Match's Mods: 15min mini mag mod

Only problem being where to find a bit that big....

... hardware store? ... ebay? ...craigslist?

Anyways, GREAT mod, Match! The beauty of simplicity is amazing.

Last night, a local shop was virtually throwing out brand new mini-M@gs at ridiculously-low five bucks each. Couldn't resist and got three, they make great gifts. I'll do this very mod you just described and give it to my mother, she too has always complained about the ludicrous output of her stock, NiMH-powered mini Maglite.

thank you for sharing!

pretty sure we got it at lowes lol depot should have it too

Could you sand down the threads on the pill and make it fit without doing the drilling?

Also, how do you power it? 2xAA will only be 2.4V with Eneloops. Most drivers aren't going to work with that, although low voltage Solarforce drop-ins are made for 2xAA. The NiZn batteries would be pretty ideal for this. Maybe a 14500 and a dummy 14500.

We'll have to call you Mr Modder from now on

Possibly so, but you'd have to sand down the anodizing inside the M@g's head to bare aluminum so current will flow.

I'd also think that boring out the head on a drill press should be easier and faster than grinding down the pill's threads.

Good thinking on the low voltage. I'll try the 0.8V-4.2V R2 dropin from Solarforce, that should fill the bill.

the only drawback is 4 weeks of delivery time each time I order from ITC, but I guess you can't have everything. This mod should be a lot cheaper than the terralux "dropin" I am running right now in my EDC mini-m@g.

http://www.sbflashlights.com/Solarforce-Dropins/Solarforce-XPG-R5-8-4-2V-3-mode-dropin-p103.html

3mode R5, and 20 bucks shipped. 15 if you know the guy.

I want to try and sand the sides of a pill down, cuz I've looked for a big enough bit.

I amended the instructions with the proper depth (I was tired and couldn't remember during the write-up). Here's the deal on this idea:

The average diameter of a pill base is 19.66mm. The stock internal minimag diameter of where the pill needs to be is 16.38mm. Now consider that the internal diameter of the thickest part of the pill base is 16.26mm that would only leave a 0.06mm wall thickness. Add to that most drivers are ~17mm and it gets harder yet.

One of the big advantages of drilling is that the pill base is left untouched, so you could still take it out and put it back in a P60 host if you wanted to.

[quote= brted]

Also, how do you power it?

[/quote]

I made an assumption here, but I'll edit the origional post to expound on this. With the stock 2xAA configuration, one will need to use a low voltage drop-in. Cheapest thing to do is is get an empty pill and add a driver/emitter. I'm very happy with the DX driver I linked to in the post.

One could also use a higher voltage drop-in (3-18vdc) and run it on two 14500's, or a single and a spacer. There's a bit of flexability here. I chose to stick to the alkaline set-up because most of these I make will be given away to family/friends.

[quote= srfreddy]

Only problem being where to find a bit that big....

[/quote]

Here, let me google that for you...


It is not cheezy to me. A upgraded neutral xpg minimag would be nice. And the pill could be upgraded in the future too.

M.... those are 15 bucks shipped at the cheapest.

Depends where you live. A Minimg will cost $18 if you get a good price round here. Shipping will be more.

A 25/32 drill bit will take some looking for as a 19.84mm drill bit isn't going to be available. I suspect a 20mm drill bit will do just fine.

[quote=srfreddy]

M.... those are 15 bucks shipped at the cheapest.

[/quote]

$13.25 shipped from ebay after a few minutes search... Do a dozen of the mods and spread out the cost!

Mate, I can't spoon feed you any more than I already have...

I don't know how well the tightening to On works, but you could also get a Terralux tail clicky for Mini Mags. They have a simple On/Off and an "IQ" switch that has 5 modes built in. I already have a simple clicky.

Do you have to have a drill press, or can you do it with a handheld drill?

Any guesstimate on lumens using that DX driver? I like the idea of being able to use NiMH's.

The terralux tailcaps are known to destroy threads.

[quote=brted]

I don't know how well the tightening to On works, but you could also get a Terralux tail clicky for Mini Mags. They have a simple On/Off and an "IQ" switch that has 5 modes built in. I already have a simple clicky.

[/quote]

The tighten to "on" actually works quite well. One could use the various aftermarket clickies available, I've tried em and they seem to do ok. Call me a purist, but I like the clean look of the stock minimag.

[quote=brted]

Do you have to have a drill press, or can you do it with a handheld drill?

[/quote]

I won't lie, a drill press makes it much easier along with a vice and a strap of leather to keep from marring up the head. But yes, it can be done by hand.

[quote=brted]

Any guesstimate on lumens using that DX driver? I like the idea of being able to use NiMH's.

[/quote]

I was actually suprised by the output using that driver/xpg combo on 2 alkalines. It compared favorably with my H51. Output was in between high1 and high2. I'd guess 150-160ish lumens? Needless to say I'll be ordering some more of those.

Match, thanks for taking the time to post all of this information. It'll give rookies like myself a chance to get our feet wet modding......without blowing anything up.

Match, that is so cool. I have 3 Mini Mags that are "loved" but not used. The truth is; I've always secretly thought the Mini Mag was a handsome little devil, just not enough umph for my needs/wants. I'm going to try this with an XP-G R5.

Foy

Outstanding mod Match! Thank you very much

Thanks for the kind comments. I'm glad you guys can benifit from this.

Match this is a great mod, well done indeed. The only probelm is now I'm going to have to build one, so little time and so many thing s to play with, sorry I mean build.