Reminiscing about days gone past

Off-topic Chatter
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Reminiscing.

At times, when there is a lull, I think about where I have been all these years here. I think about the energy and the work I put into a hobby that turned into a passion and whether it was right or wrong. I always end up just saying it is what it is, because it was both right and wrong, so how can you come to any complete decision other than the past is what it was, the present is what it is, where we must work on it and the future is what it will be, but uncertain because of what we do in the now.

My favorite lights, from the most enjoyable to the most satisfying. Just what I think about what went by, while life went on.

Oooh I'm on fire By far, the nicest light I ever made.

The 90 Degree Angled Head Maglite Never thought I could pull this off, but I loved doing it.

Hey everybody, I've got a Woodie I just liked the title, but the light came out really well.

12 lights - 2 days and 1 very tired old guy I don't know why, but I really enjoyed this build probably the most of all. Maybe it was because of the time challenge.

Making a 12-Up out of Mini-Mags and Nichias I was hard pressed to get this light to work right and I'm glad where it finally ended up going.

The 3 Green Maglites I always loved doing the threesomes. I loved the Green color especially.

The Blues Brothers +1 and again I really liked the Blue color.

Aussie-Yank Flashlights Inc. I have always loved the work Steve does on his lights. His knurling is primo!

Another 2D Maglite Mod?? This light made me really work at figuring it all out and how to put the charger in it. I like having to figure out stuff I know nothing about.

Hydro Graphics Video, Dipping a 2D Maglite I love the dipping process and if I could have covered the lights with clear epoxy for hardness, I would have done a lot more of them! I wish someone would take this up and make a bunch of them for sale. With the correct outer clear coat, they would be just as tough as any other aftermarket spray on finish.

Solitaire + Nichia 219 + Efest 10440 I hate small lights, but this one came out about the best of all the Solitaires.

XHP 70 and the 95mm faceted reflector LUM 5-90. The only light I ever wanted to mass produce, but with a lathe made version, which Steve is now going to make in his awesome style of machining... And the only light that caused Vinh to contact me and want me to make a few hosts for him. That was a huge honor to me, when he showed interest.

I'm not really blowing my own horn, but just looking back. I seem to be doing that a lot now and these threads seem to help me somehow. I know it's just flashlights, but for a few years, it was more than that to me.

I hope others catch the bug and continue to do amazing crazy things with lights, just for fun and for some kind of self satisfaction. All I ever wanted was to enjoy the builds and share them, hoping others would also want to try their hands at things like this. I don't need the recognition. It's never been about that. It's about the self made thing and sharing the information as best as I could.

I miss BLF member Match. He got me started on the modding bug. I loved his mods. So smooth and stylish, while he made them simple to do.

Match's Mods: 15min mini mag mod

I also miss BLF member dorphmuller too. I loved some of his mods and he influenced some of my first ones.

Mag mods and a "linger" XM-L flooder

That's all,

Justin

Links

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Great post OL, and a very fun look at some things that were before my time. I had never seen some of these before. Thank you!

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And don’t forget your one of a kind Angel Eyes , of which I am the proud owner.

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Awesome post OL. Very inspirational. :crown:

Brings back the memories. I remember when you posted many of those threads. I’d eagerly check back in frequently to see the builds as they developed and was awed by your results.

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Thanks for the great links, OL. Lot’O fun to be had reading those!

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I really like your xhp70 build at the bottom. Maybe one day you can make another run of those beasts. I should have joined this forum much sooner and not been a lurker. Missed out on a lot of good custom lights

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I remember so many times trying to patiently wait for an Old-Lumens build update. It wasn’t so much the flashlights (although they are all great), it was really about the craftsman and his craftsmanship. Some builds fought O-L. Once in a while one would seem to have finally got the best of him, but the stubborn guy would always come back and learn the light a lesson. The person who really learned was me.

I wonder how many thousands of others have waited along with me for the next great O-L post.

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This man can take any old tool

And make any light into a jewel

Old-Lumens is handy

At creating eye candy

And his methods are very old school

If you give him a carpenters rule

Let him sit on a comfortable stool

In no time at all

He’ll be having a ball

Making something that’s ever so cool

You can tell that he’s nobody’s fool

And he seems to be tough as a mule

But he’s got a soft heart

He creates works of art

And modding’s his passion , his fuel

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I re-posted that four year old post because

reasons

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You brought your passion and attention to detail to every build, regardless of how it turned out. I daresay many would not post anything but success but you allowed us to learn alongside. I’m sorry if the recognition isn’t what you wanted but it’s part of the deal, you made the impression so you’re stuck with the admiration. I wish I could write in a less stilted style but this is how the words come out.

Some of my favorites are the woody in texaslumens avatar, those SRK bodies you joined to make mega lights, but mostly every bit of file work you added to lights that made them a unique OL creation, never tired of that.

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Justin,
I am fortunate to have bought a few of your creations over the years and never parted with any, but this is the favorite build and the crown jewel.

Made me somewhat of a tint snob:)

Also another one of yours that blew away the brother in law, he couldn’t believe it was from one emitter;
Same light, the Small Sun ZY-T08 with the MT-G2 and the serial battery mod conversion. Incredible.

Thanks Man!

Keith

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I am lucky enough to own some of these creations. Even a knife!! :wink: I own the the Three Green Maglites, a Woody…that one still holds a special place on a shelf of it’s own… My avitar here shows some of my Old Lumens creations. I love every one of them!!!
TL

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The 90 Degree Angled Head Maglite! :open_mouth:
I didn’t say anything at the time but I was there, thinking it was quite interesting. Hoping it would go well as I read, and of course it certainly did. Great build. All the others as well, of course, but that one I especially recall because well, ya chopped it in 90 degrees! I bet a ton of people have watched your threads but didn’t feel enough a part of things to comment.

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I am fortunate enough to be the proud owner of one of your works of art, the triple MT-G2 fan cooled flood monster light from the 2nd BLF Contest. :+1:

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Superb craftsmanship creating works of art.

Justin, it's a privilege to be able to admire your work.

Thank you Very Much,

Best Regards,

George

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Old-Lumens, Justin. My first virtual mate. :slight_smile:

Long timers here will know my affection for OL as many others here do also have the same feelings as me. If I may indulge myself to tell a story to the many other friends I have here.

Along time ago I went to school with a newish member here who goes by the name lostheplot. Not only did we go to school together but we both did our apprenticeships together in fitting and turning at the same place. The first twelve months we worked only in a training centre where we learnt to use hand tools to make varied items to tolerances of less than a thousandth of an inch. We both enjoyed the challenge and learnt skills we had never dreamt of.
After twelve months we continued to work for the same company in different departments. Needless to say after work we were usually hung out together and both got second jobs after hours in a dream place for us, a motorbike shop.
Long story short we each went our own ways after six years and regardless of distance remain best mates to this day. My wife and I even named our first child after lostheplot.
It was because of lostheplot that l came to know Justin. He said to me via a phone call one day if you want to waste a few hours have a look at this website (yes it was BLF). He had shown me a crappy little led light twelve months earlier with alien looking batteries (18650’s I was later to learn) that lit a tree up in the middle of a paddock. In my life I never dreamed a light so small could shine so far hence my addiction here is totally lostheplots fault.

Why the story above? Justin grew on me from the first time I read about one of his mods. From the gettgo I was astounded with his abilities with basic hand tools and what he could create. I have long lost my skills to do the work Justin does but could appreciate the work he created for what it was and how he achieved it.
Not only Justins abilities with his hands but also his mind. The creations he has made were to me unbelievable in how he thought up what to build but to build what he thought up. Not all of them worked first time but we knew after saying he was over it never to be seen again that he would reappear again at a future date with the unworkable working. :+1:
I would hate to be his mind as I reckon he would of put those brain cells through hell getting them to work through issues on build problems that we would not of even thought of doing.
I PM’d Justin on more than one occasion, well lets just say I PM’d a real lot in the early days with questions so silly that many would of ignored me. Justin took it all in his stride without a blink of an eye though sometimes I got the feeling that he wanted to kick me hard. :laughing:
Like Justin I also admired many no longer here and a couple more are rikr and his Maglite mods and scaru with his nappy picture. What a mad bastard he was. I say this in the nicest possible way.
The light, possibly there may be an s missing there, I’m building now I have to do. When I received your PM giving me the ok I had to go searching for the tissue box as I have many times.

Turning full circle, Justin I would consider without ever meeting you as good a mate as lostheplot. I along with many others here are only the richer for having Justin enter our lives through this virtual world and for him to share what he knows with us.
I cant begin to tell you how I felt when OL agreed to build a couple of lights with me. Its so special to build something with someone you admire and hold in the highest esteem and something I will always cherish.
The many times you mentioned Val always brought a smile to my face as I sometimes imagined that she did not necessarily want to help but did anyway. :innocent:

For the time we have left here on this world we will continue to enjoy Justins time with us. Mate thanks for the good times, the laughs, the friendship and the future with us.

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Good read! Many OL builds were “world’s first” and even now they still remain “world’s only”… :crown:

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OL, i don’t know if you measure how much joy , entertainment , inspiration and amazement you brought to total strangers from all over the world, you did so much more than material masterpieces, thank you for liflting our spirit

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Old Lumens,

You were the reason that I started exploring the mechanical side of flashlight modding. It was a youtube modding video from you that gave me inspiration and motivation to try something I would otherwise have rendered too difficult to achieve.

I hold you in the highest respect. And I ever will.

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Great Post MRsDNF ! My finding OL was about the same. Sometime in late 2011, a truck driver wanted me to make him a flashlight. That was my first try at that. Some months later, that guy brought a friend by to have a light made and he spoke of “Some Websight” where guys talked about flashlights. I looked around until I found BLF… and JUSTIN! WHAT!!! he takes flashlights and cuts / chops / modifies them Huh? What?

I was instantly hooked. I read, watched, read some more and found that OL was truly a HUMAN LATHE!!! I made contact with who would become my mentor without knowing it. Watching what Justin did with lights is what made me keep making lights…and what he did made me develop the lights we sell today. I seldom send out or hand a light to a customer that I don’t think of Justin. I do today and will from now on.

If you want to learn to mod a flashlight…look at all he has put on BLF. The answer to about any question we can have is in his postings somewhere. THANKS JUSTIN!!! Thank you for all you have taught so many of us here on BLF. THANK YOU!!! Thank you for the business I have today and 99.9% of the knowledge I have of building flashlights. You sir are magic!

TL