The "Budget" Method of Installing a McClicky Switch

I refused to pay over $20 + shipping for an Oveready McClicky Kit, so I used a dremel with a small sanding drum to “bore” out the stock plastic retaining ring in a Surefire 6p tailcap, solder on some metal tabs, and call it a day (actually this mod only took me less than an hour :bigsmile: ).

I’m not sure if anyone’s done this, but just to show you that it can be done:

The modded retaining ring is shown in the bottom part of the following picture:

The metal tabs I soldered on were leftovers from a Mag switch mod, but you could use whatever you can scrounge up. Try to use something stiff so when you screw your tailcap back in tight the tabs don’t bend. Nothing too thick though, somewhere around 0.5mm to 1.0mm is more than enough, mine was much thinner.

Now there is quite a bit of plastic you’d have to remove on the retaining ring, and before you embark on doing the same, here are a few tips:

  • Go slow! I used the lowest speed on my dremel to prevent melting the plastic. No melting happened and I could’ve went 2 or 3 speeds faster but do be cautious.
  • Test fit! Since the McClicky switch will only be press-fitted into the modified retaining ring, pause often to make sure what you’ve done is just enough to squeeze the McClicky switch in.
  • This isn’t necessary, but I didn’t want to melt the McClicky while soldering on the tabs, so I used a little flux and pre-tinned the switch’s negative contacts (where I wanted to solder the metal tabs on), then while holding one end of the metal tab with needle nose pliers, use the soldering iron to press/solder the tab down.
  • If your McClicky switch fits in there nice and tight, you can probably reinstall and use as is (like I did), but for extra reliability, you can glue/epoxy the two parts together.

Good luck and remember: Waste not, want not!

That’s a great idea :slight_smile: