Hey guys,
Things were a bit slow today, so I made a light. I had some aluminum bronze left from before Katrina, and it was no worse for the wear (or having gone swimming).
Anyway, I made a Cr2 based light. It is made entirely of Aluminum Bronze. For those of you that are not familiar with this metal, it's pretty tough stuff. It is used to make parts for landing gear on air craft, it is used to line torpedo tubes, and it is used to make large chains used in marine applications and flood gates and stuff. It's an OK thermal conductor. It isn't as good as aluminum, but is lots better than titanium.
As for how tough it is...I can chuck a finished piece and not leave a mark on the surface. I've also been able to knurl a body that has already been bored using a scissors type knurler without warping the body.
The light is Aleph LE compatible. I like going this route because it leaves options open, at the expense of size. The light is larger than a Cr2 light needs to be, but it's still on the small side. The reflector is a McR16 and the lens is an 18mmX1.5mm mineral glass. Rather than using a bezel ring, I just made it so that the reflector slips in from the back and is held in place by a threaded delrin ring. I'm sure that the light isn't nearly as water resistant as other Alephs, but I was able to save on the size a bit by going this route, which was my intention.
The light is 2.25" long, .881" in diameter at the bezel, and .726" in diameter at the slim part of the body.
Some of you might recognize the design. After having made it, I remembered that I made a few other lights a couple of years ago that closely resemble what I came up with today. Go figure...
Well, here are the pics...
In the first picture, I have the light (bottom) with my E1e conversion (NG500/TWOJ, McR20) and my beater Cr2 based Aleph II.
It is of a twistie configuration, but I think I'm gonna pop a 5/8-28 hole in the back and make a twist switch for it. I just think that this would be a bit more elegant than twisting the head. I might even try to rig it with 10 ohms of resistance for a low level.
BTW, I haven't cleaned this light up or polished the surface yet. This is the way the metal looks straight off of the lathe.
Thanks for looking,
Things were a bit slow today, so I made a light. I had some aluminum bronze left from before Katrina, and it was no worse for the wear (or having gone swimming).
Anyway, I made a Cr2 based light. It is made entirely of Aluminum Bronze. For those of you that are not familiar with this metal, it's pretty tough stuff. It is used to make parts for landing gear on air craft, it is used to line torpedo tubes, and it is used to make large chains used in marine applications and flood gates and stuff. It's an OK thermal conductor. It isn't as good as aluminum, but is lots better than titanium.
As for how tough it is...I can chuck a finished piece and not leave a mark on the surface. I've also been able to knurl a body that has already been bored using a scissors type knurler without warping the body.
The light is Aleph LE compatible. I like going this route because it leaves options open, at the expense of size. The light is larger than a Cr2 light needs to be, but it's still on the small side. The reflector is a McR16 and the lens is an 18mmX1.5mm mineral glass. Rather than using a bezel ring, I just made it so that the reflector slips in from the back and is held in place by a threaded delrin ring. I'm sure that the light isn't nearly as water resistant as other Alephs, but I was able to save on the size a bit by going this route, which was my intention.
The light is 2.25" long, .881" in diameter at the bezel, and .726" in diameter at the slim part of the body.
Some of you might recognize the design. After having made it, I remembered that I made a few other lights a couple of years ago that closely resemble what I came up with today. Go figure...
Well, here are the pics...
In the first picture, I have the light (bottom) with my E1e conversion (NG500/TWOJ, McR20) and my beater Cr2 based Aleph II.
It is of a twistie configuration, but I think I'm gonna pop a 5/8-28 hole in the back and make a twist switch for it. I just think that this would be a bit more elegant than twisting the head. I might even try to rig it with 10 ohms of resistance for a low level.
BTW, I haven't cleaned this light up or polished the surface yet. This is the way the metal looks straight off of the lathe.
Thanks for looking,