Best housing for P4 and 20 mm optic?

[ahx66]

What is the best home-brew'd housing form the P4 stars and 20 mm optics? (I was thinking PVC pipe, but would like something lighter.)

 

[Zero_Enigma]

Go to the Home Depot if you have one. Bring your ruler or in my case the digi-caliper. If you have the 20mm optic that is even better. I found that the 3/4 in copper fitting has an awesome 20mm fit. It's like the copper fitting is I think 22mm while a 20mm optic is really 21mm when you factor in the holder so you have a clean fit with just enough room all around.

A mate of mine was fixing up some pipes in his home after the previous owner left the plumbing like a pipe screensaver :shakehead probably for s--ts and giggles or something. Anyways I went with him and he got some of those 3/4in fittings and well added a few extra into his bag and marked the quantity down so he could have a few extra for spare parts which I ended up getting one off him thus how I know of the sizing.

Those fittings I think are ~60ish cents but I could be wrong. I didn't digicaliper the fitting I have as I can't find it right now but I can tell you a L2 20mm optic with holder is ~21.xx mm so that would mean the fitting has to be about 22mm. You could probably go to the store and nick one or two to try.

 

[Baulz]

I've built lights with the 3/4" copper fitting and they work well, plus it's fun to get out the propane torch to assemble a few fittings together.

The optics I used were a tiny bit too big to fit, a few minutes with a file fixed that.

 

[Mr_Light]

Another big fan of copper pipe caps for heatsinks. Here is a link to a thread showing how I used a few pipe caps.
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=158873

 

[ahx66]

I would never have thought of copper. That's a great idea. It probably doubles as an extension of the heat sink. PVC lights are so clumsy looking, this will definitely be better.

Having never done any type of pluming, what is the copper solder material called?

 

[Baulz]

Having never done any type of pluming, what is the copper solder material called?

Solder :thumbsup:

If you go to a Home Depot or similar store they will have it in the same area as the copper caps. Make sure you buy some flux too, and extra caps for practise.

 

[Zero_Enigma]

Solder :thumbsup:

If you go to a Home Depot or similar store they will have it in the same area as the copper caps. Make sure you buy some flux too, and extra caps for practise.

Nick a few caps. They're small. Just don't go jingling like Santa with that many at once. Have a bag labeled 'samples' and add a few in. The cashier would take a look and with the label and should leave you alone while you're making the purchase.

 

[ahx66]

?

You're not making a whole lot of sense pal.

 

[bikerjay]

The copper parts mentioned are O.K. But you can also get aluminum at home depot. A little piece of aluminum tubing, a copper plug, some arctic alumina, a P4, small DX driver and optic and you are in business.

very simple and clean, a classic if you will

REALLY long and detailed description with lots of photos here >>>

http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?p=3910670&highlight=dinotte+style

 

[n4zou]

I like using Bamboo. My neighbor considers it a weed so I can go over and cut all I want for free. I cut down a few and put it out in the sun to dry. After it was dry I started cutting a few sections until I found one with an interior just large enough for the Lens, LED, and heat sink to just slide in. I then cut another section about 1/8 long with the same outer diameter as the internal diameter of the section I was going to use and glued it in place. This would form the stop for the front. It needs a mount so I used a 1" corner brace, Jute twine and polyurethane. I soaked the twine in the polyurethane and the rest of the Bamboo providing a nice weather proof finish. When the polyurethane was dry the mount was rock solid. It looks neat as well. I power my LED with a dynamo so heat is not a problem. Just the back of the copper heat sink open to the air is enough to keep the LED cool. Here are some pictures.

My camera refused to focus this picture of the perfboard holding the bridge rectifier and wires. It's just press fit in the Bamboo.

 

[Krit]

Cool Idea ..... Bamboo light. You made a tradition style bike light.