Simple DIY project

I was inspired by Match’s excellent thread to have a bash at making my own simple torch using some 22mm (3/4”) copper tube I had in the garage. It was intended to be a toolbox light for work so I wanted to keep it as cheap and simple as possible. I priced up the parts at FastTech and they came to around £7 ($10). Then I realised that I had a complete kit of parts right under my nose in the form of a cheap and cheerful ‘S5’ light I had bought for around £2 ($3) on Ebay. The lights are discussed in depth here. and I got mine from the seller ‘altnux’, but there are many others. To my delight, (almost) all the parts were an exact fit in the copper tube so very little had to be done. It was more a case of assembling than constructing and was an easy afternoons’ work. The only parts I had to file down a fraction were the pill and the switch housing. Here is the result:

I didn’t like the look of the lime green switch cover against the copper and whilst looking around for an alternative I found that a penny coin was a perfect colour and size match. It was even made this year so now my creation is date stamped. :slight_smile: I think this is about as easy and cheap as it gets as far as making your own torch. If you have ever toyed with the idea, just go for it, the sense of satisfaction is immense. This is now my favourite torch even though it is not the best performing and it still brings a smile to my face every time I switch it on and it still works! If anybody wants any more details on the assembly, just let me know.

Ok, I’m new to all this. How do I get the pictures to show up? I thought I’d followed the instructions to the letter.

I see your pictures. ;)

EDIT: I like to make my pics 100% wide. Check out the following thread.

https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/15452

Great job Lancman! Your light looks awesome!

Well, I’ve tried several times but just can’t figure out how to resize the images, sorry.
I’m following the instructions in the link but it’s just not happening. I’m probably missing something obvious but can’t figure out what.

Images

Nice work Lancman. Looks great.

I find that using the Advanced Post Editor option when building a thread or post the easiest for changing setting on my pictures. Just create a pictue with it and try different settings on the second tab titled "Appearance".

Yay! I sorta got there in the end in a roundabout way. Just linked to smaller versions of the images. Could not get the ‘Advanced’ editor route to work at all.

Thanks for sharing Lancman and what a terrific build. Do you have any other pictures showing what you did to hold the lens in and the switch etc?

I’d like to see that too. Looks like a fun project!

Smooth operator! :-) I always had a soft spot for copper smoothies in the morning :-) Well done. And do please share any more info.

No problem. It went together so quick I didn’t take any photos during the build, but I will do a quick tear-down and take some. They probably wont be up until tomorrow though. Trust me, it’s VERY simple.

Congrats sir, what a fantastic job!!! I really like the coin at the tail end, it gives a lot of character. Looking forward for the tear-down!!! Thanks for sharing!!!

Very nice work! Looking forward to the details.

Nice one Lancman.
I’d buy one of those in a split second. Great looking build.

This is my first attempt at a ‘how to’ thread, so bear with me.
My daughter fell in love with my original so I have to make another one anyway. :slight_smile:

First up you need a 6” length of 3/4” copper tube. I use a pipe cutter to get clean, square cuts.

Now the fiddly bit. Cut about 2-3mm off the end of the tube. This will become the bezel.

Now cut a section out of the ring.

Clean up the inside of the pipe to remove burrs and fit the ring into the end of the pipe.

It’s trial and error how much you have to cut the bezel to get a nice tight fit. I’d guess about 4mm.

Now solder the bezel in or glue with epoxy.
Remove all the innards from the donor torch. The great thing about this particular one is that everything is held in with threaded retaining rings so is easy to remove.
Next up, the pill. This needs to be filed down slightly to fit. Easiest way I found was like this:

No need to remove the driver or emitter. The trick is to take off only just enough for the pill to slide down the tube. Take off too much and you will have poor electrical and thermal conductivity. If you are going to be fitting a high power emitter I would suggest putting a screw through the side of the tube to clamp the pill to the inside wall.
(Unless, of course anyone can come up with a better idea….)

Next, the switch assembly. This needs filing down as per the pill.

Note the screw head under the green cap. There is one either side of the switch to hold the switch in the housing. See post 40 in this thread for a picture of the switch assembly as it comes out of the torch. The screws go in the two square holes either side of the switch.
The rubber cap is then simply superglued to the top of the switch and the coin superglued to that.
Tip: Do the gluing with the switch inside the pipe (or a piece of scrap) to ensure everything lines up properly.
You are now ready to start assembly. This is what you should have:

Note the O-ring in the middle is optional. It’s there to hold the head assembly in place when removing the battery. It’s 21mm OD and need to be quite stiff. The one shown is probably a bit OTT but is all I had to hand.
Slide the head assembly (O-ring, lens, reflector, pill) and battery into place and mark where the back of the battery is.

Use this mark to position the switch and mark the position of the hole for the retaining screw. Don’t forget to allow for some spring compression so the battery is a nice tight fit between the springs. Slide the switch into position and hold it down against the springs. Drill a pilot hole through the tube into the switch housing. Insert a small screw, press the button and cross your fingers!
If all is well you now have to decide how much overhang you want at the tail. Allow enough to fit a lanyard, if required, and cut the tube to length. Drill the holes for the lanyard and you’re done. All that remains is to disassemble and get polishing! I went for a satin finish ’cos I’m lazy but see Match’s thread for what’s possible with some patience an a lot of elbow grease.

So there you have it. Job done. Easy peasy. I had the copper tube already so the total cost for me was £2.20 ($3.30). If you don’t have the tube, try a plumber - he/she is bound to have an offcut in the back of the van.
I hope someone is inspired to have a go and if you do, please post pictures here. I’d love to see them!
Thanks for watching.

I will most definitely have to give this a try, thanks for sharing and great pics by the way!!!

I’m looking forward to seeing how this turns out (the build itself).
Edit: That looks good! I may try something like this some day.

Inspirational indeed! I might give something like this a go. A few questions on your particular build though:

That nice thick o-ring in the middle of your last photo, was that from the donor light? It looks pretty thick to me, I have not seen one like that in any of my lights.
Also, getting the tailcap off for cell removal, when you unscrew the retaining screw does the switch fall out easily or do you knock it out? I know it can be filed down to personal preference, I’m just asking what you did.

That o-ring was not in the donor torch, it’s just one I had in my box-o-bits. The thin, floppy O-rings that you find in most torches simply aren’t beefy enough for this purpose. It’s not strictly necessary, it just makes life a bit easier when taking the battery out for charging as it stops the head assembly sliding back up the tube.
When you remove the retaining screw, the switch unit pops out part way due to the spring pressure. You can then pull it out the rest of the way or use the weight of the battery to push it out.

You made it look so easy , when in fact it takes a true genius or a flashaholic of the top tier (or both) to make this happen this smooth…
Excellent work!