Building a F6DD Triple (Roche/Convoy/etc.)

Flashlight Modding and DIY Parts
81

There's a bunch of boring tedious setup stuff before this - centering the part on the rotary table with the adjustable chuck plate, centering the rotary table under the spindle, setting the tool offset from center (0.055" dia, the table is offset half that (0.028") to the left so the left edge of the tool will be on center), etc.

Since the tripod mount thread is 1/4-20, I figured the hex should be the same as a 1/4-20 nut. Dimensions of 0.433" flat-to-flat, 0.492" point-to-point, & 0.219" thick. To set the depth, the tool is brought down to the top of the plug, and the sample nut placed under the depth stop. Then the total depth of cut will be the same as the thickness of the nut when the depth stop hits bottom.

The table is offset half the point-to-point diameter (0.246") to the left, and a groove is cut all the way around to full depth.

Next up is cutting the flats of the hex...

82

Sweet. What size end mill are you using? It looks bigger than I gather it is.

83

0.055" (1.4mm?) 2-flute, 1/8" shank.

84

That is small, less than a 1/16’’. I’d love to see the sweat on the brow operating that little bugger. Lots of RPM and small cuts?

85

It'll plunge cut fine, but side milling after it's to full depth I only take about 5 thou at a time. It might be fine with more but it's not like there's a boss or efficiency consultant standing behind me with a stopwatch on any of this...

Set the table to 0* for the first flat...

Next, 60*...

120*...

A little while later, 300*...

And back to 0*.

86

You sir have far more patience than I. Amazing effort so far. Looking forward to the next installment.

87

I was holding my breath going through the pictures in post #85….

88

I checked the drill press instructions and nowhere in it did they say 'DO NOT USE FLYCUTTERS IN THIS MACHINE', so I guess it's OK?

89

Wow! Again... Bringing the "nut light" to a whole new level! Brilliant work there, comfy.

The "nut light" was a cheapo multi-color zoomie with a nut glued on the side. I'm embarrassed to admit I own two of them.

90

Incredible. :open_mouth:

91

Very nice attention to detail! Looking at it first hand, how do you think the brass fares to aluminum or stainless?

92

Dumb struck. Amazing effort and what a sweet looking piece. May I ask how many hours went into this one item?

93

If you cut out the time for making fixtures and other doo-dads and taking pictures, maybe 2 hours? Probably less.

94

I consider it a safety feature that there's not enough room for a protected cell. It wouldn't work anyway.

I still have to cut two steps on the inside face, like the plug on the left. The first one fits in the ID of the tube, the second is for the o-ring that goes in the tube. There will also be a little pocket for the spring to sit in so it ends up on the same plane as the bottom of the o-ring groove.

Soldering the spring will take a lot of heat and the plug is probably going to change color a bit. If it changes in a nice way I'll leave it, if not I'll bead blast it to a nice no-nonsense satin finish.

95

I flat-out stole this off Ebay. Buy-it-now price was way way too low, I don't know why. I think the seller just assumed Japan = China.

96

With soldering your spring I do items like that on the stove.
Two hours. You must have swarf/chips flying.

97

98

99

Subscribed for a while, Amazing work!!

One day I’ll have a lathe and actually know how to put it to good work, just like you did, I hope!

100

(I know there's no such thing as '5C', should be '5C[1,2,3,4]', but that's all the info I have.)

This mix works nice. Very similar to the 92CRI 219B, with just a hint more green. Going by the ANSI chart a 3C or 3D would add a little red in place of the green and would likely be even better. It's close enough you won't ever notice it unless you are comparing it side by side with 219Bs, and that's not bad. Especially considering this will do 3500+ lumens compared to the 219B's ~2000 at similar drive current.