DIY: Crafting a foam donut for Peak Matterhorn

[choombak]

Hello friends,

Since I am in India, getting a foam donut shipped from Peak is not economical. The one in my Matterhorn was totally worn out, and the battery was rattling. With some foam, a knife, and a bit of creativity, I was able to craft a foam donut, and it fit the Matterhorn perfect. The rattle is gone, and the operation is now very smooth.

Here is what I did:
(1) Cut the round shape from the foam using the flashlight rim.
(2) Using the knife (Spyderco Cricket here), I reduced the diameter, since the inside tube has thick walls.
(3) Using Cricket's pointy tip, drilled a small hole in the center, and then slowly rotated the foam around the knife to increase the diameter of the hole. Slightly changing the angle of the blade took out the foam rapidly, and maintaining it at right angle to the foam polished it.
(4) Put the donut inside the flashlight tube and slotted it in place using a pencil tip (that gave the graphite marks on the otherwise good looking red-donut. Haha!
(5) Using the battery, tested the functionality and the rattle was gone, and the operation was smooth.

Hope this helps. Pictures follow:

 

[Norm]

Use two apropriately sized wad punches for a nice round finish.

 

[choombak]

Use two apropriately sized wad punches for a nice round finish.

Thanks for the suggestion, but wad punches are not immediately available with me, so had to make do with whatever I had. The result is satisfactory, if not stellar.

-Amarendra

 

[Nyctophiliac]

I always use a slice from a foam Nerf gun dart - works great!

They are much nicer lights when they don't rattle.

 

[cnw4002]

I used a corn pad and just trimmed it to the size

 

[RedLED]

Hello friends,

Since I am in India, getting a foam donut shipped from Peak is not economical. The one in my Matterhorn was totally worn out, and the battery was rattling. With some foam, a knife, and a bit of creativity, I was able to craft a foam donut, and it fit the Matterhorn perfect. The rattle is gone, and the operation is now very smooth.

Here is what I did:
(1) Cut the round shape from the foam using the flashlight rim.

(2) Using the knife (Spyderco Cricket here), I reduced the diameter, since the inside tube has thick walls.
(3) Using Cricket's pointy tip, drilled a small hole in the center, and then slowly rotated the foam around the knife to increase the diameter of the hole. Slightly changing the angle of the blade took out the foam rapidly, and maintaining it at right angle to the foam polished it.
(4) Put the donut inside the flashlight tube and slotted it in place using a pencil tip (that gave the graphite marks on the otherwise good looking red-donut. Haha!
(5) Using the battery, tested the functionality and the rattle was gone, and the operation was smooth.

Hope this helps. Pictures follow:

What kind of foam is that? Nice work.

 

[RedLED]

Use two apropriately sized wad punches for a nice round finish.

What is a wad punch? Can you provide more?

Thanks!

 

[choombak]

What kind of foam is that? Nice work.

Some foam that my daughter uses to draw geometric shapes - the entire piece is a rectangle with shapes cut into it. Got it in a stationery store. She has half a dozen, so used one. The foam density is almost the same as that found on the real flashlight donuts.

-Amarendra

 

[Norm]

What is a wad punch? Can you provide more?

Thanks!

Foam mouse mats are a good source of material.
Norm

 

[RedLED]

Thanks to both of you Guy's.

Where do you get a Wad Punch?

 

[Norm]

Where do you get a Wad Punch?

Any good hardware store will have them, I have a cheap set of about 8 different sizes that only cost about $6 and does the job just fine.
Norm

 

[jojobos]

I use callus/wart/corn cushions.

 

[RedLED]

I use callus/wart/corn cushions.

Good Idea!