DavidEF HandMade - 4th Annual BLF / Old Lumens Scratch Made Light Contest

Update 08-18-2016

Okay, here it is, for all the world to see. :person_facepalming: PLEASE tell me any every thing I’ve done wrong so I can fix it! Mostly, I have no clue about the layout/positioning of the driver components. Please tell me what needs to be optimized there, and if anything needs to be added to it. Also, I think those are supposed to be XP pads, but they look big to me. Is everything the right size here? That unmarked circle under the resistors is a solder pad for Vin, by the way. I tried to remember to label stuff, but that one was forgotten. And that diode under the MCU is for reverse polarity protection. I’m planning on using a Tiny13 for this driver. Only three of the AMC7135’s will be populated for my contest light, but I figured I might as well fill up the board, in case my next light needs to be a scorcher! Looks like I need to fix the silk screen on the bottom to make it readable around all those vias.
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Update 08-09-2016

I decided last night to mess around with this some more. I still haven’t exactly decided what I’m going to do for a driver. So, instead, I worked on other things. I split a piece of 1” copper water pipe and tried to flatten it out. I don’t have a clue what I’m doing, but I heard someone say anneal it first, so I heated it a little with the torch then banged it out mostly flat, then stuck it under a heavy load to sit and hopefully flatten out the rest of the way. These square chunks of iron plate are about 4 pounds each. There is one on the bottom, then the copper, then 9 more plates on top. I also used my cheap Harbor Freight spring clamps to help put even more pressure.
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While that sits, I’m moving on, so the next thing I decided to do was drill for magnets. I’m going to have some Neodymium magnets installed on the side opposite the LEDs so the light can be stuck to metal for a good area lighting. I measured to space three magnets approximately equally across the side of the tube. Next, I drilled some pilot holes, and then drilled out the holes to a somewhat ‘standard’ depth by taping a piece of tubing around my drill bit. The end of the drill bit kept collecting bits of aluminum chips, so I had to stop and clean it out often.
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I got the holes drilled out, then I cleaned up a little with some sandpaper and polish and then test fit the little 8mm round magnets. Later on, I’ll epoxy those magnets in place and hope they never move.
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Update 08-08-2016:

Well, I got a little bit done this weekend. I made it to another hanging place where I need to figure out what to do. Help would be greatly appreciated. Here’s what happened:
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So, I took the plastic barrel from an old AirSoft rifle, and cut out a section of it, then cut out of that a piece for a lens/cover for the LEDs. This way, the profile will (hopefully) still be round and look nice when it’s finished. I plan to run the LEDs down the center of the trench and them epoxy the lens/cover over it. The plastic is a little bit diffuse, but not too much. You can see here an LED on aluminum MCPCB under it. This isn’t the one I’m going to use, just a model for the pic:

After I finished playing around with that, I decided to look at how the driver would go in. That’s where I got stuck. You can see here that the driver fits easily, loosely, in the bore of the tube. I need to figure out how to put it where I want it and keep it there. I tried a couple things to use as shims, but it all looked so trashy to me. I’m going to have to use something. The least ugly possible solution I could think of is a short section of 1/2” Copper pipe swedged out to make a tight fit in the tube. If I do that, I’ll have to make two - one for top and one for bottom of the driver. I’m just not really sure how well it will hold, even if it’s a tight fit. Maybe I’d also have to solder the two rings onto the driver, and run a set-screw through the body of the Aluminum after it’s pressed in, to make sure it never moves. Ah, I don’t know. Any suggestions? Here are pics of a 17mm driver and the short pipe section, alternately in the end of the tube:
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Update 08-04-2016:

Another incremental update. Good thing the contest period is so long this year. Anyway, all I did was clean up the mess I made last time with the aluminum piece. I don’t know how I’m going to make this work now. I meant to make only a narrow groove/slot to put the emitters in, and cover them with epoxy. Now I’ve got this wide trench I’ll have to figure out. Anyway, pics:
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Update 07-27-2016:

Uhh, this isn’t what I was going for. :person_facepalming:

Update 07-25-2016:

Well, not much, but got the sides cut off the tube. Took almost an hour of cutting and hacking. I drew the lines on with a Sharpie marker, then scored with my rotary tool, and cut through with my hacksaw. Next will be to cut the grooves.

Update 07-23-2016:

Tell me if these pictures don’t load:


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I was obviously remembering very wrongly about the dimensions of the tubes I have. In case you can’t see the pics (Google Photos makes it nigh impossible to embed photos to sites nowadays) The dimensions are - length: 65.92mm outside diameter: 37.70mm inside diameter: 17.27mm. Nevertheless, this is what I will be using to make my contest light this year. So, it looks like I won’t need to bore anything out if I use a ~17mm standard (or smaller) driver and of course, also small cells such as a 16340. One idea I had for 16340 size, was that a primary CR123A could also be used. I’ll probably be using XP-E2 R3 emitters, since I have plenty of them. They can put out a decent amount of light with a source of ~3V, which means the CR123A will be plenty sufficient. So, for now, I’ll assume that’s what I’ll do.

My inspiration for this build comes from a friend of mine. He is a HVAC tech, and he and his colleagues use a stick light with LEDs running down the side, called a Larry Light. My light won’t look anything like that one. :stuck_out_tongue: My light will be brighter, but it will also be bulkier, and less elegant looking. I may embed some Neodymium magnets on the side opposite the LEDs so the light can be hung up on metal objects for great compact area lighting.

Update 07-21-2016:

I have an idea now of what I might do. Like my unfinished build from last year, this one will include cutting up a chunk of Aluminum by hand, using my hacksaw and/or rotary tool. I have some pieces of ‘tube’ I got from the recycle bin at work. They are a few inches long, something like 1.5 - 2.0 inches diameter, and have a small diameter bore. They would have been used as stand-off bushings, or similar, which is why they have such a huge difference between inside and outside diameters.

Anyway, I’m thinking of cutting off two sides to make the piece oval. I’ll drill out the hole in the middle to a large enough size to fit the battery and the driver. I haven’t decided yet whether it will have a side-switch or tail-switch. There will be multiple LEDs, and they will be run down one side of the oval, which will have a groove cut out for them to lay in. Once they are in place, they will be sealed in with clear epoxy. More to follow when I have the time…

Day One, 07-19-2016:

Here’s my contest build thread. I’m hoping to fill it with interesting stuff. Right now, I haven’t even come up with a build idea yet. I’m probably NOT going to use any wood! :stuck_out_tongue:

No idea yet but no wood?
Come on…you must have some idea…you just don’t want to share how you wanna blow the others away :stuck_out_tongue:

Honestly, I haven’t taken the time to come up with something yet. Some of these guys are super talented, and competing with their level of skill will be no easy feat. So, I hope to come up with a novel idea to boost my ratings. I guess I ought to go wander around in my flashlight components graveyard and see if something strikes me as interesting.

I hope you get some good ideas and I hope you enjoy doing your build. We will enjoy seeing it as it develops.

Good luck, David.

I hear you there friend. There are some true craftsmen (and hopefully some craftswomen join too) in this contest. When I think about that, I freeze up. So I’m just going to try to make a light that I will like and want to use.

I think you’re more talented than you realize. Pretty sure if you find something that excites you, you’ll surprise yourself. Best wishes :slight_smile:

Good luck David!

All the best David. You and I both have the same train of thought. Not a lot. :stuck_out_tongue:

Don’t compete with anyone but yourself and you’ll have more fun. As Justin said there’s rarely anything completely new so imitate in your own way. Pretty much everything I do stems from threads seen here and instead of wishing for more tools just playing with what I have and growing my bag of tricks. Gotta start somewhere though and some of my favorite builds in the comp have been rough and uncomplicated, but useful and imaginative. I’m sure the judges have their own opinions but I rate imagination near the top, second only to finishing. I’d rather see an imaginative hack job than skilled but boring. That said, hacked, boring, but*finished* will get a prize and be more fulfilling than anything that isn’t.

I’m sure you’ll find inspiration somewhere. I mean you ‘are’ interested in lights, right? And you are on one of the most creative (if not top most creative) forums for lights. Sooner or later the light bulb will light up :innocent:

Lol, I just wanted to say that last bit. We need an ‘idea smiley’ with a bulb …

Update in the OP for 07-21-2016. I have an idea for my contest light. Hoping it will work out.

That is one good plan. :+1:

Let us know if you need advise on any of the cutting. Should be nifty.

I need some advice on boring out the hole in the center. I need it bored big enough for a cell (probably 18350 or 18500) on one end and a driver on the other end. The bottom of the bore needs to be flat, and of course, I’m dealing with an existing hole. So, I need to know what kind of drill bit to use to do this. I have no drill press, only electric hand drills. I do have a small vice, but it’s not a really good one. It could probably hold the piece for drilling, but nothing fancy.

I’ll also have to figure out how to put ‘tail’ and ‘head’ caps on, to close it up. I figured I’d have to buy a tap and die set to cut threads in the aluminum, then buy thread-matching screw-in plugs to use as the end covers. But if you guys have a better idea, I’m open to it!

How big is the hole you have to start with? The easiest way to increase the size of an existing hole is to start with a step drill bit as it will self center and then finish the bottom with a 3/4” hole saw. This ends up ~19-20mm. Use it to drill a 3/4” hole in a block of wood and clamp the block over the existing hole. Remove the pilot bit and use the hole in the block to guide the hole saw. It will chatter like crazy and cut pretty ugly but it will work if you don’t push very hard. If the original bore hole is less than 5/8” then you would need to drill it out some first. Would you consider drilling all the way through and putting end plates on both ends?

Well, there’s a hole all the way through already, so boring it out all the way would be fine. It’s the part about holding a driver in there that would be a concern. What were you thinking about with boring it all the way through? Just easier to drill? How would I secure my driver?

Perhaps I could drill it out just from one end, shove the driver in that end tight, and also use that end to load the batteries. That’s how some cheap flashlights are made. The ‘top’ end would then only have a small hole, which the wires could come through. I’d extend the channel from the side across that end, so the wires would lay in it. Then, it could be plugged or potted, or maybe a few small holes tapped in the aluminum and a thin plate screwed down over it. Actually, the bore out wouldn’t even have to be flat in that case, as long as the driver ground ring made contact at the edge.

Thanks for the ideas of using a step bit and hole saw. I may still do that, so I can make sure the driver ground ring is making good contact. Also, it might make it easier to change components later if needed/wanted.

Edit: I haven’t got to actually measure the tubes, but IIRC, the hole looks to be about 3/8” diameter.

Lots of different ways to solve problems and each one leads in a different direction. 1/2” copper pipe and fittings are a good size for drivers. Home Depot has some different size aluminum tubes. I’ll be using a cigar tube I obtained earlier this year from another member as it’s just about right to fit over 3/4” copper but before I remembered it I was going to use a broken aluminum 27.2 mm seat post. Try and find a local salvage yard. Lots of things that cost a bunch new are sold by the pound used. Also, aluminum parts that fit well don’t need solder to carry current, just decent contact pressure, for example: flashlights. Soda cans work well as shim material and if you remove the ano will pass current just fine.

Update in OP.

Nah, couldn’t get the pics to load. Did you use google drive for them? I’ve always had to use a separate image hosting site, never could share them from drive.

they wont load for me this pics