When I was tightening down the bezel :cry:
Got a bit of time to myself today so almost completed a boxmodā¦ err mod?? I am waiting on a switch so I can finish the project. Driver is an LD-2 6amp running 2x xlp hi in parallel. Hereās a few pics from the build.
This was mentioned earlier somewhere and I have to agree that some of these mods deserve there own thread. Amazing work pp. 
Thanks DNF. Maybe Iāll make a thread when I finish it. You know the same could be said about your 2D build in the āWhat did you make threadā 
What exactly is that dremel attachment, and what are you using it for?
Did the pins snap off the legs, or did it slip?
Iāve been using a lot of optics lately, and I know the final installment can be the trickiest part, and accidental dedoming is pretty common.
Iām trying to make a mental list of build types (soldered pill, front tightening, rear tightening, glass lens, no lensā¦etc) to develop techniques aread of time to avoid this common occurrence.
Lol, I guess thatās why I need to do a build thread. So I can explain a bit more.
The build is mashing together a yinding bike light 
ā¦and an Ivago boxmod 
I was cutting a recess in the back plate of the bike light to fit neatly inside the ivago body.
The dremel part is ā¦ 
I stuck a couple of plastic packers (the yellow parts, of course)to the dremel to the make a jig. Unfortunately I didnāt tighten the lock nut tight enough and the vibrations caused the bit to protrude a little further during operation so the job is not as neat as I would like it 
The pins broke off when I tightened it down.
Nuts! I hate that!
May I ask if the MCPCB was soldered or epoxied onto the pill?
Only thermal grease between the spacer and MCPCB. When I made my second attempt, I didnāt secure the driver until the bezel was in place, I donāt know if it made a difference but it works now and D#Ā¤m itās bright.
I always secure the driver after i screw the bezel , and everytime i see it takes 2-3 rounds .
Instead of the cables , the driver turns.
Thatās the reason i would say this happened.
Okay great!
I was going to suggest not securing the driver til last, that way the wires and driver can spin around through the center hole along with the mcpcb. With the driver secured first, two things can happen, and theyāre both bad. Once the slack in the wires is taken up, the rotation of the mcpcb can either rip the wire out of its pad, or stop dead in its tracks causing the legs to snap as you continue to tighten.
Even taking this precaution, bad things can still happen. The final step in in modding a triple or quad optic, tightening the bezel, is the trickiest part of the entire build.
Wonāt do that again. Must have had beginners luck, so far :innocent:
For high-amp lights, you probably need a clamp meter to measure the current. Wired DMMs donāt really handle this kind of thing well.
I put an XP-L HI led on noctigon in an old style Convoy C8, and added 3 7135s to the stock 105C driver, and modded it to one mode only. Replaced the led wires with thicker silicone wires. Now it makes 3.85A one mode only.
Tightening a bezel on a triple
One thing Iāve sometimes done that has worked is to take a piece of indoor stairway grip tape, bend it into a āUā shape with the sticky stuff on the outside, and then press that into the optic. The goal is to be able to screw the bezel down while holding the optic in place with the tape so the optic canāt rotate.
A better option is probably to add a screw or post on the starās platform to stop the star from rotating.
What I modded yesterday
- Skilhunt DS16: Last week I received a Skilhunt DS16 that was DOA out of the box. Last night I emitter swapped out the cool-white XPL for a 4,000K XPL HI on copper noctigon. After examining the driver I concluded the problem was either negative contact or the driver wires. Assuming it was negative contact I fixed it by adding a ring of solder braid around the edges at the top of the battery compartment. Success! The light now works. The negative contact on the driver board was just a bit too far from top of the battery tube such that when it was screwed in fully there was still no contact.
- XTAR WK42: I have an XTAR WK42 laying around with a FET driver with Moppydrv installed. Last week I replaced the emitter with an XPG3 which gave great resultsā¦ for a few days. Then emitter output went erratic and was much reduced. Testing revealed the issue was likely a failed emitter. I replaced the emitter with a Nichia 219C and the light works great. Last night I tried the AA battery tube from an XTAR WK41 with a spring bypass in this light, running an Efest purple 14500. Results wereā¦ not satisfactory. The light pulled considerably more current. It was slightly brighter, with a noticeably cooler tint. However, the biggest problem was the head got really hot really fastā¦ something that didnāt happen when running on an Efest red 16340 without spring bypass. It got too hot to touch within seconds. I concluded that the minimal gain in lumens wasnāt worth the massive increase in heat.
For this week: My hand knurler arrived today. I bought a couple pieces of copper pipe to practice on. It came with straight pitch knurling wheels which I doubt Iāll want to use on a flashlight. I also ordered angled pitch wheels to produce diamond knurling. They should arrive later this week. Assuming this gadget works, I can think of a number of lights Iād like to add extra knurling to.
I also received a shipment from RMM of various parts including 8 more XPG3 emitters. Might give another shot at putting an XPG3 in a single emitter light, or I might try making a triple or quad XPG3.
S2+ triple Noctogon. Instead of an 18350 tube with an 18500 squeezed in, it is modded to 18500 length with an 18650 squeezed in. 
Iām in love. :heart_eyes:
Got wood?
Nice