Scratch made hunting light

I show off and have sold a few lights to my hunting mate and we were discussing…. err more like he was explaining to me the best beam profile for his fox hunting. So, of course, this got the creative juices going…. challenge accepted! I could have recommended a stock light or modified one but where is the fun in that :wink:

This is what he is currently using, an HID, plastic housing thing

So the parameters were (IIRC) -
powered by cig lighter plug
good hotspot for plenty of throw
decent amount of spill (as in lux) but not too wide
run for hours, so no thermal problems
single mode
water resistant
durable, occasional swiping of bush across it while driving
uumm, I think that’s all

In my head I initially thought a multi C8 reflector style light. I opted for these reflectors that are a little deeper than a standard C8 (to reduce the angle of spill). I had in my possession some 100mm aluminium tube that would suit as the reflector tube but I had to open up the ID as well as reduce the size of the reflectors to fit. I started with a mill bit to cut flats on the reflectors but moved to a fly cutter.

All the reflectors in the tube. They slide in with a little friction so they are not loose.

Then start on the on the rear of the body. I don’t think I had this 100mm round bar laying around at the time … :zipper_mouth_face:

Rather than trying to part off this large piece I found a faster way to cut it.

Will post more tomorrow as this light is 99% finished right now. :beer:

Looks good :+1:

Great project and thanks for the many pics! Looking forward to the finished lamp.

That is orsm. Its been awhile since we have had a build like this. Looking forward to seeing the rest of the build. Your lathe must have hated you when you put a 100mm diameter bar in its chuck. :slight_smile: :beer:

Looks good so far! Watching to see where this goes!

Nice project. I’m excited to see how this turns out. :+1:
I use the same parting method sometimes, turn the lathe on and use a hack saw back and forth letting the lathe do the work.

Thanks guy’s. Yes I got the lathe workin hard on this one :smiling_imp:

Back to working on the tube. I sleeved it over the old bar stock so I could hold it without deforming from the 3 jaws.

Geez, on a different computer today and I have to go about things differently to embed pics. Threw me for a loop. No doubt you’ll let me know if they don’t show.

This next pic will give a good idea of the final look

I put in an order request for some custom size acrylic lenses but the company never responded to me. So I ordered some ready made 100mm acrylic discs from ebay and had to reduce the diameter by a couple of mm. I did this by clamping the lens in the lathe. At a later date I found out the lenses were not clear but YELLOW AAARRRGGGHH! The ebay company was really good and sent me the correct ones when I contacted them.

Next up is the bezel. I had this 7075 plate on hand. In retrospect I think I could have cut out a corner to reduce waste but at the same time I didn’t want to spend ages slowly cutting back the corners and the vibration and thumping going through the lathe.

A bit of a size comparison. That is a 9” hid reflector, shorty Maglite and Makita light.

More to come….

Looks Great !
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machine shop approved safety shoes? :person_facepalming:
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I thought I was the only one who liked wearing those. When you have to stand in front of a lathe for a couple hours you begin to appreciate the cushioness of a good pair of croc shoes. Lathe approved :stuck_out_tongue:

I’m coming over to see you finish the light and watch the start up. :beer:

Lol, I’m pretty sure someone else has queried me on my choice of chinese safety boot :smiley: The supervisor of my garage (me) says it’s ok so I’m good :smiley: They are comfy but the main reason I wear them is so I can duck into the house without having to take my boots off.

There’s a beer waiting for you Moose :beer:

I am watching this great work

Up to fitting some of the electronics now. For leds I opted for 2x xpg2 and 2x xhp35 hi. I figured the xhp35’s will give some good spill and the xpg2’s will ensure some good throw. I’ll be using 2 of these drivers that kiriba-ru recommended. I’m not smart enough to work out tvs diodes and how to use them so I’ll also be using an automotive regulator. The regulator will be run to it’s limit.

Closing up the back end

The yellow lens got a little scratched up with regular assembly/disassembly so it wasn’t such a bad thing I was sent the wrong one.

Initial test is a positive ! :partying_face: :laughing: :crown: :innocent:

At start up I was getting 82 watts and it settled back to 73 watts. Subsequent tests also showed 73 watts. The regulator is meant to be good for 69 watts (13.8v 5a max) so I hope the extra airflow will allow to run at max constantly.

I noticed that the 2 xhp35’s were not the same tint which I thought odd but didn’t think about it again until I was talking things over with my mate with the light on and he noticed one of the leds was smoking. DOH! I cleaned the led with a little alcohol changed the centering rings but still it smoked. I put the light under a fan and let it run for 20min by which time the smoke seemed to disappear. After cooling I ran it again for an hour and only a wisp of smoke came out at start up. I really don’t know what is going on and if I were to guess I’d say one of the xhp’s is sucking more power (they’re set up in parallel).

Once I was happy it didn’t explode during the run test I sealed it up and now just need to fit the right plug on the leads and mount it onto his frame (after removing the existing light, see first pic of thread).


That is up to date. I’m waiting to catch up with me mate so we can mount it and he can take it for a run. :star:

Wow! I hope there’s no permanent damage done to the XHP-35 that was smoking! :open_mouth:

Now, just waiting on beam-shots. :sunglasses:

Aah yes, beam shots. I’ll need to get some won’t I :wink:

Awesomeness.

This needs to be sent to me for independent testing. :slight_smile:

^ Need some help with that testing? :stuck_out_tongue:

Great build PP. Looking forward to beam shots, especially if you can get critters in them.

Lol, you’ll have to wrestle Colin for testing rights :sunglasses: Funny thing is I’ve never been hunting with him :innocent: :laughing:

Went for a short drive tonight to get away from the light pollution. All three of my daughters came with me which I didn’t expect. One sat in the car, one used my edc looking around at stuff on the ground and my oldest took the pictures for me. I don’t know the settings she used on the camera. I found the settings in the file NIKON D3300 f/3.8 1/6 22mm ISO6400 Nevermind the settings changed for each pic so it must’ve been on auto.

I used a 6s A123 pack from my RC days. I don’t have any RC’s anymore so this pack hardly ever gets used.

A quick pic with my phone in the back yard.

These first couple of shots she didn’t use the tripod.

This next one she used the tripod

The closest thing I have to compare it to is a tk75vn (older 3 led version). The hotspot is bigger and the spill is wider. Unfortunately I didn’t hold it off the ground very high so it seems the spill is a whole lot wider.

I haven’t tested lux on the hunting light but the tk75vn appeared brighter. I wouldn’t say the tk75 was better though because the wide spill was a little blinding to the eyes.