Hi BLF,
I’ve had this beautiful light for many years. It’s one of my all time favorites, and wanted to make it a useful tool, and antique sleeper. I made a light engine for it in such a way that noting on the original host had to be altered. So the integrity of this beautiful antique is still preserved.
This video is part of a 3 month long series (Old School Cool) that is now premiering on my Youtube channel. Hope you all enjoy it!
Clever!
The pictures really don’t do it justice.
I didn’t fully appreciate what you’ve achieved until watching the video.
Awesome job and perfect choice of LED for this light!
Nice
Stepping over the maglite which is a ..thing of the past ..and resurrecting a dinosaur which is history thanks for your knowledge Master Yoda very good lesson and hope to learn more
Incredible work and expertise. You even managed to add the fantastic zoom mechanism. For me, that you preserve this much of the host’s form and function is the key to this absolutely amazing mod.
Would love to hear your thought process on the choice of LED. LMP 5050SQ3 vs a high CRI LED like 519a for example. Because 5050SQ3 has better throw?
Video at 14:00: “What if someone makes a flashlight that’s exactly like this…”
My answer is yes, as long as you keep the “1918” inscription. 
Amazing project and great results. Thanks for sharing!
Impressive project!
Thank you.
The reasons I went with the LMP is mostly because its a round die LED vs square. I really like the way a round die looks at full focus. I used to love the square because of the novelty of it. Seeing peoples reactions, but I feel like a lot of flashaholics are kinda “over that”. Being domeless was also a factor as you said to increase throw.
I want very much for someone to make this their hobby business… Because I would love to have one of these.
But I shudder to think of what the final cost would be…
Beautiful light. I love your respect for the original host and the choices you made to bring it to life in a way it’s designers probably couldn’t have even imagined.
You’re not wrong, it wont be cheap. It’s a bit early to say, I’ve not had a chance to thoroughly go over what it would take to put some of the components into production.
The final cost would depend mostly on two key factors.
Will it be primarily made in the USA: If the machined parts, driver board, switch components etc were all made here it will still be a little bit higher of a price even with tariffs. Its actually easier to get small batches of custom stuff made here than in China.
Batch size: This is a huge factor. If only 100 lights are made then not only is there a cost of materials/components there is the cost of development. IE all the time and labor going into perfecting the design. Having CNC programs written, testing multiple variations in most cases. This can easily cost 10K, and if that extra 10k is divided by only 50 lights that adds an extra $100 bucks to the cost of each light.
So a very rough preliminary estimate based on those two assumptions I would say the lights could cost as much has $215 each.
If we can get the batch size to something more realistic for a batch size like 500 pc it would offset that considerably. Possibly getting it down to $180 range. If we can get a 1,000pc batch that will open some other doors. Most manufactures ohter than hobby size shops wont consider making anything that customized at batches lower than 1,000k-5,000pc, but the advantage is significant cost savings. I don’t know this for sure, but I think if we got to a batch size like that it could put us more in line with what you pay for a premium light that is already in production under $100
What I plan to do if there is interest is hammer out the details of what people want it to look and feel like here at BLF. Figure out how to make a copy of that switch without use of stamped metals, and what the black outside of the light should be (originally bakalite I think) et. Then I would run a Kickstarter to see if pricing and demand is in line with expectations.
Honestly - I think even your low-volume pricing is an attractive price point for the end product!
I’ll be following this journey with great interest!
