Aluminum Bronze 123 light

Hey guys,

Just wanted to share again. I just turned out this smallish 123 light. It has a 17mm IMS reflector, mineral glass lens, and is sandwiche compatible.

It was turned from solid aluminum bronze bar stock and current has a POP board in it, with a TXOJ emitter.

It is, of course, of a twistie configuration.


The pics...(sorry about the smudges)

For comparison I have the light under an Aleph II on a Cr2 body with slim flat top switch.












Thanks for looking,

Looks nice Tony! I especially like the fact that it takes 123 cells, yet is smaller than some cr2 lights.

Is it a multi level pop?

It is great having you back here on cpf,

Marc

Marc,

I happened to keep a note from you wherein you requested a POP board. The one I used is the one with three functions.

First twist gets you the low mode (user definable)
Second twist gets you full power.
Third twist sets the mod to set the low mode.
Fourth twist is the strobe function.

If you like it, I'll ship it off.

I love it! I want it.....

Marc

ps - please let me know how much $$$ to send for shipping and any overages I might owe above my pre-payment.

Chop,

Another one! Looks great! How much does the equipment run to have
some fun like you must be having making all these lights? I have got a penny or two I could part with to give it try. Not three just two pennies. Thanks for the pictures.

Ken

Ken,

Being serious about it, you could get well on your way for about $1000. This would put you in a position to mess with just about anything.

Figure $400-$500 for a 7X12 or longer lathe. Don't mess with the 7X10. It's actually 4 inches shorter than a 7X12 (go figure) and too short to do anything with.

The rest of the money can go to a small drill press, drills, indexable tooling, a grinder, quick change tool post, a decent soldering station (with a selection of tips), and other stuff that I can't even think of right now.

You also have to consider a small stock of aluminum, brass, and copper; or in my case, aluminum bronze. I always have something in the neighborhood of a reel of luxeons hanging around and a couple dozen different converters.

I do have fun with it, but I don't even like to think about the money that I have tied up in this hobby. It was cheaper when I was shooting IPSC.

If you really want to just get started, I'd recommend getting a dremel tool. Don't get the expensive big set with all of the attachments that you'll never use. Just a basic set and then find a hobby shop that caters to rock buffs. You'll find all you need there, at a fraction of what "Dremel" accessories will cost you. The other thing that you will need is a decent temp regulated soldering station. I started off with a cheap radio shack stick, but then quickly moved to a basic station from www.circuitspecialists.com for about $40. I now use a Metcal MX500. It doesn't get any better than that. I lucked into it on ebay for $150 and spent about another $100 on tips.

You can then pick up hand tools as you need them. Harbor Freight and Micro Mark are great for the smallish tools that you'll need.

In the modding world, it's have Dremel will travel.

I could go on and on.

Very nice Tony!

Good to see you up and running again

Later
Kelly

Chop I was serious. Already have drill press, dremel, and all that little stuff. I

don`t need or have room for any more tools but.......... I haven`t used my old wood Lathe in a while and if I get rid of it, something new and fun will just have to fill that space. Of course materials and some specialty tools would be needed
also but I was wondering about a good well outfitted lathe to turn out some small lights for fun. I have some "Fun Funds" that are burning a hole in my pocket. I am way beyond the soldering station. My dream home is an eight car garage with a big screen TV, a computer
and a microwave oven.
I just hate to end up with a tool that is not well suited to the task of turning
out small Flashlights. You seem to be someone that could narrow the options of what to get and what not to get. I am asking and would appreciate your opinion but I am not asking for you to waste a bunch of your time doing it. If you could mention brands or models that sound worthy of taking a look at, that would be fantastic. Just point and I am good.

Thanks,
Ken
Gotta love da "Fun Funds"

Ken,

For the price difference, I'd go for the Micro Mark 7X14. It has true inch threads, a stronger motor, and a longer bedway. You can check out the differences among the mini lathes available at www.mini-lathe.com

I have a Homier 7X12, which I got for $350, shipped but they are no longer available. The truth is that all of the mini lathes come from about the same factory in China, so they are all about the same. Just go for the one that has the options that you think you will need that has a price that you can afford. No matter what you buy, you will NEED a quick change tool post and some indexable tooling. Without these, almost any job is just plain tedious.

Also be sure to check out www.littlemachineshop.com for some ideas of what available and what they are used for.

Chop,

I love the aluminum bronze material used on this and the other light. It is really attractive and seems to be very viable as well. If you are looking to unload any more of these creations, let me know!

Fringe,

I like this material too. It's pretty hard. A lot harder than aluminum, but does a better job of conducting heat than titanium. I'm not saying that it's harder than titanium, because it isn't, but it does survive drops and such a lot better than aluminum. In my own tests dropping bar stock onto concrete (equal weight pieces of stock) on the edges of the stock, the aluminum bar would have a flat dent where it hit the ground. The aluminum bronze, however, only showed a small imprint of the concrete.

It's funny that you mentioned the other light. It is for sale, but haven't had any takers. If I don't move it by tomorrow, I think I might bead blast it to see how it looks with a satin type finish.

Hi Chop which one is for sale am interested but didn't know was for sale.
Also did not see a price.
Thanks

Nice work Tony A!

Should look even sweeter blasted

Chop said:

Ken,

For the price difference, I'd go for the Micro Mark 7X14. It has true inch threads, a stronger motor, and a longer bedway. You can check out the differences among the mini lathes available at www.mini-lathe.com

I have a Homier 7X12, which I got for $350, shipped but they are no longer available. The truth is that all of the mini lathes come from about the same factory in China, so they are all about the same. Just go for the one that has the options that you think you will need that has a price that you can afford. No matter what you buy, you will NEED a quick change tool post and some indexable tooling. Without these, almost any job is just plain tedious.

Also be sure to check out www.littlemachineshop.com for some ideas of what available and what they are used for.

Click to expand...

Very interesting, thank you.
I'm wondering where to (re)start working with metal. I didn't touch a lathe since almost 20 years, at school...
What do you think about Unimat? They will soon propose a CNC lathe/tooling AFAIK.

glire,

I don't have any experience with the Unimat. All I can tell you is that you don't want one of those really small modeling lathes.

On my little 7X12, I can turn everything from wood to titanium and do it fairly easily. It will do all sorts of threading and will accommodate a 5" three jaw chuck, which is what I use. I can chuck a piece of 2" aluminum stock and part it off on my lathe. I guess the point I'm trying to make is that you don't want to be too limited in the diameter of the piece that you can work on. How long you need to go depends on what you want to build, but being able to chuck a large diameter piece of stock means really big flashlight heads.

I think that the Micro Mark 7X14 is perfect for doing flashlights.

OK, thanks.

Well, I don't know yet what I want to do. The Unimat are really small. They are used by modellers and look like "toys" (they're made of plastic, but there will be some new in metal and with CNC).

I found this shop yesterday www.buitelaar.nl (I'm in Belgium, so not too far for me; buying online this kind of stuff seems out of question).
They seem to have those small and affordable but good chinese lathes you're talking about. There is a "Black & Red 300mm" that looks like what you call 7x12 (300mm = ~12").
Thanks again.

Great to see you back at it Tony !!!! :goodjob:

Tony, What's the diameter? (If it's greater than 3/4"/.750" :tsk: )

I too, like the colors of some of the bronze alloys, mot to mention their machinability. Nice light!

Larry

It was at my house when I arrived after work. The pictures do not do the light justice. It is the epitome of elegance.

Diameter is 3/4" and length is 2 7/16".

It's a great color - to me, it seems to be a shade between gold & brass.

The weight is great for a little pocket light and the two bands of knurling are in the perfect location for easy twisiting of the pop3 board.

I want one of whatever you make next.....

Thanks Tony!

All the best,

Marc

Marc,

I'm glad that you like it. Live with it a bit and see what you think. After all, you waited long enough.

BTW, I use Flitz to polish my aluminum bronze lights.