Diving light? 
Good luck with your build. We know you've got the skills and hopefully the time this year, to make a masterpiece.
Scuba tank would hold a LOT of 18650’s for a monster light!
^
Yes! I agree. Those scuba tanks really make my imagination fire up. So far, everything I think of will just be too heavy for any of my uses. So I guess, I will be going with the much smaller oxygen tank. I’m trying to not blow hundreds of dollars on this build. So I’ve been scrounging around my shed and came up with a 1.5” schedule 40 aluminum pipe. It will fit 3P 18650’s and is long enough for 4S. I really wanted to go 4P4S, but I need to watch my spending on this as I said.
Thank you Sir for your vote of confidence. It won’t be anywhere near the league of an O-L build, but it will be inspired by you and your many masterpieces.
The driver for 4s might be more costly than a 1s or 2s Zener.
Tools Used:
- Table saw with 10" blade for non-ferrous materials.
This blade is amazing. Cuts through aluminum like butter. I could barely hear it cutting through the oxygen tank.
- Drill Press using the following bits:
- Soldering Iron
- Heat gun
Materials Used:
- Head will be made from an aluminum Oxygen tank:
Battery tube will be made from 1.5 inch Schedule 40 aluminum (6063 alloy).
- Tail cap will be made from ______.
- Battery pack will be made from:
- 18650's
- Copper sheet
- Polyolefin Heat Shrink Sheet
- _______.
- Emitter will be a MT-G2.
- Driver will be a modified HX-1175b1 buck driver.
- Reflector and lens will be from a Defiant XML Spotlight.
First Cut on Oxygen Tank:
******* WARNING *******
The procedures I document here using the table saw is dangerous. It is not designed to be used this way and things can easily go wrong, resulting in injuries and damages.
******* WARNING *******
my first cut didn't go well. I didn't hold my focus good enough to make a nice clean cut. Part of that was due to me pulling the tank back repeatedly to see how deep it was getting cut. I need to make a jig to help hold the tank steady as a manually rotate it.
Tried making a jig with 2x4's and PVC, but it will not work for the some of the cuts and felt too rickety. Gonna try just using 2x4's and screws next. Any suggestions?
A miter saw makes it easier as the blade / carriage moves and the work stays stationary. Other than that I can’t think of how to improve…. The real trick is how to keep the tube from moving right/left…. A stop of some kind on the longer left side and nothing between the blade and the shorter cut off piece.
Do you have a hole saw the size of the tank diamter? Make a ring that can be mounted and rubs on the left table edge? Cut a ring using a saber saw? Make in two halves and screw halves together? Use 2x stock?
There, I had an idea 
I use my Makita miter saw more than my table saw, unless I’m ripping something. Those Diablo blades are nice and if you cut a lot the parent company Freud blades are a touch finer. There are many blades with specialized uses. I have several. The hook angle of the carbide tip varies a lot as well as the tooth count between design uses…
Just an idea, you’ll probably think of a better one. Cut two strips to fit the cross cut guide grooves and screw them to the bottom of two 2 x 4’s so the strips both fit in the guide slots as well as true and even so that the cylinder can rest between them square to the blade and just above the table. Remove the fence and clamp them to the table with the back 2 x 4 in the same place it is now. Screw a stop block to the 2 x ’s to set the length, and start the cut with the blade lowered. Power on and slowly raise the blade, rotate the cylinder to finish the cut and lower the blade. I’m sure you know this but for others the carbide teeth are brazed to the blade body and a blade jam can not only ruin your day but instantly rip several of the teeth right off so any guides must be set absolutely square to the blade. A 10” blade has a lot of angular momentum and when it jams(kick back) something usually goes flying with enough force to break bones, shatter windows, or rupture a spleen.
^
Actually, I had not thought of that idea. It sounds real good. I think I will try that out. Thank you.
Yes, you are right about the danger and I should post a couple warnings. Thanks again.
EDIT: Warnings added. Much appreciated RBD.
Good luck! As long as the guide strips stay in their slots and the 2 x’ are well clamped the cylinder should remain true. As you probably felt from the first cut it will want to ride up off the blade. Some plumbers tape ove the top of the keeper piece might help with that. The off cut should be left free. A jig saw with a metal blade might be safer but would leave a rough edge. A big enough chop saw would certainly do it but not sure if 10” would be big enough.
One last thing normally you don’t use a cross cut guide at the same time as a rip fence but in this case the cross cut guide is fixed as well as the fence. Still, it’s important that the cylinder not move in any direction other than to rotate. With what’s at stake I’d probably drill for a pivot bolt through the stop block as well with extra washers and doubled nuts tightened just enough to allow rotation but very little end play.
Let me know when the drop saw is out of the picture. :cry:
Work safely buddy.
I missed your post earlier. You did have an idea. Actually several good ones. Thank you for giving me some good advice. I agree that a miter saw would work will. I have a very nice miter saw, but I don’t know if it would be ok with the rules. My table saw sucks. I can’t even get the blade totally perpendicular to the table plane. But, I do think it will be the best tool I have for cutting out the cooling fins and for reducing the throat of the tank to fit into the battery tube. So I consider this cutting exercise necessary to work out how I will do those operations.
I would need a big hole saw to be the diameter to the O2 Tank. It would cost many times more that the $10 I paid for the tank and it would have no other uses I can think of.
You sure sound like you know alot about circular blades. I hope you don’t mind me hitting you up next time I need to make a purchase.
I feel a bit dense. Well, I almost always feel dense, but more denser. I have a dual bevel sliding compound miter saw, but assumed it wouldn’t be allowed. I’m thinking that some good humor just flew straight over my head.
Work safely I get and will do.
From the official rules…… Hand Made Category:
All hand tools are acceptable, as well as these power tools:
Soldering gun/station
Electric Drill / Drill Press
Dremel style Rotary tool
Cutoff Saw including Band Saw and Table Saw
Disc or Belt sander
The bold is my emphasis.
A cutoff saw, by my definition means a metal abrasive wheel saw or a miter saw with a blade appropriate for whatever is being cut. Wikipedia agrees.
If I am wrong the judges better scratch my entry.
Any saw can be dangerous. Table saws receive a lot of misuse or improper use. Having a cut off piece of anything against a fence while a slide miter is also in use is bad practice. That is especially bad when a hand is used to restrain that cut off piece. All it takes is the slightest wrong move of the cut off piece to catch a spinning tooth. The hand follows the cut off piece and sometimes ends up in the blade. I have two woodworking friends who have some fingers that are shorter than they used to be. Those accidents occurred between the balde and a fence when cutting off small amounts the wrong way. Part of my point there is if someone thinks the miter saw is wrong for the hand made category I’d argue it is better to promote safe use of a tool that actually uses a same size blade as the table saw.
As for knowing about blades, I’ll pass on whatever I know anytime. I have learned some years ago in school before miter saws were invented and have picked up more info since. I don’t read every message posted here so feel free to use the PM. A resource that can be helpful to understand blades is at Freud’s website. Freud has made some really fine blades for decades. They have some, that couple with a good table saw, turn out rips that can be glued up as they leave the saw. From the dropdown menu select saw blades and then select by material (to cut). It is not a course but by reading and checking the specs for different blades , materials you can gain some understanding. EG. A blade for best and safest use on a miter saw may be different from a blade recommended for table saw crosscutting, especially if the miter saw has a sliding carriage.
In woodworking I use a variety of push and hold sticks, some home made and some purchased. One very nice unit it this one for less other places.
One of the reasons I like the miter saw is a good one lets you clamp down the work for most cuts.
Nothing missed. Due to my stupidity l have a semi working thumb with no feeling from a bench saw. It just makes me cringe with what your doing. :+1:
I agree with you that a miter saw is within the rules for hand made. Mine just has more bells and whistles that I felt took it to another level. I guess I didn’t think about it much before I ruled out using mine. It clearly requires active hand involvement to make the machine perform a cut. So I think I was wrong to rule mine out of the tools I could use. Plus, last year, I felt there was an impression that I wanted to push/bend the rules. That made me feel bad. So I’m really trying to not do anything that might get construed as trying to do that. Looking at your build thread, you clearly are within the hand made category rules in my opinion.
Sorry to hear that. I feel that same way when I see someone slalom waterski with a two-handled ski rope. I promise to take great care. I lost a 1/2” from my left hand’s middle finger in a water skiing accident. It too has limited tactile sensation and also gets cold easily. I have to watch out for it in the winter as it can easily get frost bit in no time. That, plus, I will have less volume with that hand if I were to make a certain gesture.