PhotonFanatic
Flashlight Enthusiast
I received another inquiry as to whether I could replicate a finger ring design on a flashlight body and was sent this photo:
Originally, there was to be a single replication, and it would have been done on a La Petite Killer. But cutting grooves tiny enough to fit on a Killer would have meant using a 0.5mm end mill and those tend to break very easily in titanium.
After much back and forth, the customer opted for a much larger light and for many ring segments along the length of the light, which allowed me to use a much larger diameter end mill, 1.19mm to be exact. And this was a test cutting that I did in titanium:
The ring segment took a lot of time to mill--there are eight full vertical grooves, two partial vertical grooves and about six horizontal, or circumferential, grooves. Each needed to be cut in two passes and it was imperative that the body be exactly rotated during the cutting of the grooves. That necessitated a dividing head, of course.
Here's a pic of the set-up:
The light consisted of two pieces, the main body, which holds the lens, reflector, LE and battery and the tail cap, which has a McClicky installed. The picture shows the segments milled into the main body.
Here's a pic of the tail cap, with the McClicky which is installed from the inside of the light, which means a cleaner exterior look:
And here's what the tail cap looks like when completed:
There are two 2mm diameter hole drilled through the bevel so that a thin lanyard cord can be inserted--and that does not interfere at all with the operation of the switch.
And a couple of shots of the completed light:
Some specs: 6AL4V Titanium, XP-G LED, Shining Beam 3-level driver, McR-20 reflector, AW18350 battery, McClicky, 2mm thick mineral glass lens and O-ring sealed.
And, yes, there was one really small error in the machining of the light. Fortunately, the customer didn't object. :-)
Originally, there was to be a single replication, and it would have been done on a La Petite Killer. But cutting grooves tiny enough to fit on a Killer would have meant using a 0.5mm end mill and those tend to break very easily in titanium.
After much back and forth, the customer opted for a much larger light and for many ring segments along the length of the light, which allowed me to use a much larger diameter end mill, 1.19mm to be exact. And this was a test cutting that I did in titanium:
The ring segment took a lot of time to mill--there are eight full vertical grooves, two partial vertical grooves and about six horizontal, or circumferential, grooves. Each needed to be cut in two passes and it was imperative that the body be exactly rotated during the cutting of the grooves. That necessitated a dividing head, of course.
Here's a pic of the set-up:
The light consisted of two pieces, the main body, which holds the lens, reflector, LE and battery and the tail cap, which has a McClicky installed. The picture shows the segments milled into the main body.
Here's a pic of the tail cap, with the McClicky which is installed from the inside of the light, which means a cleaner exterior look:
And here's what the tail cap looks like when completed:
There are two 2mm diameter hole drilled through the bevel so that a thin lanyard cord can be inserted--and that does not interfere at all with the operation of the switch.
And a couple of shots of the completed light:
Some specs: 6AL4V Titanium, XP-G LED, Shining Beam 3-level driver, McR-20 reflector, AW18350 battery, McClicky, 2mm thick mineral glass lens and O-ring sealed.
And, yes, there was one really small error in the machining of the light. Fortunately, the customer didn't object. :-)
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