New Flashlight as a result of new friends....

Wow Don. Awesome.

I am saddened that you must devote more time to your job.

I am happy you made this beautiful light.

I am saddened I cannot get one from you.

I am happy to be a Flashoholic.

Life's full of compromises, isn't it?

Urg! I am hating this Macintosh, but we'll disguss that later...

Nice light! I especially liked that little familiar looking tether, wonder where that came from

Really nice design.

Absolutely stunning! I envy your abilities.

DSpeck, I hope your Newbeam mod comes out looking something like this

Awesome light, Don! Looks absolutely top-notch!

Did you bead-blast the bezel and tail area, or is that clear anodizing? The contrast is really attractive.

This is definitely a well-thought-out light. I like many of your ideas, and the way you have incorporated them into the light shows an excellent design sense. I like the idea of the side-mounted tapped hole, as opposed to the end hole, although with the clickie-switch (the Kroll tailswitch, I presume?) you couldn't do the end hole anyway. Side-mount hole works fine, judging from the pictorial. Nice pocket clip, too - is it from Spyderco?

Could you maybe take a picture or two looking into the bezel from the open end? I am trying to figure out how you hold the lens in place with no screw-on bezel ring...

Great job, Don, I just can't get over it... Details, I want details...!!

Wow Don, nice!
could you get the sapphire crystal for a decent price? I asked around for one and they were at least 5 times more than a mineral one...

No Ti?

Thanks Guys!

Doug,

There is an O-ring that rests in the corner of the flat and counterbore. The lens goes up against this. Outside of the lens, I turned a thin black delrin retainer that was about .008" over
sized to the bore. I pressed this into the bore and it in turn presses the lens up against the O-ring. The delrin retainer would be sacrificed upon lens removal. I would have prefered using an outside O-ring as well but don't have one the right size. (need to get some assorted sizes..)

The light is 6061 T6 raw. I used glass bead blast for the dull finish. The pocket clip came from a Benchmade Ti folder that was replaced by a Ti clip I made for it. I decided to take the black oxide of the clip as well with the glass beads. The tail switch is a Kroll Clickie.

Bart,
I have a few German made crystals I got from Otto Frei here in Oakland. The sapphire go for $15 wheras you can get a 3 pak of mineral glass for $2.50. I'd say you are either finding a great deal on sapphire or paying too much for mineral glass.

Mr. Bulk and Bart, man your signatures make me grin everytime I see them!

Thanks Don, I'm afraid it is the latter...
I paid 10 Euro for mine.

WOW,

I look at that picture and I drool over my keyboard every time. I gotta stop looking at that.

I really think you do very professional work in your little garage.

Those sapphire lense I gotta remind myself to buy some more of those.

I'm glad you had a ton of fun making your flashlight. Making the first one of anything is always the most enjoyment.

-WayneY

Thanks Wayne,

You are right about the most enjoyment in the discovery and creation of the first one. I'm sure that in the case of the minature wonders that you are making the joy continues right?

Certainly the smiles you bring to others is fuel for satisfaction! Without your spark of light, that thing would still be a hunk of Al.

Thank you my friend,
Don

Hi Gang,

I was very fortunate to have LightLover introduce me to CPF and due to a holding pattern
with my job, I was home most of the time and able to freely visit and interact with the CPF
gang. Now I am in a position to make up for lost time and opportunity with my job and it's on
the road for me. Fortunately my internet connection will remain and I will enjoy daily contact
with this flashaholic oasis but I'll miss the proximity to my shop.....

Anyway, I have made some great new friends here and as a result of freely shared ideas and
information, I have been able to make an EDC that perfectly suits my needs and wants. In terms
of a pocket sized wide area flood, I have achieved my goal. First there was an Opalec inserted
into an E1E host. Then with the application of one of Wayne Yamaguchi's fantastic drivers I made
a "9star" led module, again hosted by an E1E. That light is now owned by another flashaholic
with whom I have entered into a new friendship which I hope can continue to develop and grow.

Thanks to you guys, I was able to finally make my very own flashlight



Most of us own more than one flashlight and this isn't just due to our interest but also a result
of every light being a compromise of some sort. By making my own light, I was fortunate in
getting to choose the parameters important to me. I suspect that my choice is significantly
different than most of you regarding a primary EDC but that's what makes the diversity fun
and enlightening.

Given the nature of our obsessions, there may be a few of you who would like me to make you
one of these lights. I'm sorry but that's just not in the cards. However, there are others here
among us who are in a position, either professionally or as a hobby, to incoporate new ideas
shared here, into lights which can be made available to others. In the spirit of a free exchange
of ideas as well as a sense of obligation to share the results of what I have learned here, I
have made this post; for whatever it's worth.... I have shown this to a few off line but I don't think
that's exactly fair.

More Images and Info

I look forward to a brighter future for all of us..

- Don

Very well done!

Thanks, Don. The lens retainer tube is the same idea as I'm going with on my custom Opalec mod, but I am going to make it removable, since I'm just going with the plastic lenses that came with the Opalec module. Replaceable is what I'll be needing.

Once again, gorgeous piece of work!

Doug,

It seems to me that if you can source the right size O'rings, you should be able to seat the lens on a internal shoulder and have an O-ring reside in a groove in such a manner that it puts pressure on the lens as well as retains it. If you go with this, the Opalec cylinder should bear against its own internal shoulder from the back side so that the battery compression is transfered to the bezel and not to the front lens.

Alternatively, you can make an external lens retaining cap that will seal with both a face seal and and a bore seal via an O-ring in an external grove on the OD of the bezel. In the pic below, imagine an O-ring, lens and then cap all forced against the face of the bezle. The external O-ring on the outside of the bezel holds the cap on. Significant pressure in interference between the Lens retainer and the O-ring will hold the assembly without any problem.



I am refering to the image on the left where you can sort of make out the O-ring on the head of the light and the collimator is retained by the bezel cap seen below.

- Don

Absolutely beautiful, that McLux1. Now, everyone chant "Make us one, Don..... Make us one, Don....." =D

And thank *you* Don, for gracing this board with some of the finest mods ever fielded - you've definitely been as inspiring to us as you say we've been for you (wiping away tear of happy pride *sniff*).

Tha's a lot of good ideas, Don.

I was hoping to manage without having to do a seperate exterior retainer ring, although that's not looking viable right now. The lens that came with the Opalec is too damn big (over 7/8" diameter). I'm going to have to resize it, and I'm considering methods for that. Yours looks great, and is how most of the more waterproof/resistant flashlights are made.

Well, I'll see what I can do. Pictures will follow (eventually...)

Very very nice Don.
Will read up on your experiences.

howard@mbox

Hey, how'd I miss this thread? I was on CPF back in August...

Anyways, I recall seeing this light while peruzing McGizmo's website collection. This is only one of many really cool creations I saw there.

The first torch is always the one that gives you the most thrill! For a first torch this is one of the best I've seen!
My first conversion was a simple red LED in a PR bulb holder...for several months the torch that contained it was my EDC... then I discovered CPF and Nichia LED's and started building the BT series! Now torchmaking has become more routine and less pioneering, although nontheless still exciting and surprising. But you'll never forget your first one!

We've gotta get Don back on his medication. The man has gone WILD! Damn. So much for secrecy. But that wasn't much fun anyway. At least now I can start posting my pictures when I get home.

Now you know what my new EDC is, and what the McFlood was made for.

Anybody want to guess at all the unique features of this fantastic light? I'll start you off:

Bezel-down clip
tail-standing ability
REAL purpose-built heat-sinking head
1/4-20 accessory ports
swappable optics
switch guard
glass lens
robust ground path
compatibility with other manufacturer's product

Ok.... that's enough to get started. I'll stop for a bit to catch my breath.

Neat to see this old thread with the proto. No, I can't be unbiased, but this final product is about the nicest looking, most functional light I've ever held.

We still have no idea if we'll offer up complete lights or just the parts, but now you get to see what's happening in the land of Skunk.