Garrity Stainless Steel "9P"

[Gman]

Well, I've finished my conversion of the Garrity stainless steel 2 X AA into a 3 X 123
lithium torch. Used a SF P90 (of course the P91 will work also.) I also added an O ring to the lens, but need to figure out a way to waterproof the clickie tail cap.

It has a much smaller OD than the 9P, about the same as an E2, but the head is the same size. (All the 9P filters and beam shapers will fit this rig.)

$8 for the light, $17 bucks for the P90 and a little lathe work yields a nice stainless torch with the same performance of the much more expensive SureFire. (Although the beam is equal, it still lacks the other qualities of a SF.)

I'd post some pix, but I don't know how! I have to put 'em on the Net and reference a URL? How do you guys get the photos to show in the posts?

 

[mikep]

Hey Gman, what 'lathe work' is involved? Do you have some details about mounting the P90 lamp assembly? I want to try doing one of these!

 

[Gman]

Thanks to KT, I'll post some photos soon.
(Hey KT, my offer to make you one of these for parts cost only still stands.)

I really like this light, it's the one I'll keep in the car as a back up to my Mag Charger.

Mike: I'm afraid there is much to be done to modify the original barrel and then an adapter needs to be fabricated. It really requires a lathe to do it right. I'll explain when I post the photos. FWIW, it's done right, not Mickey Mouse. No wires or jumpers or funky stuff. Look back here soon.

The only bad thing about this rig is that the P90 needs to have about .020" removed from it's outer circumfrence so it clears the threads in the Garrity's head. It would be nice if it would drop in there as is, but its just a tad to large. Without a lathe one can do this in a hand drill or press to spin it, using a file or some abrasive paper.
For the rest of the mod you really need a small lathe.

If you are really interested and have access to a lathe, I'll give you all the details via email. Heck, I can build you one up for the price of the Garrity and a P90/P91, but it'll take all the fun outta doing it yourself.

 

[Gman]

My pleasure KT. Email me and I'll send you some photos. I remembered you liked that stainless AA but didn't know if you still wanted it as a 3 X 123. Figured you've got some SureFire 9 volters already, but it'll be my pleasure to machine you one up anyway.

Some of the hobbies I've had for years include metal working and anodizing/plating.
When you add flashlight freak to those, it opens up a whole new world of fiddling with these things. lol...Maybe you'd like it in 24K gold instead of stainless? (But it would drive up the price some, me thinks.

Arrghh! I have no trouble making all the computer stuff work on a B737, but for the life of me I can't get the photos to come up here.

I followed your instructions above and all that comes up in the post is the URL, not the actual photo itslef. What am I doing wrong?

 

[PeLu]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Gman:
...Maybe you'd like it in 24K gold instead of stainless? (But it would drive up the price some, me thinks.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

It should not be too expensive when you palte it with gold. I want to try it with a Arc AAA one time. Maybe Peter Gransee will offer the Arclights without any surface treatment for do it yourselfers .-)

 

[Gman]

Yes, it wouldn't be too expensive if I made a tiny tank just for the one part. The Au solution can be expensive in quanity however.

Aluminum can be difficult to plate for the same reason it's difficult to weld or paint:
That darn oxide layer. (I Tig weld it with AC current for just that reason, the positve half of the wave breaks up the oxide.)

Thats why it's usually anodised instead. It would be very easy to gold anodise an Arc, it would look very nice but wouldn't have the "value" of real Au. (Actually, one of the hardest colors to get right when anodising Al is black.) I'm also fond of electroless nickel because it looks great and requires no power.

Btw, it's easy to strip the anodisation off of any part. A few minutes in a sodium hydroxide sloution will do it. (Buy a can of Drano) I think I'll try to gold anodise some torches in the future, like SF did for awhile. (I see there are still some websites selling 6Ps in various colors.)

 

[sunspot]

Thanks Gman. So much to buy, so little time.
p.s. I was an aluminium commercial door fabricator years ago. Did a little "side" work also. Used a MIG lots. You gave me very good info. Thanks again.

 

[sunspot]

Gman. Can a MIG be changed to a TIG? IMO, a TIG is better for small welding but I would rather buy a MIG for all around home and shop use. I'm looking at a Miller w/variable output in the 175A range. BTW, I pant for a lath and a vertical endmill. Where/cost can one be had? Keep the mod's going. I love to see products of craftsmen.

 

[Gman]

No, MSAW (Mig) is a constant voltage process, GTAW (Tig) is a constant current system. The Miller you are looking at is a nice machine for Mig work. Miller also makes multi-process CV/CC supplies, but they ain't cheap. (Btw, look at www.daytonamig.com for some good deals on welding stuff.)

I prefer Tig for the control and precision (one can weld a razor blade to a railroad track with Tig, it's like working with a laser. No smoke, slag, ultra clean, it'll spoil you! But it *is* very slow and somewhat difficult to learn. I have a 200 amp inverter Tig system with ramping and pulsing, the darn thing weighs 12 pounds!

Mig is the easiest to learn and if you want to lay down bead quickly (like in autobody work), you can't beat Mig. (Sorry if you already know all this.) I do very small stuff and need the control and quality of weld that a Tig offers. Nothing comes close to the quality of Tig in the right hands. (lol..not mine though)

For home metal working, look at the 3 in 1 machines like a Smithy or better still, a ShopTask. About $1000 for a cheap one. (Search the Internet for these names).
You can even do CNC with a ShopTask (it's sweeeeet!), but you'll spend more.

"Real" machinists scorn these, but I've seen some amazing work done with them. Also look at "Enco", cheap but effective. It's all the tooling that eats up the money. There are many good resources on the Net for home machinists, including BBs like this one.

If you learn to work metal and weld, you can make just about anything and the money you spend will be well offset by the repairs and parts you can make for all your belongings from cars to washing machines and all in between. Learn about materials also, you can't be a good machinist or weldor without knowing about metals. (Add some knowledge of electronics/electrical and you can do anything. (I started out as a EE so I'm lucky there.) All this is great fun and very fufilling, although I haven't done it for a living in years.

Sorry for the length and off topic post. If you have questions email me and I'll be happy to help.