"3P" clone project

[in_the_dark]

I've read a couple threads about 3P clones and they gave me a few ideas. I had a SF body not earning it's keep so in the lathe it went. Opened up the rear of the tube to accept the switch, done and done. Next up was a very old switch housing which was too long so it met the lathe for a quick trim job. I need to decide if a momentary switch is okay or if I should cut it back a bit more for constant on and touch it up with some AlumaBlack but it fits now. All that's left after that is to finish finding parts and source a M30.

Thanks for the ideas, before CPF lights were just lights but this is a good time indeed. :twothumbs

Thanks CPF,
in_the_dark

 

[Sgt. LED]

You could always make a few dozen and sell them on the Marketplace.

The chance to get a 3P doesn't come along everyday and everyone should be allowed to play.

It is easy to see you have the talent, maybe you could help others out?

Oh I would love to see an 18500 sized 6P tube for sale!

 

[in_the_dark]

Sgt. LED, thanks for the kind words. I'm not sure about "mass moding", I'd hate to get in over my head and disappoint people with excessive wait times or some such.

I don't have a boring bar small enough to fully open the tube but I did see a recent post on CPFMP for bored 6Ps.

Thanks again!
in_the_dark

 

[Sgt. LED]

Oh I wouldn't announce it ahead of time.

Ever notice how 5Mega runs a sales thread? He just states what it is and how many he has on hand and after that no more are sold untill he makes more and starts a new thread.

Keeps things easy to manage because all the work is behind you except taking money and going to the post office.
:D Never mind the boring out for now.

 

[ampdude]

I'll never understand why somebody hasn't made an aftermarket 3P body yet. Imagine pairing it with one of AW's IMR cells and a P7 emitter?

 

[mr.squatch]

With the new malkoff 30's out there, I'd love to have a single 123 size surefire. Ima put a lathe on my xmas list, see if the g/f comes thru. Also got spicy asian hookers on there.. so I'm not holding my breath. lol

g

 

[270winchester]

huh, that makes me glad I scored a 3P for something like 30 dollars on BST a few years back.

 

[in_the_dark]

Oh I wouldn't announce it ahead of time.

Ever notice how 5Mega runs a sales thread? He just states what it is and how many he has on hand and after that no more are sold untill he makes more and starts a new thread.

Keeps things easy to manage because all the work is behind you except taking money and going to the post office.
:D Never mind the boring out for now.

That does sound like a great way to do something like that but finding the time is another matter.

With the new malkoff 30's out there, I'd love to have a single 123 size surefire. Ima put a lathe on my xmas list, see if the g/f comes thru. Also got spicy asian hookers on there.. so I'm not holding my breath. lol

g

Vegas would probably give pretty even odds on the lathe working out, the spicy part of that deal........not so much ;)

huh, that makes me glad I scored a 3P for something like 30 dollars on BST a few years back.

Sad thing is I poo-poo'd the 3P when they were available. Now it's easier (cheaper) to play with old parts to come up with one.

 

[in_the_dark]

Played with the modified tail cap some more and don't really like it. I'm leaning toward turning the body down so it will accept a standard tail cap. Hope to have the new pics tomorrow night.

 

[mdocod]

If you need some extra bucks, a custom project in a home garage like that is a welcome sale in the custom/mod BST section here based on my interpretation of the rules. Getting everything setup initially to sell product is a bit of a task, but once you have it figured out and everything setup, it's worthwhile.

3P bodies that are compatible with standard SF style tailcaps would sell like hotcakes IMO.

You could always run an interest thread, and do a little research to figure out where your materials would come from, figure out a price range that covers your wear and tear on tools and pays a respectable hourly for your time involved.

Don't worry about the "economy." The flashaconomy is different :)

Go for it :)

Eric

 

[in_the_dark]

Flashaconomy, time to clean the keyboard. Thanks for the laugh! :laughing:

I did not initially post for that reason, really wasn't fishing for anything more than comments or suggestions. I've asked several questions here and gotten great answers but I've never posted beyond that and thought this may be an interesting project to share.

I may have to give that some thought now, Sgt. LED's post and now yours both suggesting that has me curious about the possibility. disclaimer/ I'm not soliciting and certainly not offering anything at this point or in this thread. /disclaimer

in_the_dark

 

[Culhain]

A 3P clone body is such a good idea, that eventually someone will make them widely available. Will it be you?

 

[in_the_dark]

A 3P clone body is such a good idea, that eventually someone will make them widely available. Will it be you?

Unfortunately it doesn't look like it will be me. Priced the SF part that I used and it would be cost prohibitive to try and mod new parts. But this one was fun to play with.

 

[in_the_dark]

Here are the pics of the finished lathe work (sorry about the lighting). Haven't done anything to finish off the raw aluminum yet, it didn't take the AlumaBlack very well so I'll have to find something else. Let me know what you think.

Thanks,
in_the_dark

Had to cut a new O ring groove to get the O ring below the threads on the tail cap.

O ring in place

Light with SF tail cap and the bezel from my EDC 6P

 

[mdocod]

Beautiful, looks great!

 

[bigchelis]

Wow, that looks just like a 3P. Very cool.:twothumbs

 

[in_the_dark]

mdocod and bigchelis, thanks very much! Appreciate the kind words.

 

[divine]

It looks great. It would be good for people who don't want to spend $200 on a 3P. :)

 

[brighterisbetter]

Very nice lathe work! I didn't see if this was mentioned yet, and I also don't want to discourage the OP from proceeding with this idea either, but fivemega has just updated his sales thread here with a limited production run of 1x16340 bodies.

 

[Rat6P]

what about modding the multitude of surefire clones out there?
e.g Solarforce
I'm sure a solarforce 6P clone would make a great 3P clone.

Your work looks great by the way!
I would be more than happy with that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!