Gentlemen,
The following is yet another mod that I completed awhile back, but am only now getting around to posting. Cut down mags aren't new and there have been many posts on them (most recently was a fine example by Old Lumens). Yet, most seem to, not suprisingly, focus on extreme output.
For this particular one, I wanted to take a different approach, which was battery flexability. Knowing beforehand that it would end up as a gift for my father in law, I wanted to stick with conventional alkalines and a binary U.I. Using the data collected from a big driver test (ya...haven't posted that up yet either :P ), I selected a boost driver that would allow the light to function off of either a 1D or 3xAA adaptor (or 1x AAA, AA, C, or Li-Ion for that matter). I also used the tried and true stock mag led rebel reflector along with a T6 XM-L. This combo wound up netting @200Lm off of a standard D alkaline up to just over 460Lm using the 3xAA adapter (1.7a current draw).
The output difference is quite noticable between the 1D / 3AA, but the rebel reflector does an outstanding job at culminating the light, with the lux exceeding the typical 3a xm-l P-60 drop-in, yet maintaining usable spill. Want long runtime? - stick with a standard D alkaline.... Want to swap photons with the neighbors 3 blocks down? - run the 3xAA's :)
Here's the pics along with a brief description for each:
Stock 2D Maglite:
Everyone knows what these look like stock.....everyone. These lights have been floating around for over three decades...heck, there's even a rumor that Frédéric Bartholdi's original statue design was based on this light, but at the last minute decided to go with the more traditional "torch" ( legend has it that he regretted it until death).
Next up we have the stock mag body after a luncheon with Dr. Lector:
A few items to note: I wanted to keep the overall length as short as possible, and was able to save about 9mm in lenght off the front by cutting the threads back. Also, to add mild bit of style I added some stripes to the foward section of the body. Definitly not necessarry for heat in this build, but does add a very comfortable grip in leau of cutting away most of the the knurling. Btw, the decision to splice the body vs rethread was two-fold: One, I personally can't stand the look of a cut down mag where the knurling is near the base and butted up to the tailcap, and Two, I didn't have the necessary tooling onhand for inside threading :)
Onto the custom Heatsink:
It started out as a square block of pure aluminum, but was turned down to what you see above. The second picture was taken mid process, and the horrible tooling marks have been cleaned up (Anyone who's machined pure Al can attest to the pita it can be at times). Next up I should show a picture of the completed pill with Led and driver, but somehow I forgot to snap a picture of that.
Here's the Reflector:
The only change needed was to remove the plastic cam. As most are aware, the twist to focus feature of an incan mag performs absolutely awful with an LED. I say most, because apparently Anthony Maglica hasn't gotten that memo...
Up next is a craptastic photo of the business end courtesy of my phone and 12 cups of coffee...
I tried a few times to get a better shot, but then gave up. Despite how it may appear, the emitter is perfectly centered, and the lens isn't "that" messy (it was a new light).
Which now brings us to the final product:
Talk about handy....I really love this light, and it was hard to drop it in the mail. The size, the grip, the subtle styling change, and the output off of alkalines all wrapped up with good ol' maggie nostalgia. This mod will definately be a repeat so I can have one as well. I have already taken some beamshots, but they're currently residing on a jump drive "somewhere".... I'll post them up when I find them.
As always, thanks for reading :)
-Match
Edit: Beamshots added here below. These will be mouseover pics comparing it to the MF UF XML Drop-in at 3.2a (where the mag is at 1.7a).
The exposure time progressively diminishes:
Perfect form really.
Prefect light for edc. Thanks for showing us your masterpiece.