"D" Mag Mandrel... Image heavy

Well, it's been awhile since I bored folks with some shop images so here goes. I needed a mandrel for machining "D" size Maglite heads and as I started to make it I thought it would be fun (for me anyway) to document the last steps. ...

Here the rascal is in the lathe... turned to size on both ends and ready to thread.... This was turned to size to fit the major diameter of the internal head threads on the D mag heads. If you look really close.... there are 4 diameters turned on this piece.

The shadows make this image a little deceiving. If you look at the thread gauge, you think the threads are cut... look at the bottom... This is only a .003" deep "Scratch" cut just to make sure all is good with settings before getting serious. All good.

A few minutes later the threads are rough cut and ready to check for a fit. Cutting threads to match threads that someone else cut can be fun.

The head screws on ..... even with just the rough cutting done. These would /could work as they are...but no, they don't "Glide" together at this point as they should.

Being a mandrel to hold the head for further machining, everything has to fit super close.... it did. (Got Lucky)

Again, because it is a mandrel, it's nice to have it lock up against something to make sure all will turn true. Looking in the front, this will do the job.

A very light polishing at about 500 RPM makes everything glide together even without any lube. SO...when lube is added the threads are super SMEUTHE Feeling. .... SMEUTHE.... A Texas Lumens shop term for slicker than a yeller cat!

Done!

This is all it takes... be SURE and grab the right number and the right lever!! ...Or is it that left one... What number was that??? What the heck is that red thing?

Thanks for letting me play. I know, it's a flashlight forum.... well there IS that D mag head in here somewhere!!!

Dan

Thanks. I haven’t seen a lath in a long time.

Thanks Mr TexasLumens Dan. One can never get sick of any sort of pictures. Its about time you posted these. Don’t leave it so long next time. About getting lucky with your thread, I don’t believe a minute of it. :slight_smile: :wink:
PS, I need to borrow the mandrel. Can you please email it to me for a couple of days use. Thanks.

I love pictures at the lathe of the progress being made, really cool to see. And of course, we’ll want to see what you are now going to do with the Mag Head. :wink:

Beautiful!
I always love those metal working pictures. :slight_smile:
And now I’m excited what heads you are planning to build.

Ha! I'll have to fax it to you... it will clog up my e-mail! You know at some point we will most likely be able to do things like that. I guess if you had a printer we could do it now!! .... See you always make my head work!!!!

Thanks! Dan.

Thanks Dale.... I'll post some images. I'll scratch something into it!

Dan

Agreed, I enjoy lathe/mill/etc pictures as much as the build pictures. So, keep them coming. :)

Not busting your balls, your machine work looks very good but by the look of the threads in the picture your compound was set to the wrong angle. It should be at 29 or 30 degrees from perpendicular to the work.

The threads in your pic look like |\|\| instead of /\/\/\/\

Yours looks to be set to 30 degrees from parallel from the work. This is very common since the protractor scale on lathes are not standardized. Some read the angle from perpendicular. Some read the angle from parallel.

Mine reads from parallel, so I have to set it to 60 degrees instead of 30 when I cut single point threads.

mrpete222 on Youtube is an excellent resource. He talks about setting the compound at about 4:30 into the video.

Here is a Mag heat sink I made that screws into the head.

Cheers,


Buck

Love it. I find so dramatic to see such industrial machinery works. :smiley:

I thought the same thing, I figured it was just the picture

Looks great! Keep up the good work. :wink:

Thanks for the note... it is the image, we run 29 degrees perpendicular to the work. You are correct though, this is a common mistake and it does depend on the machine. Thanks Again. Dan.

I saw that as well but didn’t understand any of the degree lingo as I don’t do threads. But when I saw it, I looked at it closer and saw the angle of the picture, the angle of the light, and realized that the forward pitch of the thread was on the shaded side and the camera was centered on the face of the chuck itself, so the optical illusion came into play that the threads pitch was off. A closer inspection shows the typical inverted V shape.

Gimme more!!! :slight_smile:

I hereby officially apply for a handmade HD2010 with exacting fit and finish made in Titanium grade 23. :slight_smile: (T6061 would work but I AM a Ti freak :wink: ) With a caveat. I ask that it be a production in miniature, utilizing an 14500 cell. This cell is a good down scale of the 26650. Can do? :slight_smile:

Copper pill, of course! :stuck_out_tongue:

That would be a neat looking little light scaled down to a 14500 size. But Ti 23!!! Yikes! I just felt my tooling budget rip my wallet right out of the o'le pocket!! I might play with that scaling though... I like lights with the larger head like that HD2010. Hmmm... you're doing it to me again aren't ya! Dan.

7075 will work. Doesn’t have to be oxygen free 6Al4V. Besides, the piece of that I had in 1” bar is now the light in my avatar and hanging around my neck. :slight_smile:

You get serious about scaling that one down and I want a shot at it, ok? :wink:

Dale, I'll play with it and since you are the one that gave me the headache....errr... had the thought of doing that, you get the first shot. I might do one in Ti-4, I don't mind working that too bad. I'm behind at the present but I am catching up slowly...of course, that's what I thought six months ago!! Thanks for the thought!!

Dan

Encouragement, you’ll get there…

What if you machined the reflector as an integral part of the head? The pill could deliver the emitter into the reflector from behind, with the battery tube threading in right behind it. Just because it’s Externally the same, doesn’t mean it has to be internally the same as well. Then the head/reflector would be one solid piece, adding to the heat sinking effect. For this reason alone, it should be made from at least 6061 if not 7075.

I have found a way to polish the aluminum such that it is a mirror, with virtually no markation. Now wouldn’t THAT be cool

Speaking of trying to catch up, there is always something else pops up to interrupt. There is a certain member out there has given up on me. :_(