Tritium slot machining

[precisionworks]

Trit slot machining is currently suspended. If you have a unique design or idea I'll be happy to look at it & decide if it's something I want to do.

Tritium slot machining:
Prices are shown for aluminum slots. Titanium or stainless slots are priced on request - please email with the details of what you have in mind.

The most popular size is 1.5x5mm. Both B@rt & Merkava offer trits on The MarketPlace section of CPF & some eBay sellers also offer them. I cannot provide tritium vials.

Some lights have enough thickness to accept a 2x6mm vial. These are impressively large compared to the 1.5x5mm.

1.5x5mm slots are $12 each
2x6mm slots are $22 each
2x8mm slots are $26 each
2x12mm slots are $30 each
2x24mm slots are $36 each

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I no longer offer installation of your trit vials. Info below is for reference only:

Installing your trits using Norland Optical Adhesive:
1.5x5mm trits - $18 each
2x6mm trits - $22 each
2x8mm trits - $26 each
2x12mm trits - $30 each
2x24mm trits - $36 each

The reason that installation prices are greater than slot milling costs is that Norland optical adhesive (NOA-61) is really picky to work with. Getting the material to lay in & correctly fill the slot is a challenge. I encourage members to try their hand at trit installation since that saves money & can be very satisfying to the owner of the light.

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Turn around time: My shop primarily provides trouble shooting, emergency repairs & fabrication to local area business owners. Flashlights are machined whenever the time is available, meaning that your light may not be machined for many weeks after arrival - some lights may wait here for 6 months before they can be machined. Please don't send your light if you need it back by a date certain. Lights are machined in the order in which they arrive.

[precisionworks]

McGizmo Haiku with TTT (twin trit tail) with 1.5x5mm slots on the inside face & 2x6mm slots on the outside:

[Doc]

E-mail sent for Lens Light mini trits! Doc.

[precisionworks]

E-mail sent for Lens Light mini trits! Doc.

I'll be happy to look at the Lens Light Mini & see if trits slots can be milled where you want them. Other Mini owners may also be interested in this.

[precisionworks]

Currently have one titanium frame lock folder in the shop. Photos with trits when that one's done

A few members have asked about other knife related services like drilling & tapping a titanium handle for clip relocation. I'd rather walk over a bed of red hot coals than drill & tap anything Ti - so this service is not available. Trit slots are a different story - I'll mill trits slots into anything that will fit into the vise. Lights, knives, pretty much anything that has enough thickness for a slot or two.

Every time my ZT0550 gets used it looks like a canvas for trit installation. Not an easy shape to grab in the milling vise & that means making a pair of Delrin soft jaws to protect the handles. Certainly room for lots of designs or patterns. Some possible locations shown in orange:

[precisionworks]

Just finished boring a C2 for Matt in Brisbane. Planning to mill four 2x12mm slots, one in each of the four corners. Photos later today

[Mattaus]

Just finished boring a C2 for Matt in Brisbane. Planning to mill four 2x12mm slots, one in each of the four corners. Photos later today.

Someone on the forums is selling a light machined by you that had 2 slots added on 2 edges (not sure how long but they ran the length of the flat spots). It looks amazing. I remember thinking 4 would look even better...so I'm a happy man!

[precisionworks]

It sounds like you want 2x24mm slots ...

[Mattaus]

It sounds like you want 2x24mm slots ...

I don't mind the length though if I had a choice a trit on each of the 4 edges would look the nicest I guess? One advantage of 4 trit edges is that the light is visible in the dark from pretty much any angle - if of course you use trits practically and not just for looks ;-)

As usual im not overly fussed which I assume can be annoying :-/

[precisionworks]

... I'm not overly fussed which I assume can be annoying :-/

It's your light so you may as well get it the way you want it



2x12mm on upper light, 2x24mm on lower light.

[Mattaus]

Can I get the full length slots on all four edges then? (24mm I believe...or is it 2x24mm? I don't know how long those flats are).

[precisionworks]

Can I get the full length slots on all four edges then? (24mm I believe...or is it 2x24mm? I don't know how long those flats are).

Not a problem. There's about 3mm remaining at each end after the slot is milled to 24mm + 2mm for the radius allowance.

[Mattaus]

Not a problem. There's about 3mm remaining at each end after the slot is milled to 24mm + 2mm for the radius allowance.

Sweet :-D

Thanks Barry!

[tobrien]

would you be interested in tritium "slotting" a Klarus XT20 on its head?

I made this thread the other day with the details, but wanted to know if this light is possible to get slotted?

I'd probably want a circle/ring of small trits on each side, or, if money becomes an issue, just an X design of four trit vials.

your thoughts? is the XT20 too thick to mill for trits?

(i don't own the light yet, but i will soon enough)

thanks man!

[precisionworks]

would you be interested in tritium "slotting" a Klarus XT20 on its head? I'd probably want a circle/ring of small trits on each side, or, if money becomes an issue, just an X design of four trit vials.
... is the XT20 too thick to mill for trits?

It appears from the image that there's enough thickness to do just about anything you want. Cost depends on size of the slots you want as well as the total number:

1.5x5mm slots are $12 each
1.5x6mm slots are $15 each
2x6mm slots are $22 each
2x8mm slots are $26 each

Prices are for machining only. I have no trits available but B@rt & Merkava (in The Marketplace) have these & there are usually some on eBay.

[precisionworks]

A number of emails come in with questions about trit slots on a McGizmo Haiku. The image below shows the best locations for slots:



Either 1.5x5mm or 2x6mm work well.

Head - either 6 or 8 slots

Collar & tail - either 5 or 7 slots.

Cost for 1.5x5mm slots in titanium is $24 each. The 2x6mm slots are $44 each. If 10 or more slots are milled at one time there's cost savings of 10%.

[precisionworks]

There's a Haiku on the milling machine right now - 2x6mm slots in head/collar/tail. The left side of the image shows the internal expanding collet that is gripping the inside of the head. The right side shows the white Delrin plug that is press fit into the tail opening & the tailstock that supports it.

Tail slots shown below:



Visible is a tiny bit of burring at the ends of the slots. These come right off when the light is cleaned up & deburred with a nonwoven pad. Blue liquid is the vegetable based cutting oil that lubricates the tiny end mill. Small specks on the white Delrin are the titanium chips that are blown away from the slot by the lubricator.

[tobrien]

There's a Haiku on the milling machine right now - 2x6mm slots in head/collar/tail. The left side of the image shows the internal expanding collet that is gripping the inside of the head. The right side shows the white Delrin plug that is press fit into the tail opening & the tailstock that supports it.

Tail slots shown below:



Visible is a tiny bit of burring at the ends of the slots. These come right off when the light is cleaned up & deburred with a nonwoven pad. Blue liquid is the vegetable based cutting oil that lubricates the tiny end mill. Small specks on the white Delrin are the titanium chips that are blown away from the slot by the lubricator.

that's cool, thanks for posting those pics!

[precisionworks]

that's cool, thanks for posting those pics!

Glad that you like them

Here's the finished product - 6 in the head, 5 in the shoulder & 5 in the tail:





The Haiku head slots are a bit of a challenge ... the slots have to be located at the very back of the head to avoid an internal recess:

[Mattaus]

That looks amazing!

How do you take the photos with the trits so well lit? Are you using a UV light or something? Or is it simply long exposure with a high f-stop filter on the camera lens?

[precisionworks]

How do you take the photos with the trits so well lit?

Thanks Matt

Upper image is ambient room light. Spot metered the wooden background & exposed at f/16 for 1 second at ISO-200. Lower image is in the same location but totally in the dark. Again f/16 & ISO-200 but the shutter was open for 90 seconds which over exposed the trits. A McG SunDrop (set to medium) was blinked on for 2 seconds to pick up background details.

Upper image took one attempt, lower image is the last of six attempts. All the others were catch & release

The 60 second exposure shown below is technically correct for the trits but the background is less than exciting:

[Mattaus]

Thanks for the explanation Barry. Now I know what to do with my own GITD stuff. I was mucking around with long exposures but didn't think to quickly shine a light to bring up other detail. Would be easier with my DSLR but seen as I sold that a while back I will have to make do with the old point and shoot on 'bulb' mode.

[precisionworks]

A Mac's Custom being machined for 2x6mm trits:



Close view of slots:



This image makes the slots look pretty big but they're about the size of a grain of rice.







Nine trits in total & five are visible most of the time:





Hmmm ... red, white & blue. That narrows the ownership down to this short list:

1. Australia
2. Cambodia
3. Chile
4. Costa Rica
5. Cuba
6. Czech Republic
7. France
8. Iceland
9. North Korea
10. Laos
11. Liberia
12. Luxembourg
13. Myanmar (Burma)
14. Nepal
15. Netherlands
16. New Zealand
17. Norway
18. Panama
19. Russia
20. Samoa
21. Slovakia
22. Slovenia
23. Taiwan
24. Thailand
25. United Kingdom
26. United States
27. Faroe Islands
28. Reunion

Most likely it will go to Australia, France, United Kingdom or United States

[Henk_Lu]

So many countries have blue, red and white (only?) in their flags? Wow...

Those two lights look great, whoever gets them is a very lucky man. Yes, for sure it's a man, no woman would be mad enough to have 9 trits in a Mac's body and 16 in a Haiku!

Thanks, Barry!

[precisionworks]

Those two lights look great, whoever gets them is a very lucky man. Yes, for sure it's a man, no woman would be mad enough to have 9 trits in a Mac's body and 16 in a Haiku!

Thanks, Barry!

I'm glad that you like them

Each slot required 20 milling passes (500 in total). The small end mill is lowered only 0.1mm per pass which keeps the chip load on the tool at a moderate level.

I'll be eager to see images after Step 2 & Step 3 are completed.

... no woman would be mad enough ...

Please don't tell that to SMarkum. She likes the glow tubes as much as you do

[benthiccracker]

Could you do a tritium slot in a Zero res shorty switch on the bottom where it is exposed?

[precisionworks]

A 1.5mm vial needs at least 1.7mm slot depth so the trit can rest slightly below the surrounding surface - this allows a tiny amount of Norland to cover the trit & cure out perfectly. If you have a micrometer (or have a friend with one) measure the thickness of the brass "button". If it measures out at 1.7mm (.067") or greater it can be slotted. Impossible to tell from the photos I've seen but it looks like it may not be thick enough.

ZeroRes Shorty info.

[Henk_Lu]

My Haiku and Tri-EDC just returned to me and I installed the trits.

Thanks Barry for the perfect work, all slots are where they should be and they are all exactly the same, in one word : perfect!

More pictures in the trits-thread in the collection section...

[precisionworks]

...all slots are where they should be and they are all exactly the same, in one word : perfect!

Thank you

UKMidnight did an awesome job on the ano. The colors are stunning.

[H-nu]

Wow Henk, those are gorgeous. Glad I stumbled into this subforum.