EDSG-6th Annual BLF / Old Lumens HandMade Light Entry (finished)

Good you’re working through the pain :slight_smile: :+1:

Nice work from your little workshop Chris. :beer:

So another day has come and i needed to join the aluminum frame together, Monday i tried brazing the frame which was a fail. Yesterday was d day i needed to have the frame together first up i tried drilling holes with a 1.5mm drill bit into 3mm aluminum which was not working so i quickly gave up on that.
Issue is the drill press has some run out its not that much but seeing as the dimension are so small its an issue. I currently don’t have the time to fix before doing this project but that is next up on my list. This was supposed to be a none issue cause i was going to use 5mm+ thick flat bar which i never got around to buying!

!

!

Okay so best i idea ever! make some custom brackets all well and dandy if i had used steel lol. The aluminum ones snapped lol i tried to make the brackets with 1mm thick aluminum flat bar. Honestly i wasn’t expecting much but i was still disappointed when they broke! They are strong enough so i couldn’t break them by hand but once you attach them to the longer flat bar frame you they break easy. Steel would over come cause it can hold strength while being bent but i have no steel on hand.

!

!

I was a proud parent for a while till they disappointed me like all children hahahaha For a moment i though id start a business fabricating custom parts hahahaha
!

!

!

!

Okay so the brackets didn’t work. whats next? Bunnings trip maybe? Think monkey think! Googles gluing aluminum to aluminum lol This whole time knowing i don’t need the frame as such because it will be covered in wood. I didnt want to glue because the whole point of the frame is to help heat sink the LEDs. So a mechanical joint is the best way to go.

I fixed my back fence so the niece and nephew wouldn’t jump down the ledge with steel rope.

I mean who am i to judge ones beauty?
!

!

!

!

I done more work after this i cleaned up the front of the LED shelf and made the heat sink fins shorter on both ends. I have glued some wood together with wood glue which will be the top and bottom of the light. I also rewired the driver with 20 gauge wire and i soldered the LED wires to the driver wires i thru in 2 cells and gave it a burl. Not tee bag!

Heat and JB Weld can do wonders :wink:

Love your thinking Chris. Your going to get there yet. :slight_smile:

Take care of that finger.
Another trip to bunnings for some aluminium angle would make life a bit easier.

Thanks for the tip. I have never seen JB weld for sale here but I’ve seen heaps of YouTube videos about it lol.

Yea but that is part of the fun is trial and error. You have to learn some way. Call me the apprentice lol

Thanks for the support mate!

JB Weld may be closer than you think.

https://www.jaycar.com.au/j-b-weld-epoxy/p/NA1518

My mate works at Qantas and he gave some two part araldite they use on aircraft the stuff is crazy strong i used it to glue a mirror to a brick wall and its been there for years not a budge lol. Should work a treat.

Hi Chris
I’ve missed this thread somehow….all I can say is Ouch!

Hope it’s all healed up

We all watch youtube reviews and it’s not uncommon for ‘tuber to announce ’Strobe Warrning’……maybe you should have put up a ‘Half a Finger Missing Warning’ just before the photos.

All the best mate

That’s a pretty good price for jb, was expecting it be dearer at Jaycar. Autobarn also have it but it’s expensive at $19.99.

Theres lots of different JB Welds. The Packet marked original is the hi temp stuff. Jaycar dont sell this.

It’s the same one at Autobarn, just expensive. Good to know the difference, I bought mine at Masters just before they closed, think it’s the original.

My net has been stuffed lately so its been hard to upload much have not released a video in like a month i am waiting to get the net fixed.

Joining boards together
!

!

More cutting sigh
!

!

Now we join them together
!

!

Once again used stepper drill bit to make the optics fit and i also painted the light here to test it out.
!

!

Yea nah i dont think the heat shrink will fit lol
!

!

Can i add i hand sanded all the round edges this light has been a pain in my arse!

Pics uploaded in the wrong order soo smooth
!

!

Yes these where even at one stage till i decided to widen them
!

!

!

!

Light coat
!

!

Second time lucky? Heat shrink should fit this time?
!

!

Okay no we are up to here. I am done in a sense either i add a TP charging module and glue the lid on or i add a hinge. I dont really want to leave to high drain cells inside cause i need them so i might hinge it.

Honestly so many hours into this maybe 30-40 hours in total and i am not really happy i mean its nice but i wanted it a bit better if i can be honest. I am not a woodworker so all as i can do is try. Its what i wanted but maybe i should have cedar wood a bit thinner.

!

!

!

!

I heat shrunk all joint for safety or durability
!

!

Everything is hooked up and screwed in but i might sand it back with like 600 grit sandpaper
!

!

!

!

I will slightly widen the front end. I am loosing to much light.
!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

I was about to chop the front of at 2am but i’ll be honest i CBF right now lol I think i need the front smaller so the optics sit at the edge.
!

!

So much light comes out the top lol I’ll work it out i guess
!

!

This is with a single run down HG30 cell. It is bright lol
!

!

Shout out to my girlfriend for puting up with me when i am grumpy from not doing things right working on this light and the fact i just wasted 1gb of her mobile uploads lol

Think you did an excellent job, even with missing a part of your finger...ouch ;)

Chris, I really admire your efforts and love the way your light has turned out. Well done. :beer:
I can only see one way out for you with the girlfriend. I bet she would love a wooden box like you have just built to put her jewelry in. :slight_smile: