Hello! Long time lurker, first time setting up an account here. I recently acquired an incandescent 2d maglite for the economically sound price of free, and I’m interested in making a first project out of it. MT-G2 with 2x 26650 seems the appropriate “go big or go home” scenario, but I can’t seem to find a drop-in or basic kit to get started with. I’m comfortable with hand tools/soldering, etc. but I don’t have access to a lathe so the heatsink seems to be a large hurdle.
I was reading through this thread and it all seems doable save the heatsink and the custom programmed driver. Any suggestions for a plan of action would be appreciated!
the main thing u need is the heatsink which I’m also interested in. years ago people were selling them but I can’t locate any now. you might have to make one. other than that, just pick a driver and led. some people do change the reflector but many of the mods just cut off the cam. there’s also the option to buy a malkoff
devices dropin
Welcome to the forum. I haven't modded any of my Maglites yet. Looking inside them, it looks like it would be fairly easy to fabricate a pill from aluminum if you have a hand drill.
If you have a Metal Supermarkets store around you, go there with your mag and see if they have any aluminum Round Bar that would be a press fit to the battery tube. You may have to get some that is slightly smaller diameter and then use aluminum or copper flashing to make up the difference. Have them cut the bar to the length you desire. Their moto is "No sale is too small".
Then drill out a driver bay on the bottom side and 2 wholes to feed the LED wires through to the top side of the pill from the driver bay.
the guy who was selling the h22a heatsinks was selling and shipping them last week so if u want one, search h22a heatsink on Google and his email and examples are on another forum…. price is about $20
I think the post #18, in the thread the OP referenced, has about everything. https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/28303#comment-633271
The reflector will have to be made to fit. The short reflector is the same one that others call the SST-50 reflector. It will go in the head, but unless you open the head, it will not fit with a glass lens on top. The bezel will stick up. I have not found any replacement reflectors, but if you go with an MT-G2, just use the incandescent reflector. It will work. A little floody, but workable and easier to use. I have a few videos up on youtube. They should show most of what you need.
Contact BLF memberTexasLumens and see if he has some plain heat sinks. I have him making some for me now, so he might have one. I can't tell you his price, but probably less than the one from the CPF guy.
If you have questions, just read through the threads. You will find just about all you need from threads and videos. Otherwise, ask specifics.
thanks— original link wasn’t clickable and I wasn’t sure if posting other forums was ok. I used to go on there but it seemed like nobody cared about newbies or if you weren’t building a 20 xm-L2 custom lathe 8x18650 thrower with LCD display
Heatsink: I was considering the h22a heatsink but he states the pedestal is only ~14.5mm and the MT-G2’s everyone seems to be using come mounted on 20mm stars. Will this work with heat transfer or require the pedestal be ground off and the wire holes redrilled? I’d considered the aluminum bar option, but I’d have to order online, and I don’t have access to a drill press to create a driver recess or wire holes. I’m assuming TexasLumens’ heatsinks are just a slice of aluminum bar? What is the ideal thickness if I went this route?
Driver: I was thinking of staying around 3a, and I don’t much care for modes, low/med/high would be more than adquate. Would it make sense to try to build and program the custom driver or is there a simpler buy and go option? Does the driver need to be mounted on/in the heatsink or can it be free-floated without worrying about overheating?
TexasLumens heat sinks are aluminum rod stock, cut to fit the diameter of the tube. He could make the thickness you want. I usually only use a 3/8" thick heat sink. If you are only going 3 amps, then there is no heat issue here. A plain heat sink would be fine. I free float all my drivers, always have.
BLF member RMM can get you set up with a driver like you want. One where you just solder the wires and go.
the qlite 8*7135 driver is right at 3A
and is easy to change modes with a lead pencil — the stock mode is great too and is the default mode…… I used it with a single 18650 but not sure if it
can handle multiple cells—-
other members could tell u though. probably needa decide which and how many cells u
want to use
Just wanted to say thanks again for all the help! Got all the critical parts in the mail today (batteries, driver, led) and successfully assembled a working light. I decided to to the heat sink the hard way and filed a bar of 1 3/8 aluminum down to snug diameter and cut off a slice with a hacksaw. I had that done already and drilled the mounting/wire holes this afternoon along with soldering everything up and cutting down the tailspring to fit in the recess in the tailcap. Messed up the reflector and waiting on an aluminum one in the mail, but the mucked up one works for now.
Super happy with this little project and many thanks to all who helped :).
