hi everybody,
in this thread i want to show my custom flashlights, give a plattform to discuss about it and introduce myself a bit more. so lets start.
my story startet 12 years ago, i was 15 years old and played soccer in the neighbour village. so i went by bicycle to the tranings and back again. In summertime no issue, but in the winter i rode most the time in the dark. For that reason i wanted to have a light on my bike. i always was interessed in technique and my father and grandfather have a small workshop, also with a small selfbuild lathe in it.
so i bought some led and reflector stuff, on ebay i found a 18650 battery. i put everything together and it worked. Maybe around 80-100 lumens, but a lot brighter than the maglites, we had so far:
so this was my first light and it was very easy. direct drive, no driver ( i guess only a resistant ). the switch was a screw, which i had to screw onto the battery to connect it with the housing. but it worked. After that i was infected by the flashlight virus. i had a lot of fun and there was a need to improve myself.
so the next light was a 2x18650 thrower with 50mm reflector, 3 mode driver and side switch. That was really a beast at that time:
you have to imagine: At that time, i used a selfbuild lathe of my grandfather. the threads are also made on that lathe. it used a bicycle chain for changing the pitch. but it worked. one or two years later i bought my own lathe, a small optimum machine, but it works fine for me until now.
my third light was also the last light i did on the selfmade lathe, the next were made on the new machine. That was a rebuild of the first light. A Cree XP-G in it, 1,4A driver, 18650 battery and a tail clicky switch. around 250 lumens, great for that time.
so that was my start in the flashlight world, more than 10 years ago. i can promise you, that there will be a big step to the current time, so please stay patient, i will continue soon.
see you,
Michael