As I was reading some of the build threads , I saw a comment about thinking out of the box . I realized I have a lathe and don’t have to cut standard threads . I can make my own ! Sat down , did some math , and bingo ! Back in business.
Cut the internal lens cap threads…
Cut the body threads and thought I was good to go . I then discovered my pill wouldn’t fit . It 4 thousands over. So back to the collet chuck. This thing is only 3/4 long , so even with a collet chuck, it’s hard to set up.
The nice thing is , after turning the part around to finish , it concentric.
So it all fit together like I was hoping and is starting to look like a flashlight. Now on to the other end .
In case anyone may be interested, here’s a pic of the cutting tools I had to make for internal threads and to cut the small shelves .
I’m having a hard time configuring this driver , forgot how hard it is to “quickly tap 8 times “ Right now I only have 4 modes , but that’s 3 more than I started with .
I’ll try some beam shots , but I don’t think my I-pad is gonna do much with that .
yeah, I’ve begun mentioning how great it would be to have a lathe (and perhaps a small CNC) to my wife so that in maybe 20 or 30 years it might actually happen
I have wanted a lathe for years . I bought that as my Christmas present last year with the intention of making flashlights. This is my first one . Internal threading to a blind shoulder was making me apprehensive.
This competition to honor Old Lumens , was the kick in the butt I needed to just go for it . I had fun , and I learnt a lot . I would like to say thanks to this forum , and all the great mates that hang out here .
Randy
I bought a Smithy 3 in one , mostly due to limited spaced . ( 2 car garage the cars still gotta fit in ) It’s actually been a really good machine for the money . For a hobby use machine it’s been able to handle what I’ve been doing . Because of backlash , threading into a blind hole is a bit of a challenge, but obtainable with diligence.
Yeah , but those kinda came back to haunt me . I only added .08 to thread , but then the pill didn’t fit so I had to resize it . Then I dug up a bolt to check threads on an end cap , forgetting the cap is no longer compatible , until I actually went to thread it in :person_facepalming:
The day I discovered my threading issue, I ordered some larger stock . My OCD would not let me patiently wait , so I decided to make a reflector head that would just screw onto my flashlight .
I happily started wasting some 2 in stock I had . Made a nice lens cap
I tapered it and was happy as could be
Then came time to cut the threads to length . That’s when I discovered another “ Oh no “ . I miscalculated the thread depth in relation to the LED height . It’s wayyyy too low in the reflector . Now that I cut the taper , I don’t know how to re-chuck it to extend the threads . The long threaded section below the taper is just there to give something to hold onto . It’s supposed to be cut off at the taper .
Hopefully I can use it on another build . If I make the pill longer , it’ll work , but that defeats its purpose of just being a screw on alternate lens type on this one .
I can probably make that work , but I’ve found a slight flaw in the original. The pill is slightly undersize enough if I give the light a good wack , it breaks connection. Thinking of remaking it and lengthening to fit the reflector type head . Would have to make another head for the carlco lens too . Gotta think it out . The light as is works , it’s just not 100 % .
I think I have trashed my driver . I had it in and out , soldered and desoldered so many times trying to figure out what’s not right , pretty sure it has finally given up .
I have never been able to configure it properly. I thought originally the pill was the problem, not fitting snug enough . So I made another to a much better fit . Then I could not get it to program at all . One setting at somewhere around half . I resoldered my wires thinking maybe I had some bad connections , cause I’m not too good at it . I still seemed to have ground problem I thought I had resolved.
I am wondering , I have the driver press fit to the pill , on a shelf , very tight . That’s why I buggered the driver putting it in and prying it out . Can it be that without a retaining ring that it’s not tight enough to maintain a proper ground ?
I also knocked off one of the 7135’s . That didn’t seem to make any difference, but I wasn’t sure if it needed bridged and I could not find any information on that .
Anyone have any ideas or guidance to what I am doing wrong ? Other than driver abuse .