p=. I'm planning to do a running commentary with this, & will add 'chunks' of the build as I progress. Right.... let's have a look at the beginnings of what may actually become a working flashlight & even look half decent. I really didn't want to buy anything specifically for this build - I should have enough crap around the house to cobble something together. *+The host contenders+* - These were spotted by me whilst sitting on the lounge, drinking a few beers, & watching Top Gear. Up until then, I had no idea what I would use for a host. 
I currently have no proper work-bench - I have just had a shed built in the back yard, & have not 'moved in' yet. Pretty much all work will be carried out here in front of the PC, or on the back pattio if it's going to be too messy... I have a myriad of hand tools, but most of them are used for building houses, or working on cars... 
Hmmm... I think I'll start with the bastard file; Top comes off; 
Push out the guts; 
This should give me enough room now - just have to figure out how to join them neatly; 
____ *+Reflector & Pill+* I really didn't want to go with a P60, as it seemed too easy. But making a decent reflector by hand, with _those_ tools - nahhh - I think I'll go with a modified P60 reflector & custom pill. Let's see if it fits to start with... 
Yep, that'll do nicely. Finally, I found some copper, & a nice chunk of it, too; 
Just have to get it out of that heatsink first... where did that bastard file go??? Cut down the P60 skirt w/hacksaw, + copper slug ready for a date with the drill; 
Holes drilled with hand drill - (I know it's sitting there in a drill press vise, but it's the only vise I have available...) + tapping holes for the emitter plate retaining screws; 
Pill topside looking good, along with the much-hated V10 "5 amp" ramping driver that doesn't really do 5 amps... 
To house the driver, I'm using one of three brass 'C8' pills that have been gathering dust for a while, seeing as they are yet to actually fit any C8's that I have come across... I filed the top flat, sanded, then soldered to the underside of the copper slug. 
....which brought me to my first hurdle. & there's no switch in that stack yet either... It may have solved a dilemma I was having; whether to have it open at the center, or at the tail. I _may_ have to take a trip to the hardware/plumbing store...
*+Body.+* With the last episode ending in a slight hiccup, I ended up doing the 'walk of shame' through the plumbing section of the hardware store, but I wasn't liking anything there; any of the threaded fittings that would allow a 26650 battery through the inside were too 'chunky' in proportion to the rest of flashlight body, & would look too out of place. I must have spent about 45 mins. walking around the store, with a 6" steel ruler that I borrowed from the tool isle in order to measure the fittings. Finally, I discovered -gold- brass in the gardening section in the form of this slim-line, fine threaded hose-joiner; 
...I also coughed up the $3.90 for the stainless ruler... The brass fitting was sectioned with a hacksaw – at this stage I still hadn't decided how much of it to use. It was difficult to think straight with the drill press mocking & taunting me.... '_use me, uuuussse meeeee..._' 
The body sections had taken a bit of a beating with all of the work & trial fitting so far, so before joining them, some panel work was required to get the two mating ends looking good; 
The base of the body was rolled back on itself to give a little more strength; 
The end cap was soldered to the body by heating up the brass cap with a mini butane torch; 
Inevitably, the base of the tube took a little heat, but it cleaned up alright; 
The screw-in cap will still need some work to get the switch into it...maybe next weekend... I decided to go with the stream-lined body, rather than having an external joiner, so I rolled up some of Racr86's left-overs from his build & used it as an internal sleeve, epoxying the two halves together; 
Everything will load in from the tail of the light, & eventually be sandwiched together. *+Additional Pill/Heatsink work+*; To help the heat distribution & transfer to the body, I added a 1mm (.040") copper sleeve to the pill. The assembly is now a tight fit into the body tube. Copper sheet; 
Rolled up; 
Soldered to pill; 
The sleeve also keeps the battery nice & centered. ***A big thanks to Steve from work for providing the copper plate*** :beer:
*+Switch Assy+*; The threaded fitting was cut down, allowing for a recess for the switch to fit into; 
Attached some solder wick to the brass, then to one of the legs; 
Finished switch assy., epoxy'd in place; 
*+Components+* Here's everything all laid out; 
*+Assembled torch+*; 
*It's alive!!!* 
Some outdoor beam shots; Low; 
Medium; 
High; 
Lux reading @ 1m; 123k Tools used; * Hacksaw * Bastard file * Hand-cut file * Hand drill for pill holes * Hand tap for pill threads * Mini butane torch for soldering the bigger pieces * Soldering iron * Vice * 220 grit sandpaper * Scissors * Hammer * Screw driver * Socket extension for rounding edge ...I think that's all of them... Thanks for reading!!
Holy Shite! That is just Awesome!
As OL said. Now thats thinking outside the box. Very impressive start.
I'm going to tell you right now, this is damn cool and I am very interested to see how this turns out.
Foy
So cool that Foy had to repeat himself three times. 
Awesome idea FmC! You are way ahead of me. I will not even get started this week. 
Nice surprise about this shorter form. Can you tell us what it is you are talking/writing about?
Has any info. about this shorter form been posted before (and i just missed it)?
Thanks for the comments.
I got a little more work done on the pill assy., will update the build log later today.
wow, that’s some out of the box thinking going on there!
A sleeve with some kind of twist and latch/ peg’n’hole set up might help join the 2 halves together and allow you to change the battery. The solution to the switch mystery is going to be interesting
Wow! great stuff
Great start!
This is a great idea. A battery body. Can't wait for more :)
very unique and cool factor.
Thanks guys.
Yeah, I was thinking along those lines, unless I can find a threaded solution that is thin enough to be inside the ‘body’, yet still have enough i.d. for the battery to pass through.
Clever!
I’m amazed of the nice builds I’m seeing this week, the idea of the contest was great!
I may have sorted the length problem & the tailcap assy. at the same time.
2nd post updated.
I hope you got a discount on the ruler as it was used. Its amazing what you can find if you look hard enough. The nuts even come complete with knurling. Now thats got to be worth an extra couple off points.