So I’ve been lurking and just posting a little bit here and there… But I decided I should go ahead and start documenting my mods. Seems like maglite mods are a bit few and far these days, seems like I am late to the party. Honestly I feel like I was born to late, I missed all the good stuff! Maybe I can help create a bit of a comeback for Mag mods? Maybe not…either way it will be fun.
Anyway, on to the build!
So my first build is a simple 2D Maglite with some little modifications.
2x Orbtronic 25550 Lithium Cells. 11,000 mah total.
A plastic 25550 cell adapter from Adventure Sports and their shorter spring.
A 49mm aspheric lens (says 52mm online but my caliper says otherwise)
Running either a terralux bulb or a…random amazon one that is 2800k which is nice.
Currently my struggle is finding a way to actuate the “bulb carrier” without the cam reflector. This is where I am hoping you guys may be able to offer suggestions. In order to bring the aspheric lens as close as possible to the LED I have it sitting in the lip that the reflector would normally set on. This gives me an extremely round and sharp flood which is great…but I’d love to be able to move the “bulb carrier” back and forth to be able to go from flood to spot like it does stock. Hmmm
Photo of the current beam: (Really struggling with this for some reason…)
I got a Trustfire refit that looks like it could fit my Mags with a little filing. Beam’s kinda ringy and a bit fried-eggy, but at least it’s brighter’n the come-with hotwire bulb.
Wide voltage range (up to 8.4V), so would fit a 3D with alkaleaks, or 2D with 26650s or whatnot.
Other’n going caliper-crazy, I didn’t do any actual “modding” yet, and I got an assload of other things I want to knock off first before “playing around” with it.
The reflector’s “hole” where the bulb goes is cut at an angle, and rubs against the little nubbin on the side where the bulb sits.
The bulb’s mounting is spring-loaded, so pushing the nubbin in also pushes the whole bulb assembly in as well, making it sit deeper or not in the reflector, and that (hideously) changes the focus.
So there’s no easy way to change the lens-to-LED distance unless you similarly “float” the shelf the LED sits on (crappy as Hell thermal path, then), and find some way to adjust it.
Oh yeah I figured out how it worked a while back. I was even looking at 3D printing some kind of shorter replacement, but damn 3D modeling isn’t my forte…
Side note, has anyone ever made a drop in LED bulb that they made themselves? As in, a copper pill, wire the emitter so it, pop it into the bulb holder. I’m really interested in making the “perfect” LED bulb for the maglites. Need something 4000k at 90 cri.
