it will be multi led set up, most likely xml2.
will try new ideas on this one.
i’m not after many thousands lumens, or pencil sharp beams, i’m after practicality, utility, and originality.
so far i got few parts picked up.
bought copper board at radio shack, and etching solution.
building the driver, looks ugly but works,
found correct relay, and mounted it on freshly etched pcb
next step, the buissnes end of the light, 1 1\2 x 1 1\2 x 1\8 aluminium angle, 2 t5 xml2, and 2 s6 90+cri xml2 on sinkapd stars, 2 20mm carclo narrow lenses, and 2 oval lenses. 1\4 scratchproof polycarbonate, and 15mm plywood sheet
that part in the middle is a termostat, it is 75c NO, once leds heat up the heatsink to 75, t stat will close relay circuit, and switch power to small aux led that will stay on, until temp drops 10c, than it switches main leds back.
there are 2 pairs of leds, top pair is t5 5000k xml2 will be behind narrow lenses, another pair xml2 s6 2700k 90+cri is behind oval lenses. i tried oval lenses and found out they illuminate wide areas better. all the light is spread horisontaly. they will be used when flood light when needed.
i also glued smal pieces of GITD tape inside the lens holders, (i bought GITD exit sign, that using gel paint remover took off letters, and got mysef a4 sheet of foil backed, self adhesive GITD film), after light is turned off lenses still glow green for 10-15 min.
moving on.
for the body i will use plywood\polycarbonate\plywood sandwich, 3\8 1\4 3\8. bonded with gorilla glue.
i will install aux leds inside the body, clear middle layer will work as a lens, somewhat.
those aux leds are, xpg, and 5mm deep red led.
red led on top, and white led in the back will be installed, it will be part of heat control sys. when aluminum close to stars gets to 75c thermal switch will trigger a relay to switch over power from driver, to AUX leds, xpe will emit light from back of the body, it will not be regulated, just a resistor, to drop current to 80-50ma, it will make enough light to see where you going, and what is 10-15 feet around you, in case the light overheats in a middle of the forest, or cave, or anywhere dark. the red will be inside the body, and iti will show that head is hot, and heat management sys shut power off. after temp of the head drops 10c it will turn main lads on, and shut off aux leds.
besides leds in the head and inside the body, there will be red led on the side of the light, there will be no optic, i want red to be as floody as possible, it will be bare led covered with frosted on one side, polycarbonate.
i will use 6 position rotary switch, 3 positions will be not used, it will be “off” positions, other 3 are spotlight(t5 5000k, wide light, 90+ cri 2700k and red.
driver that i build before, in the thread, will be powered by 2 parallel 18650.
i will charge those cells inside the light, for that i will have 2 ports outside, 1 will be an acorn nut, other will be piece of diamond plate that will also be used as a heatsink for the driver. the nut(positive end), will be wired with, 2A reed switch, contact will only be live when reed switch closes, and it will happen only when the light will be properly seated in its charging cradle. the cradle will also have 2 springs that will press against outside charging points of the light, it will also have charger build into the cradle, with battery voltage indicator.
these are the sides.
now after some work with jigsaw, holes saw, dremel and drill,
now, the driver needs to sit in one of those sides glued to the heatsink plate.
this is side, red emitter, base is made of same piece of angle that the head heatsnink, 2 m2,5 threads, and 6 6-32 threads, blue peice is a polycarbonate, red led will be driven by 350ma, that piece of aluminum imo enough to dissipate 1W.
wood parts are ready for finishing
3 coats of this 3 hours apart, and 3 days of drying time after.
ok drying is done, time to put everything together.
now the driver gets glued to the diamond plate, and relay next to it,
now the main part, that holds everything together.
2 aux leds, their resistors, and reed switch get installed into the body.
this is the back led.
now the switch
putting all together
the light is ready now.
the head is mounted so as much area exposed to air, here we see 3\16 spacers between the body, and side of the head.
everything holds together by 1\4 20 nuts and bolts.
now all i have left is cradle\charger and beam shots.
made some minor changes to the light, i added another switch, that activates relay, so back light, and red light on top can be turned on at any time, not just when it overheats, heat management sys is still working, it has not been affected. now i have low light mode in the light.
i used small push button switch, and had to “borrow” a switch guard from toner, it basically a nut in a form of a cup.
this is how it looks turned on,
it is pbly no more than 25-30 lumens, of white light there.
and the last part is the charging cradle\charger. i used common driver\regulator circuit that is sold on ebay for about $5-7.
a small project box from radio shack, mini voltmeter, (at first i wanted to use ohmmeter, but decided voltmeter would make more sense, since i’d be able to watch battery voltage as it charges, and also see battery voltage at any time, placing the light on the cradle, without even connecting power to the charger.
also i figured i can (and i have before many times) use the light as a power source, placing it on the cradle i can loosen the nuts holding charger wires, remove them, and connect to power basically anything from the cells inside the light. to power the charging circuit i used a PS from old ibm laptop, had to change the plug to N type, so it fits the jack on the charger. both sides (M F) got from radio shack, for, iirc, $3 each.
cradle is done from a 3\8 plywood, and aluminum angles, i used pop rivets to attach them to the plywood, for contacts i used high strength bronze 0,025 thick.
had to move red contact knob a bit forward, totaly forgot there is a side red in the way, when i was drilling the hole for it. pictures below show it current position.
this is the magnet from a hard drive, to activate reed switch inside the light.
and some beamshots. these are just to show beam pattern, i will get more, when i get a chance to take them outside, to really see how it illuminates. again those are not final beamshots.
spot is 5000k t5, flood is 2700k s6, all xml2’s. flood is really a 20mm oval lens from carclo.
here are some outdoor shots,
spot beam, 
wide beam, 
red light. 
low, back facing light, 
That's look quite challenging with the parts you have there..
Good luck!
The only component I recognise is the Zorro Z. Good luck on the build.
Reserved another one for ya… haha, just kidding. :bigsmile: Looks like quite a hefty potentiometer youve got there. Do you plan to use it to dim your emitters without the use of a driver?
that is 6 position switch, i will use driver, will try to make one myself from the scratch, should be fun, never build a driver before, but as of now no plans on dimming leds, but i did say it will be multiled set up.
I just started the build, already a set back, i can’t use the part i was gonna use, turns out relay rated lower than I need. 
but it is not a problem, will find new one, it did not affect the rest.
Another interesting build. Diamond plate, hmm.
lighthead is ready and tested.
Is it done?
nope, still more to go
Looking cool even though I don’t know what I’m looking at. I like the sandwich motif. Got milk?
Beautiful finish you are working up on that wood. Can not wait to see more.
the light itself is done, few more things still left to do before project is compleated
Awesome looking light. Great job.
Very nice. Congrats on the build. It’s beautiful and looks like it could be quite handy light to have around…
That is really unique and well done! Looking forward to seeing it lit up!
Nice clean lines, love the wood finish. Very creative use of materials, well done.