BLF X6 Large Aspheric Head Experiment LOL * New pictures and update in thread 2/29/16 :)

Flashlight Modding and DIY Parts
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So with all the randomness in the X6/X5 thread going on I figured I’d just make a new thread for this….

I have several boxes of random flashlight stuff that I’ve accumulated over the past few years and some from well beyond that. Much of it is remnants of projects that either didn’t work out or evolved into something else, leaving extra unused parts to collect dust. Every now and then I go through and try to make as many working lights as I can out of what I have, and other times I just feel like messing around with something to see what I come up with. This is the latter, and I think it’s kinda silly but it works so here you have it:

The 76mm Aspheric Head X6:

The head itself is roughly 82 mm in diameter, it’s from one of those Harbor Freight shower head type lights with a 100 or so 5mm leds. All the guts are removed with the exception of the outer flange of the plastic led shelf, which I dremeled off and used as a spacer under a thick oring to get the focus right. The lens is about 76-78 mm, I bought it from DX years ago. I have four of them and this one seemed to have the least aberrations in the glass.

It is perfectly focused but I’d like to get a thinner oring of the same diameter to put in between the bezel and the lens.

Here you can see the attachment of the head to the pill area of the light, there’s a few layers of Kapton tape in there to snug up the fit, the threads did not match, but it’s surprisingly solid. If I end up keeping the light I’ll just cut the threads off the original body from the Harbor Freight light and bond them to the X6 pill with JB Weld or something similar.

The beam from this thing is incredible, it throws like crazy. I don’t have a lux meter, sorry.

I’ll attempt to get some beam shots tonight if anyone is interested, but I haven’t put together a good setup to do them so no promises :slight_smile:

EDIT: Teaser update, a daytime control shot and the distance from Google Maps.

Daytime control, I’ll be aiming for the treetops above that white birch in the distance:

Distance, about 370 ft:

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Haha, that looks awesome! I sure hope you are going to use that as an EDC. :wink:

Looking forward to those beam shots!

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Thanks! EDC was the primary focus of the project, of course. It practically disappears in a pocket…

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I would name that the Marty Feldman edition.
LOL
Cool, thanks for sharing.

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Too funny, if I had the parts I’d put two of them side by side to complete the Feldman effect :smiley:

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Great! The true spirit of BLF: Innovation, Frugality, and a dash of humor!

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Thanks MG! I took an outdoor daytime control shot in the hopes it will motivate me to get the beamshots done this evening :slight_smile:

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Don’t back pocket that EDC! Lol great build and post! Thanks…

Would love some beamshots if you get a chance…

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Thanks ReManG, sound advice too haha. I’m committed to the beamshots tonight unless something comes up, I’m playing with a mic stand so I can have the light steady for the shots. Keeping the light still has prevented me from getting anything good in the past, maybe even more so than keeping the camera still.

I have a Nikon DSLR that is a little old and is only 6MP but between that and my phone I should come up with something usable. I’m going to use google earth for the distance, and I have to be kinda careful not to irritate my neighbors, the beam will be going right by several of their sliding doors and windows to get to the furthest point I can reach in my yard.

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I don’t think anyone here is interested in the beamshots… :stuck_out_tongue:

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Nice!

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Beamshots please!

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Yeah, seems like due to a lack of interest the beamshots will be cancelled :stuck_out_tongue:

I just picked up a new holder for the mic stand that should be able to hold the light a little better, I couldn’t find the clamping style so I’ll have to order one to do bigger lights in the future.

Night is coming…so is some snow, might be interesting, but fear not I’ll brave the storm :slight_smile:

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Waiting impatiently with baited breath :smiley:

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Cool! :smiley:

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Yes beam shots please!!

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Yep no one is interested, much. :stuck_out_tongue:

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Update: I’ve got a great setup to hold the light now but I overestimated my phone camera and underestimated how still the DSLR has to be. In addition, I’m not very well versed in the manual settings of the camera.

I have a shot that shows the beam, but it looks like a phaser cannon out of an Imperial Destroyer or something and is not very realistic. I’m going to do some Google and see if I can figure out the settings.

I’m also going to attempt to rig up some way to hold the camera still, I don’t have a tripod for it but I do have some 1/4”x20 hardware that will thread into the camera. I’m going to drill and tap a piece of aluminum c-channel and see if I can just clamp it to the side of the mic stand that is holding the light.

Stand by, fellow patient flashlight peeps, I’m trying my best :-/

EDIT: My camera is a Nikon D40 with an 18-55mm AF lens. Does anyone have a go-to setup for a similar situation?

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Can’t wait…

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Here’s one of the shots I was talking about, to wet your lips if you will, but it’s terrible. I wanted to make sure I could still connect the camera to the PC so I figured I should show you some kind of a beamshot after waiting all day.

As you can see it’s terribly blurry, that’s because the shutter was open for what felt like about 5 seconds and I’m just not that steady. Also, in reality it is almost completely dark out despite the moon due to the cloud cover from the storm rolling in, and the only thing you should be able to see is the beam, the hotspot on the trees, and some ambient light from the neighbors windows.

Not too good so far, but I’m not giving up yet, I’ll check back in soon. Wish me luck!