TW4 - Born Again

[Ray_of_Light]

I decided to share this mod of mine, since it as become my preferred EDC.

This is what it looks like:



This is the business end: I replaced the Lux V with a Seoul P4



This is the internal of the bezel, as I modified it:



The converter here is a GD500 from SS. I used other converters too.
there is a need for a 0.027" copper stud between the LED and the heatsink, otherwise there is very little hotspot in the beam.

This is the dual stage Z57:



The button clicks the light on and off. Rotating the tailcap switches between low and high. The value of the resistor needs to be experimented.
The internal threads of the Z57 needs to be deanodized for this mod to work. Here is a detail:



Hope this help, and may inspire the production of the light I always wanted: the TW4-BA (Born again.)

Anthony

 

[Snow]

Now that looks like a fantastic EDC. Nice job!

 

[Jerb]

for use curious types can you give us more information on how the tailcap mod was preformed? Id love to emulate it

 

[Ray_of_Light]

there is a resistor between the contact ring and the tailcap case.

1. When the tailcap is screwed all the way in, when you click the switch it operates the way it was originally intended.

2. When the tailcap is partially unscrewed, the contact ring doesn't touch the battery tube anymore. Since I deanodized the threads of the tailcap, there is another pathway for the current, that flows thru the resistor.

The resistor is soldered between the contact ring and the tailcap. Since it is not possible to solder on aluminium, i used some conductive epoxy to join the other end of the resistor to the tailcap.

Once assembled, use some silver grease (conducting) on the threads.

Here is a better picture:



Hope this helps

Anthony

 

[Jerb]

that make a lot of sense now that you explained it. you may have another PM pretty soon when I get mine to play with.

to de-anodize the threads on the body did you use a lye solution and a mask for the body?

thanks for the write-up btw

 

[Ray_of_Light]

Removing the anodize on the thread, and on the internal upper portion of the tailcap where the resistor makes contact, has been the toughest part of the job. The anodize process used from SF is among the best I have seen. The oxidation of the aluminium goes behind the surface, so a pure chemical threatment is not enough IMO.
I tried a chemical stripper after mechanically scraping the anodization, but it made the things worse. May be the product at my disposal wasn't good enough.
So I proceeded the old fashioned way, first with a tungsten carbide tipped tool, and then with a blade in the interstices between threads.
I repeated the operaztion after couple of days as more aluminium oxide resurfaced.

I suggest you to test various resistor value before proceeding. The problem may be, with some converters, that power dissipation could exceed 0.25 W that the resistor can handle.

Anthony