This is my contest thread for the 8th Old Lumens Competition!
When my build is complete, I will post completed images in the top section of this post.
So, the idea for this light has been floating around in my head for a long time. However, until this year I didnāt own the necessary tools to accomplish the build. I still might not, but I think I do at this point, so here we go.
So, the plan is this:
Brass/copper pipe and fixtures. A Ā¾ā pipe has an internal diameter nearly identical to that of a Convoy S2+. Thatās the easy part. The hard part is going to be getting a shelf or pill for the head of the light. Iām not sure how Iām going to tackle that yet. Iāve got some ideas about brass washers and stuff, weāll see how it goes.
Okay. Hardware store.
Wow, brass isnāt cheap.
2ā long Ā¾ā brass āthreaded male adapter nipple fittingā
I also bought a 4" version but it won't be getting used.
A pair of Ā¾ā threaded male hose X FIP adapter fitting (Ā¾ā MHT x Ā¾ā FIP)
A pair of Ā¾ā FHT x Ā¼ā compression hose swivel adapters
Thatās the hardware. Pre-built flashlight parts that I plan to use, in accordance with the rules:
Switch, switch board, and switch boot
Going with a 20mm board for fitment reasons. Undecided on actual switch type - the MTN board will have a fwd clicky on it, but I might swap an Omten 1288
Collectively, āswitch assemblyā
Swapped an Omten 1288 onto a MTN 20mm switch board.
Reflector or TIR optic (Iām undecided)
If reflector, itāll be a spare from a Convoy S2+ that I built into a triple for a friend
A Q-Tip (used for the LED "tap" when reflowed, also for cleaning flux residue)
91% isopropyl (used for cleaning flux residue)
I hope to fully document everything I do: tools used, methods devised, attempts made and failures failed! Also, please feel free to ask any questions you may have.
Brass parts from the hardware store (Loweās, if it matters).
Probably going with the TIR. It looks like it basically fits. This is a 45 degree TIR from fasttech - I got a 5-pack to try in my Boruit D10.
Here you can see it with the hose adapter closed over the top. It has some sort of rubber sealer o-ring thing, too. Sweet.
As you can see below, it looks like the reflector would require a bit of sanding:
Some mock-up pictures of things screwed together mostly. Thereās no internals - just the TIR sitting in one end and a switch boot in the other.
And a size comparison to some well-known lights (Convoy S2+ and Emisar D4):
Now I wait for parts! Currently I donāt have the driver, MCPCB (though I have all the LED options I mentioned), or switch. When they come in, Iāll try to figure out how to get them mounted in the host!
Tools I expect to use:
Soldering iron, clearly. My hotplate maybe if itās allowed - if not, I wonāt use it except to reflow my LEDs.
Hacksaw maybe.
Drill maybe.
I will document what and how I modify things, and photograph to the best of my ability!
Another challenge: Iāve noticed that, since I didnāt actually use a 3/4ā pipe but instead a threaded nipple adapter, the internal diameter of the main tube is larger than Iād hoped for. Since I considering using an existing battery adapter tube cheating (even if someone says its not), Iāll at some point find something to improve the fit, but it wonāt be from a flashlight.
Yeah - so my backup plan is just to cut a rectangle of cardboard. But Iām hoping to figure something out with a sleeve of some sort - maybe pipe or tubing, hopefully. I mean Iāve heard of people wrapping tape around cells to eliminate rattle, so it shouldnāt be a big issue. Iām just not going to use the plastic battery sleeve I have for 18650 to 21700 (came with my C8F) because that feels like cheating, even if somebody said it technically wasnāt.
Copper and brass is easy to solder with electronics solder just use your hot plate to preheat. Joint has to be shiny clean, a small dob of solder on the tip helps heat tranfer much quicker.
Just a tip
tube is measured outside diameter
pipe is measured inside diameter
Yāall gonna have to wait a bit on this one. While the mountain order should arrive this week, my daughter should be arriving (being born, that is) today (27th).
So if I donāt circle back around to finishing this one in time, itās for a good reason
Congratulations :partying_face:
Seems like youāll have bigger āmodsā to do from now on: modding life
Wish her and the rest of the family health and a good life
This is looking great so far, canāt wait to see the end product.
As for the battery rattle, maybe put a cell in a plastic bag and spray foam it in place, then when the spray foam sets, the baggie can be trimmed with the foam on the ends and will create a sleeve for the battery. The baggie should let you slide the battery out as well, maybe put some petroleum jelly on the battery inside the baggie first.
Congrats on the birth of your daughter! amazing news! Also, that āmockupā looks sick man, makes me consider heading to lowes and trying this one myself. Very inspiring! Im new to this, so I am trying to take it all in, especially the electronics aspect. The only part I have a little understanding of is the fabricobblingā¦
Congrats Scallywag! Daughters are very special. Mine went away to college this year and I miss her dearly. But sheās doing well and Iām happy for her. And she remembered to bring her flashlight: Father Daughter Flashlight.
Just checking in. I havenāt had any chance to work on mods at all - Iāve barely been on BLF lately. But I havenāt forgotten about this and hope to set aside some time in December to get it finished.
Cool build . I had considered something similar because this quick connect fitting was sitting next to this flashlight and I donāt know how many times I grabbed the wrong one .
Congrats on the daughter . Hope all are healthy and happy !
I took a shot at the tail switch. At first, I was really focused on using a 16mm switch board. However, the board was just too small and wouldnāt be held captive. I was considering using a brass washer to retain the switch board, but the standard sizes for washers werenāt going to be suitable, and I didnāt want to try to enlarge the hole in one (especially since I needed something larger than the 3/8ā chuck size on my drill).
My size requirements vs a list of washer sizes
Good thing I have a 20mm switch board. It was populated with a large forward-clicky, but I solved that.
To hopefully give a good idea of the switch stack:
The end cap with rubber boot and the rubber gasket that came in the hose adapter
The switch sitting in the end
The old vs. new switch on the board
This shows the switch board sitting on the end of the body tube, which is why I needed the larger board
The body tube attached and a cell sitting in there.
And a shot down the tube! The fit isnāt perfect but itās good enough
In this configuration, the switch board is nearly flush with the inside of the end cap. So basically the entire omten 1288 is sitting inside the rubber boot, and I had to completely cut out the ānubā on the inside of the rubber boot to get that to fit properly. However, as long as I donāt fully tighten the end cap (it can get close and begins to offer a ton of resistance), it fits fine and the switch actuation has a great feel. If I over-tighten then the rubber boot pops out the end!
The head end of this light is going to be more interesting. I measured how deep into the head the planned TIR sits, and compared that to the height the LED will be at with my āpillā (improvised from one of the fittings from post #1), and thereās a few millimeters of distance I need to bridge before thatās going to work out. Iāll post pictures of that when I come up with a solution.