Eedekeos was going to buy a copper heat sink from me, but decided not to. So I was left with one for myself. Some pictures...
1.345" gives an easy push fit.
The bottom before machining the 17mm pocket for driver.
Driver pocket. Deep enough to accommodate double stacked 7135's on both sides
The top before machining the pedestal. I should have wiped the fingerprints off first.
Another
Pedestal done, along with holes for wires.
I was struck by an idea while machining this and was going to touch base with Edeekos before mailing it to him. I left it too long for wires to fit underneath, but...
How about some drop-in action? The spring will make contact with a solder blob on the switch positive.
Here it is inside the body at about the right height.
Prepping for mounting the star. 10-24 set screw is shown as well as "P" for positive, since both wires are black.
I'm waiting for the Arctic Alumina to set up right now. Some head grooving may be in the future.
Man, that’s turning out great so far! Very good work!
…Really wishin this could have been mine, however, the wife BOSS only allows me so much for flashlight funds every pay period Sounds cliche, but when she’s bringing home most of the bread, I kinda gotta listen.
You planning on de-doming the emitter? You should be able to run it with plenty of amperage on that massive chunk of copper, for sure! Can’t wait to see what it puts out in the finished light!
Default? Yes, the set-screw locks the sink into position for the correct height and also ensure’s a very solid ground for the current.
Yes. It allows adjusting the whole heat sink up and down. I like to put mine at a depth that makes for tightest beam when the head is screwed all of the way down.
For some reason I didn't take a picture that shows that with this heat sink. Here's an aluminum one w/o pedestal where you can see how it comes out the side.
I thought about de-doming but decided against it. Breaking an emitter wire last time I tried makes me leery. I've seen some guys just chop the dome off to near the emitter, might even have been you. Does that do the same thing? I could put it in the mill with a fly cutter and get it very damn close to the die.
Yes, I need to do some decent shots. I have 3 lights that need comparison shots done. Maybe I'll go up to the local Jr High football field tomorrow night.
Remember that the bond wires arc up and over, need to keep a certain amount of the dome for clearance of the wires. I have successfully shaved both an XP-G2 and MT-G2, I find that the tint doesn’t change nearly as much as a full de-dome and it does actually produce a tighter hot spot.
Might pay to carefully center the emitter in relation to your heat sink while the star is still full sized, re-flow solder it together, then simply turn the star down to match your pedestal right on your lathe. A soldered connection between the star and sink will be much better than a bonded connection, even with Arctic Alumina. Or so it seems to me.
I used Arctic Alumina thermal compound for my C8 MT-G2, and it drops 114 lumens in 2 minutes. I reflowed the XP-G2 and XM-L2 and they only drop around 79 lumens in that same 2 minutes. All 3 being on a healthy chunk of copper of course. I’ll be reflowing the MT-G2 to the copper sink once I slice and dice it.
I use gasoline for XM-L2’s with excellent success, as well as XP-G2s. But when I tried the MT-G2 it removed ALL the phosphor and the die was royal blue, trashed it.
Very nice Bucket. I see from your fingerprints that CSI is after you. Wipe them of quick. Seriously I must be going blind. I could not see them. Very clean machining. This should be a weapon.
I’m wondering what kind of weight this big sink adds up front on the Mag? Bet it feels awesome in the hand! There are places that I really like lightweight, but I like a substantial feel to a light. This would do it!
Do you only plan to drive it around 6A or will you be taking it further? I have a de-domed XM-L2 U2 1A on far less copper and pulling something in the 8-9A neighborhood, so far so good. I would think this much copper would easily allow that range with very little heat issues.
I was under the impression that 8A was pretty much the max for XM-L2's. I think this one will stay at 6 for now. Hell, I can't get even my MT-G2 direct drive light over 6 amps. (It must be the switch)
I have been thinking on making a heat sink and head combo for Mags to accommodate a larger heat sink for using Rebel Reflectors since they have extra depth. If or when I do this project, I'll drive it as hard as I think I safely can.
the mad modders say push it til the light starts turning blue, then back it off a bit. I was seeing it go blue on aluminum, but it’s good on copper. The light has a large mass in the head, with nice cooling fins. It warms up after a few minutes, but doesn’t get hot.
Last night out at the lake, about the time I was getting the tripod set up, a cop came driving through at the remote boat ramp. There were about 5-7 teenagers out there with skateboards that had already been impressed with the MAXToch, one of the kids thinks it’s brighter than his name brand driving lights on his 4x4. The cop was spotlighting our Ford Escape and the kid urged me to blow off his spotlight with my flashlight. I desisted. The cops out there are known troublemakers and I didn’t want the introduction. lol. But it was sorely tempting…
Sounds cliche, but when she’s bringing home most of the bread, I kinda gotta listen. 
