Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose . . .

[PhotonFanatic]

A customer wanted a custom Ti neck light, to be powered by a 10180 battery and driven by a FluPIC, with the decorative design to compliment a previously made custom light. That meant blocks with dimples in the middle, so no big deal, after all, I've done that numerous times.

But, alas, things don't always go according to plan, especially when the machinist thinks he knows what he's doing.

So, I screwed up the dimples! Seems as though that would almost be impossible to do, since they are evenly spaced around the perimeter of the light, but the problem is that the grooves were cut first, and there were eight of them, and then there were to be eight dimples.

No problem--rotate the piece half the previous rotation used for the groove and the toolbit will be centered in the block. Sure, that's how it works, but the dummy operator must then remember to continue the full number of revolutions for each succeeding dimple, which I failed to do. So, instead of eight dimple, I started cutting 16 dimples. 😱🤢:shakehead

Hey, never let a screw-up stop you from having fun, or at least learning something. I decided to continue with the planned dimple pattern and then to anodize the grooves and dimple, too, something that the customer didn't want, so this would definitely distinguish this piece from his final piece, once I do complete it.

So, here's the end result--which, while not what I wanted, and not what the client asked for, still came out OK:

Just have to install the driver, lens, O-rings, etc. and eventually someone might like it. :devil:

 

[DaFABRICATA]

Nice one Fred!

I wonder what an entire light with dimples on all 4 sides of the squares would look like?..and no dimples in the middle of the square.

Sometimes screw-ups can lead to interesting discoveries.

I personally think it looks nice regardless!
Nice work!

 

[LEDobsession]

That actually turned out really cool Fred! I like it!

 

[brighterisbetter]

Sometimes screw-ups can lead to interesting discoveries.

8 Brilliant Scientific Screw-Ups

Looks great Fred :thumbsup:

 

[saabgoblin]

In Art School, we used to call those occurrences "happy accidents"! I would throw you the "I'd Hit It Banana" smiley but I always feel like it's going to trigger an Epileptic seizure so you'll have to be happy with a :thumbsup:.

 

[Zeruel]

This is a beauty. If nothing's been mentioned, I would have thought the design is deliberate, seeing that it's only the last row that's different. :thumbsup:

 

[jch79]

I quote myself from only yesterday:

I tried looking for an error in the dimpling, the anodizing, SOMETHING to make it look like you're human - but alas, it's flawless! :sick2:

Well, this is the evidence - Fred is indeed human! 😀

I agree with the rest of the folks here... even though it wasn't as planned, it still turned out awesome!

:thumbsup: john

 

[csshih]

wait... Fred is HUMAN??!!

 

[Incidentalist]

So, umm, how much? :naughty:

 

[mudman cj]

@ Incidentalist - sweet avatar! They are one of my top 3 groups of all time.


@ Fred - that is a beautiful light!

 

[Incidentalist]

Thanks, you're the second person in the last week that complemented me on the avatar.

May I ask what the other top 2 are?


Back on topic - Is the head pictured? I'm having a hard time figuring out where the head and body meet, unless the picture is of just the body.

 

[PhotonFanatic]

DaFabricata,

Like this:

To me, that looks too busy.

Incidentalist,

Price? Yet to be determined--I'm toying with a Cyan emitter, or I may offer both the Cyan and a white P4, too. But in general, most of my custom lights start at $400, regardless of size. It just takes so many hours to make anything on a manual lathe. Plus, the designing/modeling eats up a few hours, too.

And to answer your other question--the separation is at the second groove from the split ring:

You can see the O-ring groove showing there, too.

Thanks to all others for your feedback as well.

 

[Incidentalist]

Thanks for answering my question. I now feel a little bit like a maroon. I looked and looked and just couldn't figure it out. Once you tell me where it is I go back and it is staring me in the face. The two pieces of the body are not perfectly aligned and upon closer inspection I should have noticed. :shakehead

 

[mudman cj]

Thanks, you're the second person in the last week that complemented me on the avatar.

May I ask what the other top 2 are?

G. Love & Special Sauce and Phish, but it is extremely hard to narrow it down this far!

Sorry to Fred for getting OT. 😗

 

[Glenn7]

DaFabricata,

Like this:

To me, that looks too busy.

Incidentalist,

Price? Yet to be determined--I'm toying with a Cyan emitter, or I may offer both the Cyan and a white P4, too. But in general, most of my custom lights start at $400, regardless of size. It just takes so many hours to make anything on a manual lathe. Plus, the designing/modeling eats up a few hours, too.

And to answer your other question--the separation is at the second groove from the split ring:

You can see the O-ring groove showing there, too.

Thanks to all others for your feedback as well.

what about no dimples on the flats and only dimples where the the cross lines meet - just wondering :thinking: and maybe make the squares 2x as big = less busy and not as sharp corners.

 

[fyrstormer]

Fred, I think the thing to do is to repeat the 16-dimple cutting pattern on all of the rows.

Cutting dimples on the middle of each side of each block is also an interesting idea, and I don't think it would look nearly so busy in real life as it does in CAD -- it's the linework that's making it look that way. You should try it, I bet it will actually look very good.

 

[MKLight]

Very nice Fred! Could this be an extension on the Killer series??? 🙂

 

[saabgoblin]

Your lights just keep surprising me, I never figured nor could I ever tell that the twisty aspect of you lights are situated at the back of your lights. Your machining must be immaculate!:bow:

 

[fyrstormer]

Actually on the (normal) Killers it's at the front, and on the Tasklight Two it's in the middle. I think he just changes it up sometimes for fun.

 

[PhotonFanatic]

Actually on the (normal) Killers it's at the front, and on the Tasklight Two it's in the middle. I think he just changes it up sometimes for fun.

Actually, no, it is not for fun--it is a matter of form following function most of the time. The length and size of the reflector, lens, and driver module, along with the desired thickness or diameter of the light, will determine how long the head of the light will be and where there is enough material for the threads. The tail section merely holds the battery, so it is the simpler piece and the only important considerations for it are the battery diameter and the threading. Adding on some length for a clip, or split-ring hole, etc., is usually no problem.