Milkyspit Mods, Thoughts, Eye Candy [LOTS OF PHOTOS]

milkyspit · #1 10-29-2006, 09:52 AM

The Reason.

Recently I've gotten some inquiries about what sorts of mods I do... and it's difficult to answer because the range is pretty broad! I'm hoping this thread will serve a little bit as a notebook of sorts, logging some new builds and ideas, showing some of the more interesting photos, and generally letting folks get a taste of my work.

Some Introductory Photos!

Here is a small collection of some of the more interesting things I've built, along with annotations... I'll keep the descriptions very terse for now but welcome inquiries. BTW, if you want ANYTHING built, give me a shout! As good friend Knight Lights is fond of saying, anything is possible... the impossible just takes longer!

On to the show! Hee hee. :P

Project-M Runtimes

M180-Mag 2C Closeup

3 Versions of the M180

Kiessling's M180 "Jewelbox"

M180-KL2 Runtimes by Cell Type

M180-KL2 Performance vs. Above Average SureFire L6

KL3 TIROS Optic Replaced with McR38cut Reflector

Milky L1

Optimator on 2 Cell Dual Stage Body

Optimator on 3 Cell Dual Stage Body

Optimator (a.k.a. Longinus) on Single Stage C3 Body

M180-KL2 Crenelated Bezel... A Rarity!

Mini-e Collaboration with Wasabe64

PK L6 Porcupine Converted to X300-KL6

M360 "Silver Guardian YS" Two-Tiered Reflector Array

M420-KT4 Bezel Closeup

M90-M1 Illuminator (LuxV WXOS, runtime 90m on 1x123 Primary)

L2 Shorty! Soul of the L2 Transplanted Into an L1 Body

Milky Redbird Dorcy 1AAA Mod

MSaxatilus' Makita Work Light LED Conversion

Prototype Project-M Body (Mockup)

X700-M6 In Action

X700-M6 vs. Some Well-Known Friends

Milky Candle v1 (current version is MC2, digitally controlled)

Milky Candle "Shorty" Edition

3 Different Fenix Mods

Pimped-Out Q3 (PQ3)

Arc-Aleph Hybrid Dual Stage EDC

Milkbone 2AA/1AA/1x123

KrollGard for Arc LS Tail

Classic Single-Lux Mag Mod

Last but not least...

Milky Labs in full production mode!

skalomax · #2 10-29-2006, 10:08 AM

You Are THE MAN!!

Im Interested in the KL3 to MCR-38 Mod.

Long John · #3 10-29-2006, 10:41 AM

Milky, you are very busy

. Great lights and nice pictures

Best regards

_____
Tom

Nitroz · #4 10-29-2006, 10:46 AM

Nice candy! Especially the m420 WOW!

nakahoshi · #5 10-29-2006, 10:51 AM

My M180 is awesome. You do such great work, and not enough people know about it! Good luck with your projects!
-bobby

kiely23+ · #6 10-29-2006, 10:58 AM

very

milkyspit

KDOG3 · #7 10-29-2006, 11:31 AM

Can't wait to see some of these in person! Is PF7 still a go? Gonna try to bring some $$$ with me.

Have you got any Crees?

milkyspit · #8 10-30-2006, 02:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by skalomax

You Are THE MAN!!

Im Interested in the KL3 to MCR-38 Mod.

Thanks Skalomax!

At the moment I don't have any KL3 TIROS heads on hand, but if you were to send me yours the rebuild, including the cut-down McR-38 reflector as well as a new emitter (I used LuxI SWOH in this one), would cost $115 plus shipping. BTW, I nicknamed the resulting head the "Blowtorch."

Some more photos of the rebuild...

Looking Into The Bezel. (Yes, there IS a lens on there!)

Beam profile

The Results!
Left: Midday, shades drawn.
Right: Same as above but with The Blowtorch shining downrange.

milkyspit · #9 10-30-2006, 02:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Long John

Milky, you are very busy

. Great lights and nice pictures

Best regards

_____
Tom

Tom, many thanks!

Truth be told, these all didn't happen in a week! It took a while.

milkyspit · #10 10-30-2006, 02:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nitroz

Nice candy! Especially the m420 WOW!

Quote:

Originally Posted by nakahoshi

My M180 is awesome. You do such great work, and not enough people know about it! Good luck with your projects!
-bobby

Quote:

Originally Posted by kiely23+

very

milkyspit

Guys, really appreciate the kind words. If I can offer some help on something, don't hesitate to ask!

milkyspit · #11 10-30-2006, 02:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KDOG3

Can't wait to see some of these in person! Is PF7 still a go? Gonna try to bring some $$$ with me.

Have you got any Crees?

Yup, PF7 is still a go. Come join us!

Don't have any Crees yet, but I'm certainly trying to get some! Send a few my way if you find yourself with some extras on your hands, heh heh.

karlthev · #12 10-30-2006, 02:29 AM

Whoa, up purdy early aren't ya!!??

Karl

marxs · #13 10-30-2006, 02:32 AM

wow that mini-e looks cute, whats the specs on those? cr2 battery configuration?

Uriah · #14 10-30-2006, 02:56 AM

Hi Milkyspit,
Would really like to get one of your M90-M1 Illuminator mods on my light that i just got.Could we make that happen?
Thanks

milkyspit · #15 10-30-2006, 06:28 AM

A little new eye candy! This is a special M180-KL2 light I'm building for AreWeThereYetDad. Gotta give him credit for insisting on this specific combo... and IMHO it does look really nice! Good picks, Dad!

milkyspit · #16 10-30-2006, 06:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by karlthev

Whoa, up purdy early aren't ya!!??

Karl

Karl, must be the daylight savings "fall back" thing... apparently not adjusted yet!

Quote:

Originally Posted by marxs

wow that mini-e looks cute, whats the specs on those? cr2 battery configuration?

Marxs, the Mini-e is a one-of-a-kind light I build in collaboration with fellow CPFer Wasabe64. The head is E1E with stock reflector (gives a hotspot plus SUPER wide spill), a LuxIII T**J emitter on a REALLY large solid aluminum heatsink, that Wasabe64 made so it's as form-fitting as a slinky dress on a supermodel,

BadBoy750 (if memory serves) boost regulator... and for the body, an old Arc LS First Run 1AA "skinny" battery tube that believe it or not, was bored wide enough to accept a 123 cell! Truly OTHERWORLDLY machining by Wasabe! He must be a Martian or something.

Let's see... specs... well, a 123 cell will last for less than an hour, but it's one heck of a bright hour! Something along the lines of 80 lumens I'd guess, give or take a few... and believe it or not, this package is actually slightly SHORTER than a FireFly.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uriah

Hi Milkyspit,
Would really like to get one of your M90-M1 Illuminator mods on my light that i just got.Could we make that happen?
Thanks

Sure! Pricing looks to be $165 plus shipping to do the build in your M1, or $235 plus shipping to do the build in one of my M1 hosts. All things considered, I'd just as soon build into yours unless you've already got other plans for it... but really no problem either way. PM me if you want to move on this! Ask MSaxatilus how he likes his.

bombelman · #17 10-30-2006, 07:31 AM

Nice mods, very impressive !

I do have a few questions:
1) What is the original host of the "Mini-e Collaboration with Wasabe64" ?
2) How did you manage to get 90m runtime from "M90-M1 Illuminator (LuxV WXOS, runtime 90m on 1x123 Primary)". Curious how many lumens from how many amps ?
3) And furthermore, can you explain "Arc-Aleph Hybrid Dual Stage EDC" and
"KrollGard for Arc LS Tail" for my ?

Thank you very much for your time and efforts into this and keep up the good work !
Cheers !

milkyspit · #18 10-30-2006, 08:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bombelman

Nice mods, very impressive !

I do have a few questions...

1) What is the original host of the "Mini-e Collaboration with Wasabe64" ?

Arc LS First Run 1AA skinny body, bored out to accept a 123 cell, threads shortened to mate properly with the E1E head.

2) How did you manage to get 90m runtime from "M90-M1 Illuminator (LuxV WXOS, runtime 90m on 1x123 Primary)". Curious how many lumens from how many amps ?

The WXOS is driven at 350mA. Roughly 90 lumens output. Spec on that part is 170 lumens at 700mA.

3) And furthermore, can you explain "Arc-Aleph Hybrid Dual Stage EDC" and "KrollGard for Arc LS Tail" for my ?

Arc-Aleph: Arc LS head with McR-18 reflector, LuxI SXOH emitter, current bias upgraded to 585mA... Aleph 1x123 body with head end turned down to fit inside the Arc LS head... McClicky guarded tailcap modded to dual stage twist on/off, click high/low operation. It's one of my favorite lights... nice balance of brightness, runtime... nice beam and tint... tailstandable... compact... rugged... good variation between the high and low levels.

KrollGard: Basically a hand-cut medium-hardness rubber ring that's friction fit around the rubber boot of the Kroll switch and has three protruding legs to give the light tailstand capability without significantly impacting the clickability of the switch.

milkyspit · #19 11-02-2006, 05:45 AM

X384-KL3 for Miciobigio

It's been a long road getting the right parts together, but I'm working on one of these for Miciobigio... couple quick photos of the build in progress...

M90-M1 Illuminator: The Latest!

Here are a couple just-completed M90-M1 Illuminators... made a few small design improvements over the first generation of this build (from last week!) including 50% increase in light output at no cost currentwise...

Archangel · #20 11-02-2006, 09:52 AM

Those must be the smallest reflectors i've seen.
The M90-M1 seems kinda slick too.

Nebula · #21 11-02-2006, 01:19 PM

Milky - I just picked up one of the M1s from benighted. I am considering your M90 mod, but since I already have your M-L1, I would like to know what I can expect in the way of similarities and/or differences between the lights. I know that the M-L1 is 2 stage and supect that the M90 is not. Can you compare/contrast the two?

Also, what is the story on the Milky candle "shorty" edition? Available for Christmas?

Thanks. Kirk

milkyspit · #22 11-02-2006, 02:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nebula

Milky - I just picked up one of the M1s from benighted. I am considering your M90 mod, but since I already have your M-L1, I would like to know what I can expect in the way of similarities and/or differences between the lights. I know that the M-L1 is 2 stage and supect that the M90 is not. Can you compare/contrast the two?

Also, what is the story on the Milky candle "shorty" edition? Available for Christmas?

Thanks. Kirk

Hi Kirk... let's see...

M90-M1 Illuminator vs. Milky L1

The M90 and the ML1 are completely different animals. Yes, M90 is a single-brightness light... but I like to call it an "Illuminator" rather than flashlight because the beam is completely different from what most of us have come to expect. There is a hotspot but it's very soft... so soft, in fact, that the light can be used to examine things in the palm of one's hand without torching one's retinas.

The M90 basically pumps out a big ball of light that evenly illuminates everything within 20 yards or so. ML1 will throw further but also doesn't offer nearly the intensity of sidespill the M90 does.

Think of the ML1 kinda like a good all season tire... well-rounded performance for a variety of conditions, though there are better "specialist" lights for any ONE of those conditions. The M90 is more of a specialist light, with its strength being short to intermediate range, even illumination across a wide angle. Not quite flood, but gives that feeling!

Technically speaking, the M90 is an oddity in that it's one of the few (only?) LuxV lights running on a single 123 cell... even a single 123 primary! The M90 can output roughly 90 lumens continuous for 60+ minutes on a single 123 or RCR123 cell without much heat buildup.

Milky Candle "Shorty" Edition

I want to say that yes, a limited number of these will be available for Christmas, but the timing will be tricky as it requires the flame diffuser from a dollar store Christmas candle... and those tend only to be in the dollar stores during the holiday season, of course! No promises on these but I'll do my best to put together as many as possible. Price TBD... but if you're definitely interested, PM me and I'll make note of it. Thanks!

Kyle.Crawford · #23 11-02-2006, 02:37 PM

Milky - sent you a PM about playing w/ an L7 and E1L...

Nebula · #24 11-02-2006, 05:32 PM

Milky - PM sent. Thanks. Kirk

skalomax · #25 11-02-2006, 06:14 PM

Milky That KL3 (Blow Torch) Looks Great!
I bet it has some awesome throw!
I have a KT4 Coming In

and wanted to know How Many XR-E Cree's can You Fit in this Badboy? Ok Maybe some U Bins?
Have You Tried to do some Turbo Head Mods?
Like ARCmanias But With Lux I and Lux III's?
I will buy some in a Heartbeat!
Anyway, I had a Milky L1 and I dont know why surefire Did Not Make them as you did? It has almost the same throw, Great Sidespill and Nice Tint.
Your Work is Trule Grade A and Feels Just as reliable as Surefire!
I Love THROW in a Flashlight!! and those mods are looking pretty nice.
Well scott, you will be hearing from me real soon!!
Thanks For the awesome mods

milkyspit · #26 11-03-2006, 07:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kyle.Crawford

Milky - sent you a PM about playing w/ an L7 and E1L...

Kyle, PM replied with some ideas. Hope we can work something out.

milkyspit · #27 11-03-2006, 07:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nebula

Milky - PM sent. Thanks. Kirk

Kirk, PM replied. Thanks!

milkyspit · #28 11-03-2006, 07:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by skalomax

Milky That KL3 (Blow Torch) Looks Great!
I bet it has some awesome throw!
I have a KT4 Coming In

and wanted to know How Many XR-E Cree's can You Fit in this Badboy? Ok Maybe some U Bins?
Have You Tried to do some Turbo Head Mods?
Like ARCmanias But With Lux I and Lux III's?
I will buy some in a Heartbeat!
Anyway, I had a Milky L1 and I dont know why surefire Did Not Make them as you did? It has almost the same throw, Great Sidespill and Nice Tint.
Your Work is Trule Grade A and Feels Just as reliable as Surefire!
I Love THROW in a Flashlight!! and those mods are looking pretty nice.
Well scott, you will be hearing from me real soon!!
Thanks For the awesome mods

Skalomax, thanks!

Let's see...

Milky That KL3 (Blow Torch) Looks Great!
I bet it has some awesome throw!

I like it too!

Yes, throw is great thanks to that big reflector. It's not really pumping out much more overall output than a Milky L1 but the hotspot is more intense.

I have a KT4 Coming In and wanted to know How Many XR-E Cree's can You Fit in this Badboy? Ok Maybe some U Bins?
Have You Tried to do some Turbo Head Mods?

Well, yes actually... here's an example...

You might also lookup a review of an M420 head I made for MSaxatilus a while back, and over on Flashlight-Forums a review by TonyD of "pinky," a build that included 6x UWOJ(?) white emitters plus 1x high brightness red-orange, to broaded the color spectrum and improve outdoor color rendition.

Like ARCmanias But With Lux I and Lux III's?

If you mean tower modules, I think Mike (ARCmania) is the master there. I haven't really been building those... my Project-M lights have been focusing on the multi-emitter approach as seen in the photo above.

Anyway, I had a Milky L1 and I dont know why surefire Did Not Make them as you did? It has almost the same throw, Great Sidespill and Nice Tint.
Your Work is Trule Grade A and Feels Just as reliable as Surefire!

Much appreciated! Suggestion: you might want to make a mention over in the Milky L1 Information Thread for the benefit of folks trying to learn about the Milky L1 and what it can do. I'm sure your experiences would be good reading for them!

I Love THROW in a Flashlight!! and those mods are looking pretty nice.

Realistically, hotwire is still kind for ultra-long throw, but LED is competing nicely on both runtime and total output! Heck, that M420 above can keep pumping out 420 lumens for 2-3 hours, whereas the SF M6 HOLA is 500-600 lumens for 20 minutes and is dimming the entire time. The HOLA will still smoke the M420 for throw though! Not that the M420's throw is anything to be ashamed of.

Well scott, you will be hearing from me real soon!!

Hope so! It would be my privilege to build something for you.

skalomax · #29 11-03-2006, 08:57 AM

Thanks

Flashdark · #30 11-05-2006, 12:32 PM

Milky!

Great news!

As you may remember, I was having a problem with the MilkMites which you recently built for me. I have discovered that it was the result of a bad Surefire tailcap on one of them, and I guess, just a break-in period required for the other. They now work flawlessly (as expected, of course!). It seems like the VIP 750 drivers start to blink as a result of heat production or operating temperature rather than battery state. Is this so? I have only run a couple of batteries through each one so I am not sure yet what causes the blinking behavior. When it does blink, if I shut it off and let it cool, and then turn it back on, it seems to come back on at full power, and if it stays cool (or at least cooler than before), it usually doesn't blink again. It just dies when the batteries drain, like anything else. If this is normal, an overtemp warning is even better than a low-battery warning, because any idiot can see when it is getting dim and change the batteries. Still working on the practical operation of this marvelous toy! Incidentally, they both seem to run more than 1 hour (great!, great!, great!, great!).

Since I specified a "radiation-stickered", nuclear-powered, "OH-MY-GOD" E1e platform "pocket rocket" (and you delivered in SPADES!), I am wondering how the M-90 M1 fits into the picture. It sounds like an "L4 shorty", philosophically (all flood), whereas my MilkMites are more like an "E2e shorty" (throw, power, and spill - a beautiful, balanced beam).

Just thinking out loud and wondering about the next project.

Thanks again, Scott
Flashdark sends.