need to extend both of them to a final length of 30 cm.
Red wire (positive): simply extend it by soldering on additional wire until the total length reaches 30 cm. Insulate the joint with heat shrink.
Black wire (negative) with inline switch: the black wire also needs a final total length of 30 cm, but with the power switch wired inline, 10 cm from the free end. Here's how to do it:
- Extend the black wire from the battery holder so that the section from the holder to the switch is 20 cm long.
- Solder the end of that 20 cm section to one outer pin of the switch (either the left or right pin — it doesn't matter which).
- Solder another 10 cm black wire to the middle (center) pin of the switch.
This way, regardless of which outer pin you used, the switch will properly break and complete the circuit when toggled. The final result: a black wire 30 cm total in length, with the switch positioned 10 cm from the free end.
Video Reference Available
There's a detailed video tutorial covering the assembly of the mace with the MP3 board that you can use as a visual reference for most of the build process.
The only part that differs in this newer version is the main body assembly — specifically the motor installation. Everything else in the video applies directly to this build.
If you prefer following along with video, feel free to use it for the majority of the assembly. However, when you reach the motor installation step, switch back to this guide — the procedure has been updated and the video instructions for that section are no longer accurate.
Blade Assembly
Insert the nuts
Insert the M4 nuts into the slots and push them all the way in. Make sure the nuts are securely in place.
Attach the blade parts
Insert and tighten the M4x20 screws, do not tighten the screws all the way in order to
install the parts more evenly after. Repeat the procedure on the other side. and now carefully
shade the screws on all sides.
After Insert 4 M5 nuts into the blade
Tensioner Assembly
Nuts and bearings
Insert the bearings into the grooves of the gear. Insert the M4 nuts into the slots on the tensioner. Install the gears on the axles.
Screws and spring
Insert and tighten the M4x20 screws. Install M4 nut into slot. Place the spring and tighten it with an M4x8 screw.
Infantry and Girls chainblade difference
Use a roller instead of the second gear. For Infantry chainblade, install the roller on the lower axle of tensioner. For Girls chainblade, install the roller on the lower axle of girls tensioner.
Install tensioner
Insert the tensioner into the blade. Place the spring opposite the hole and tighten the M4x16 screw 3-4 turns so that the spring does not jump out. Press the tensioner to the maximum and tighten the M4x16 screw to the end.
Chain Assembly
Set the link approximately 30-45 degrees into the lock and push in the same direction.
Hilt Assembly
Insert nuts
Insert six M3 nuts into the slots.
Insert button
Gently bend the wires so that they fit better into the slot. Place the button in the installation slot, route the wires into the channels and push the button inward. The installed button looks like this, the wires pass past the fastener
Insert trigger
Place the trigger in the slot as shown in the picture, the wires should pass over the trigger. Make sure the wires go in the same way as hown in the picture. Pass the wire from the button into the slot.
Version for cut parts
Insert the M5 nut into the slot. Insert M4 nuts into slots. Connect the parts.
Tighten the two screws M4x16. Place the second part of the handle so that the slot is facing outwards, insert the M5x20 screw and tighten it. Insert M5 nuts into slots.
Install pommel
Connect the parts as shown in the figure. Tighten the M5x20 screw. Tighten the M5x16 screw.
Infantry chainblade difference
Tighten the two M5x20 screws.
Main body Assembly
Remove the supports from the main body
Inspect the printed part to make sure all support material is cleared from the slots, channels, and screw holes.
Installing the Main Gear
Take the main gear and insert a bearing into each side of it.
Place an M4 nut into its slot in the main body, then insert the gear (with bearings) into the body. From the opposite side, insert an M4×50 screw and tighten it into the nut.
The gear should rotate freely with minimal resistance. If it feels tight, back off the screw slightly until rotation is smooth.
Preparing the Motor
Take the motor and insert it into the motor holder. Secure it with two M3 screws.
Preparing the Main Body for the Motor Holder
Insert M3 nuts into the main body — two on each side — into their dedicated slots. These will allow the motor holder to be fastened to the body in the next step.
Installing the Motor Pinion Gear
Slide the motor pinion gear onto the motor shaft. Both the shaft and the gear bore have a flat (D-cut) — align these flats together and push the gear onto the shaft until it bottoms out.
When fully seated, there should be approximately 1 mm of clearance between the body of the gear and the motor housing. If you've pushed it on all the way until it stops, this clearance will be correct automatically.
Next, secure the gear to the shaft with two M4 countersunk grub screws. Tighten them down firmly, but be careful — this is plastic, so don't apply excessive force or you'll strip the threads. Snug is enough.
Final body Assembly
Route the motor wires through the wire channel in the main body.
Position the motor holder in its mounting location on the main body as shown in the picture, making sure the wires stay tucked in the channel and aren't pinched.
Fasten the motor holder with four M3×16 screws, tightening them all the way down.
Insert 2 m5 nuts in front slots of Body
Hilt Assembly
Preparing the Hilt
Remove the support material from the wire pass-through window in the hilt. Make sure the channel is clean and free of any leftover support fragments — wires will need to pass through this opening cleanly.
Insert four M5 nuts into the hilt — two on each side — into their dedicated slots, as shown in the picture. These will hold the main body in place once assembled.
Mounting the Main Body to the Hilt
Take the assembled main body and seat it into the hilt.
Insert two M5×20 screws — one from the top and one from the bottom — and tighten them down into the M5 nuts you installed in the previous step. This locks the main body firmly to the hilt.
Installing the Battery Compartment and Switch
Take the battery compartment with the pre-wired switch (the one you prepared earlier with the 30 cm black wire and inline switch).
Feed the switch through the windows in the body and hilt:
- First, pass it through the window in the main body.
- Then, pass it through the window in the hilt, as shown in the picture.
Before mounting the switch, unscrew the retaining nut from the switch toggle. Push the threaded shaft of the switch through the mounting hole in the hilt from the inside, then screw the nut back on from the outside to secure the switch in place.
You may need pliers or a box wrench to tighten the nut properly — fingers usually aren't enough to get it snug, and a loose switch will wobble during use.
Routing the Motor Wires
Feed the motor cable through the same wire pass-through window in the main body that you used for the battery wires, then continue it through the next window in the hilt, following the same path.
The wire connection process is well explained in the video mentioned above.
Installing the Blade
Insert the blade into the main body, aligning it with its mounting slots.
Secure the blade with two screws on each side:
- Lower hole: M5×20 screw
- Upper hole: M5×16 screw (see the second picture for reference)
Repeat the same on the opposite side of the body — two screws per side, four screws total.
Installing the Battery Holder Lock
Take the battery holder lock (the retainer piece that sits on top of the hilt).
Position it on the top of the hilt and fasten it with two M5×20 screws through the lock into the M5 nuts you installed earlier in the main body.
nstalling the Battery Pack
Insert 8 × AA batteries into the battery holder, paying attention to polarity markings inside each cell slot.
To install the loaded battery holder into the hilt:
- First, slide the bottom of the holder into the lock at the base of the hilt.
- Then press down on the top of the holder until it clicks into place, as shown in the picture.
The holder should sit firmly without any wobble.
Installing the Wire Cover and Decorative Plates
Install the battery compartment cover by simply pressing it down from the top.
Place the wire cover over the routed wires to hide them and keep everything clean.
Install the left decorative plate and secure it with four M3×8 screws.
Repeat the same on the right side: right decorative plate, secured with four M3×8 screws.
Installing the Chain
Take the first half of the chain and feed it into the blade's chain track.
You can either push it through manually, or rotate the main gear by hand to help pull the chain along — the gear teeth will grab the chain and feed it through. Keep going until the chain emerges on the opposite side of the blade.
Take the second half of the chain and carefully lay it into the guide rails along the length of the blade, working slowly to make sure it sits properly in the track.
Joining the Chain Ends
To connect the two ends of the chain into a closed loop:
- Hold one link steady with one hand.
- With your other hand, press the mating link onto it until the connection clicks and locks together.
Adjusting Chain Length
The chain should fit snugly around the blade without excessive slack:
- If the chain is too loose and droops or rattles, remove one or two links to tighten the fit.
- If the chain is too tight and you can't close the loop, add a link or two until it connects comfortably.
A properly tensioned chain will run smoothly along the blade without binding or sagging.
Painting
This section is currently under development. A more detailed painting guide may be added in the future. Below are the key points to keep in mind when painting your axe.
⚠ Important — protect moving parts
Do not apply primer or paint to the chain, chain guides, or any moving surfaces. Paint is a sticky substance — if it gets on the guide rails, the chain will stick or rotate poorly due to increased friction between the links. This can lead to motor overheating and potential electronics failure.
Before painting, cover all internal surfaces and guide rails with masking tape. If paint accidentally gets on the guides or chain, make sure to thoroughly clean it off. The chain must rotate freely and slide along the guides without resistance.
Painting the chain
Paint the chain elements either separately before installation, or very carefully while installed — making sure that primer and paint do not get inside the links where they slide against each other.
Surface preparation
Sand the plastic surface before painting to improve adhesion. You can then apply a filler primer or automotive putty to smooth out layer lines.
An excellent alternative for smoothing print layers is UV resin. Apply a thin coat of photopolymer resin to the surface, then gently heat it with a heat gun or torch to remove air bubbles. Cure it under a UV lamp. Sand away any drips or uneven spots, then apply primer followed by paint.
Paint options
You can use acrylic craft paints or automotive spray paints. I typically use FolkArt acrylic paints — they come in larger bottles compared to modeling paints, making them a good option in terms of both price and quality. Spray cans also work well, especially for base coats and large surfaces.
Always apply primer before painting, regardless of which paint type you choose.