Cutting and repolishing an 8mm led

[Foxx510]

Hi, this is my first post. Great forum you have here. My current project is putting an 8mm led in a solitare runing a Li-ion cell. It will JUST fit, but the whole thing would be much easier if the led were a bit shorter. I would like to know if I shortened and repolish the led, will I get the same beam pattern and output? I knew I should have ordered 2 of them!
Thanks for any help.
Adam

 

[legtu]

If possible, I sand my LED's on the 'bottom' side to make them shorter. No need to polish and there's no risk of changing the beam pattern. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[greenLED]

If you go at it from the top, you'll change the beam pattern and output. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

Use increasingly finer sand paper to grind the plastic dome. Go slow. Finish with grade 1500 or so, then run the polished surface with a soft cloth and some toothpaste. It takes a while, but I can assure you it'll polish perfectly.

 

[Foxx510]

Looks like it won't fit, pity, these 8mm 80ma leds are really nice. Tried taking some off the base but went too far and it fell apart. Live and learn! Stuck a 5mm in there for the time being. Has anyone found a good alternative to the stock switching mech? Any chance of making a switch fit in the base? Tried searching to no avail..

Adam