Home brew Aluminum Bronze Cr2 Light

Chop

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Jul 22, 2003
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Louisiana
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.
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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,
 

Chop

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Jul 22, 2003
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OK, I had some more mod work come in today so I had to finish this up quick. Consequently, it has two speeds. On and off. I punched a 5/8-28 hole in the back and turned a knurled knob. The operation is pretty much self explanatory.

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Thanks for looking,
 

mut

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OK
Excellent work as usual Chop. Now all it needs is a high and low.

mut
 

Ned-L

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I like it! :) I agree that some kind of high/low capability would be nice as would a keychain point of attachment. It has a very solid, strong, industrial kind of look.
 

Chop

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Jul 22, 2003
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Yeah, I was actually drawing up some type of piston spring loaded kind of thingy for a two stage, but then all of a sudden, I got swamped with mod orders. I didn't want to put in on the back burner, because I have a whole shelf of stuff that is on the back burner and didn't want that to happen to this light. It's really pretty.

I also thought about a keychain attachment, but I think the light is too big to be put on a key chain. For that matter, I think a fire fly is too big for a key chain. I could pop a 1/4-20 hole in the switch thingie and put a lanyard attachment there, but then the light wouldn't stand on end.

I just really hate to mess with it. This thing is pretty. The pics really don't do it justice.

I think I'm finished with it, but I feel sleepless right now. On the other hand, I'd just hate to go trying something and then screw up the light. This aluminum bronze stuff isn't real fun to machine. There's no tearing through it like aluminum. At least, not on my machine.

Of course, if you were just compelled to add a lanyard, you could just wrap it around the body between the flares.
 

scott.cr

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Jan 10, 2006
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Los Angeles, Calif.
There's a lot to be said for simple elegance. I really like your light. My first 100% self-made light (self-made except for the lens, reflector, emitter, battery and O-rings) was made from alloy 360 brass and I did the finish machining with plain old CCMT indexable inserts. It was a lovely looking finish with no polishing.

BTW, I machined the springs from steel and heat treated them in a modified toaster oven. A machined spring is loads better looking than a wound spring. Is it any better in the realm of flashlights? I don't think so, aside from bragging rights ha-ha.
 

diggdug13

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Nov 11, 2004
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Tony,
why ya gotta go and tease us like this :mecry:. Your just mean in a nice sorta way..lol very very nice now I can see what my Endeavor light should resemble. woo hooo

doug
 

Chop

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Jul 22, 2003
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3,635
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Louisiana
Is Endeavor making a light too. That's great. There seems to be a lack of that sort of stuff lately.

Six months ago there were posts about all of the goofy stuff that everyone here made all over the place. I do, however, see that a few people have taken to making runs of lights. Maybe I need to jump on that bandwagon. On the other hand, that would really take the fun out of things.

Thanks for the compliments guys. If I can ever get the time to sit down and draw something up, I might be able to come up with something really nice. I built the above light while I had four kids running around the house. Ya know, work for 5 minutes, set it aside and come back in 15 to get another 5; so I just kinda whipped this one out.
 

Ned-L

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Nov 3, 2005
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Florida
It is interesting that you think it is too big to be a keychain light. I have my JIL Intelli on my keychain and it is just over 2" long by I think just barely over .75" diameter. Not that a keychain attachment really matters as it looks like a nice size to just carry loose in your pocket. It probably has enough mass that it would not fall out any more than your keys would.

So have we got you at least contemplating the idea of making a run of this light?
 

XFlash

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Jul 8, 2004
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Location
Oklahoma
Glad to see you back and making lights like you did before the storm.
Love the look of this light, nice job.
 
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