I will be doing a lot of research on this. I want to do this with one of the minimags. I think I’ll go single first time and then go for a triple.
Old lumens did a ton of these so you might search his threads for some easy mods. Triples require boring to fit the 20 mm mcpcb.
Thanks for the heads up. I’ve got some reading to do. I’ve seenacouple that are just not practical for me. I guess on the first one I just want it to function.
My first chopped AA MiniMag I bored to fit the 20mm pill and optics by using the human lathe method. I used a drill and a rotary tool. It’s a bit painstaking, but perfectly doable and the rewards show immediately when first light is made. These little lights feel so neat in hand, give such surprising output, they can very well be addictive. I’ve even done a micro mag, chopped one even further and used a 14250 cell. It’s ridiculous! 
It’s so small I couldn’t operate it as a twisty so I fitted a small omten clicky into the tailcap and that works just fine. lol
The little Purple 14250 Micro Mag, with tail clicky, beside a Sinner Cypreus, Normal chopped AA MiniMag, and Solarforce L2M. (Ok, so the red MiniMag isn’t exactly normal. TexasLumens did that one and cut the Texas onto it. The purple battery tube that was cut off is also now a spare cell carrier with a very very cool Texas shaped aluminum top cap.)
NanoMag. 
And most step-bit sets come with one bit whose largest size is a perfect 20mm!
And give you a nice flat ledge!
A look at the clicky switch in the carved out tail cap, beside the spare battery tube with Texas cap…
Very cool! I love the little Tx cap on the spare cell holder. I lived there myself for a number of years. Had to come back to KS when My daughter was born, Grandma and Grandpa insisted.
Where can I find a drop in pill, or all the parts you used to build yours? I’m in Canada, so they need to ship here. Also can you walk me through assembling everything. How deep did you drill the body? Can aluminum be used for the pill ( I think I’m using the term right, the brass puck thing in your pictures). If so, what are the dimensions of the “puck”?
Sorry for all the questions, Ryan
Oh, he dead. He ain’t gonna answer.
Try this for a starter…
https://www.fasttech.com/category/1605/diy-kits-parts-drop-in-module
No magic formula as far as depth, in case some dimensions are a bit “off”. Best to just get a step-bit and drill down a little at a time, fit it to see how much more to go, etc.
They all seem to be for a different flashlight and not a 2 aa maglite. I have a lathe, just need to know what to make, lol
Do you have a P-60 drop in ? I'd start there . If you wanted to improve it or build your own pill having one to start with would seem to make sense . I think an empty drop in back in the day was like 2$. Pretty sure the reflector alone is worth that .
Pick your emitter, mcpcb and driver and some heatsink paste and Voila'.
Match isn't dead his legacy on BLF will live on forever .... Not to mention he's most assuredly lurking under a different screenname .
MAtch made this simple enough for a know nothing noob to be able to do . if you have ever even seen a lathe much less own one ....you can do this .
Ok.. they are less than $2
Found 45 driver at FastTech - Free Shipping to major countries
Yeh, that was my point.
Probably infinitely easier to just buy one pre-built to try it first, then salt’n’pepper to taste once you got one to fit.
Did Match burn himself out?
Sounds like Yukon is ready to git that lathe spinning and hoggin out some parts and throwin some big ass chips.
Well, ya wanna get crazy, smoosh some clay into the Mag, let it harden, take the measurements, then cut an Al slug to fit. Then grind out the hollows for the driver and star.
What else do I need? A light and backing plate?
Is there a slightly better thread on putting one together?. Then I will do a complete custom build after I do one “kit” form.
I want 600 or so lumens, how many ma do I want?
This thread is 10 years old and not really a good starting point—take a look at the 4th sticky down here to get up to speed,