First I have to say I screw up just as often as anyone, but you never get to see it...
Presenting the defunct Tank007 E06:
I tried to take it apart. The head was glued to the gd body.
I got it apart now
So I don't have an EDC any more. I really messed up on this one! I know to heat it with a torch next time, but there won't be a next time. I bought this one with my MF points, but I would not knowingly spend $17 bucks on another one.
Maglite to the rescue.
But........ One Is the Loneliest Number, so what can I do with............
Two Solitare Maglites???
The 2AAA Solitare build/mod/mangle. 2 Solitare bodies put together, with an XM-L T6 LED.
The first problem is how to get the two bodies put together? I decided that if I cut off the threads on one body, I could slip the upper section where the bezel rests, into the rear of the other body. Also I needed to drill the ID so the batteries could slide thru the whole length. I decided to drill first and then cut. I used this drill.
13/32" only because it was the closest I had to the ID of the body. Well it worked out great as you can see.
Drilling it out first, took care of cutting it too. I got lucky and the drill took the threaded end off clean as a whistle.
and here's how they will go together. I will need to remove the ano and also remove some of the ID of the threads in the first section. That will be done with the rotary tool.
Next thing I figured out is that the two pieces need to ground well, when put together. The best way I saw was to make sure the shoulder touches the end and make then bright and shiny, so they make ground.
With everything ground to fit, it works well. I will just clean up the ring in the middle, by making it wider and making it a cosmetic polished ring to disguise what's there. (like I planned it).
Ok, so two batteries go in and I have about 19mm too much length, but that's a good thing, because I need some type of heatsink for the LED. I need to open up the top lip on the body now, so I can have room for a heatsink.
I can't go too much or I will get too thin a wall, so I ended up using this drill.
5/16" worked out pretty good, so now I have a space of 5/16" dia by lets say 18mm length, for a heatsink. I guess I will have to go to Lowes tomorrow and get a short 5/16 aluminum rod, since I don't have anything even remotely close to that small of an OD.
I was sitting there admiring it all, when I realized I had not thought of the reflector. I did not look this over and If I had, before I did all this, I might not have bothered.
Unfortunately, the reflector cannot be taken out without damaging it. It is made in such a way, with tabs on the back side, that it snaps into a groove and will not come back out. I screwed the first one trying every way I could, to get it out. Ok, I got one left now... Well, the only thing I could come up with was to leave the darned thing in place and use an exacto knife to slowly "poke thru in a circle" till I could take out the center of the reflector, so it would fit the head of an XM-L.
This is Not a good thing and it isn't the right way, but it is what it is. When all is said and done, the reflector is a joke anyhow, since it's only 8mm in Dia and 6mm deep. It's not really going to direct anything, so we will see what we will see. I probably will not take a photo of it straight on, from the front though.
Oh, I almost forgot. The LED. I happened to have an 8mm star that I got from Illumination Supply, so I removed a T6 from a 16mm star and flowed it onto this 8mm star. I also had to notch for the wires, because 8mm is all the Dia I have here.
That's all for now. I should finish this up in the next couple of days. Or take another trip to the dumpster...
I finished it today. Here's a few photos + Beam Shots.
The Pill
LED wired in
Positive Post
Pill in place, tight fit.
The Very Ugly Reflector & Lens........ Very Ugly. The glass lens is not cracked, but it's scratched from the knife, when removing the center of the reflector. It does not affect the beam though.
The tail cap is now the way to turn the light on or off. Twist the tail cap tight, the light comes on. Twist it just a 1/4 turn or less to loosen, the light goes out. I had to remove the Ano so it would work that way. Also had to remove the Ano in the spring seat.
The finished light. I used the clip from the Tank007 E06, so it can be a pocket light or a lanyard hanger.
I'm using Alkalines in the Beam shots. NiMH just don't give the voltage and are dim. Alkalines or maybe 1.5v lithiums. Having the 3v helps brighten this light a lot.
Close up beam shot, 2' off the door.
DX special shot.
Abour 4' off the wall. All flood, no distance. Good for flooding something up close.
About 10' from the map.
That's All Folks!!
