Stage two of “Things to do While I wait for the damn postman” is more virtual.
I’ve been busy assembling a shopping list of parts that I need to get to modify the BTU shocker and fit it for a tactical handle as well as make it work with the XLR power jack in place of the tailcap Clicky.
So many variables on this one and not having the actual flashlight in front of me is making planning a lot of this really hard. So again I decided to mock things up in 3D to give me a better sense of how things fit together and what parts I could use and which ones wouldn’t work.
The handle is my favourite part of this build and it only took some time googling the keyword combination of handle, tactical, flashlight and mount to eventually drop into the wonderful world of picatinny/weaver rail mountings and accessories and all the cool potential these systems offer.
As a result I quickly dismissed the commercial handles on the market that were actually designed to be used with flashlights For example this one from Jetbeam Jetbeam Rail Mount and Carry Handle
Not just because they were really very expensive and probably wouldn’t even fit the BTU unmodified but also because I wanted to have more flexibility and the ability to lego something together that would do exactly what I needed.
A big part of having a functional handle on a flashlight for me is being able to operate the modes and power directly with the hand holding the flashlight no stretching around to find a button/collar or having to use a second hand entirely to operate a tailcap clicky. I need a good way of mounting a thumb or trigger style power button on this flashlight and that ment going through a LOT of possible configurations and combinations of accessories to find something that would do the trick.
Many…many hours of googling and ebaying later I think I have found something that will work really rather well. It’s not the most elegant solution but I think it looks pretty cool, should work wonderfully as a handle for the BTU and gives me exactly what I need in terms of mounting space and layout for potential switch options.
Off to the land of 3D to model a scale prototype and see if everything fits as it should
Note: The BTU and the parts are accurate in scale and most dimensions are precise. But as I am only going off photos I’m doing a lot of filling in the blanks bewteen the measurements that are available so these are good enough to make educated measuring and fitting descisions on but certainly not to CAD/CAM levels of precise. The BTU is accurate where it matters but as you can tell it’s not a particularly true model. It’s basically a 3D sketch to give me an idea if what I ordered actually does what I imagined when assembled in 3 dimensions and attached to the Flashlight.
It also lets me cut twice or as many times as I want and measure only when I’ve messed up enough times to stumble on the right answer ;). Trying this stuff out and making a mistake on the real thing could be a lot more costly!
So here is a look at what I’m hoping to see at the end of this project.
The BTU shocker with tacticool picatinny/Spyder MR-1 rail handle combo.
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The Ingredients are as follows.
One of these. Spyder MR-1 Paintball marker tactical Rail/Handle Picatinny 22mm rail mount on base and 3/8th dovetail rail scope mount on top.
A touch of this cut down to size and bolted to the tailcap with 2x M4 Bolts. This is the Base rail and if needed allows any picatinny compatible accessories to be mounted securely here instead of the handle.
Mixed in with one of these for that special zing. XLR male socket installed in tailcap for power.
And on top is a thick layer of one of these. This has two functions. It gives the handle more height/width for a sturdier hold and gives me a sizable picatinny rail on top for extremely useful expansion potential like mounting a laser scope… for preciser illumination or something…I don’t know… it’s tacticool! :bigsmile: …and a nice mounting region both above and below for power button options.
These switch mount options are shown below. Still thinking about what could work best. But I’m rather partial to the trigger operated clicky myself.
Or why pick just one, why not a momentary pressure switch mounted via a picatinny bracket (they make these for tactical torches) onto the top for momentary on and a trigger reverse clicky below. Would require some custom driver programming if this is possible at all. But it would be cool…so many options to consider
Oh and I also have some rubber picatinny protectors coming which should help fill in any unneeded and rather harsh edges of the Rails. Should be pretty comfy to hold then. The angular gap at the back also needs to be filled with something but that shouldn’t be hard fix.
In any case I’ll need to have the parts in front of me and play around with how all this feels in the hand before I can make any more decisions on ergonomics or layout. This at least has reassured me that the parts I cobbled together are compatible and make for a good starting point for a useful handle.
The postman can’t come soon enough! Hehe
Cheers