The Nano Glowring

Kenster sent me some special sandpaper for free, so I was thinking about a way to say thank you. So what can you give to a man that probably has everything, the answer is something that no one else has
It was then I came up with the idea of making the worlds probably smallest glowring. The result can bee seen in the pictures below. It is made of plexiglass and is 10x3x3 mm.

Nano Glowring on Firefli, a small light needs a small glowring


For those not aware of how small the Firefli is, here it is next to a McLuxIII-PD:


Thank you for watching.

Absolutely WILD! Thanks for sharing! :thumbsup:

Hey, I love the concept! i would much prefer a glowring on my lights rather than dremel'ing them and epoxy'ing a trit.

Could you possibly be convinced to make some of these for sale? I'd take at least 5 (unless the cost/effort to make is high/difficult)...

I don't know how much time I used on making it, but it sure would be way to expensive if I based it on what I get on my day job. But making multiples usually takes less time. I probably could make a small batch (10 pieces) to see how long it takes, but I don't have enoguh split rings and tritiums, but if you can supply your own split ring and tritum then there is no problem making some for you. I really don't know what an acceptable price would be for an item like this. Including tritium and split ring I guess it would cost me $10 in materials alone to make it, and then you have $3 for worldwide shipping (regardless of numbers) and the PP fees.

Hey, thanks for the reply MSI. I was just thinking of getting the casing itself from you (do you make it on a lathe?), I can source my own trits and split rings. I'd have no problem buying 10 pcs too. Lmk how much you figure it'd cost ya and if you'd be willing to do it! Thanks =)

No need to buy all 10, I want some for my self as well (I'll also be using them on sleeping bag and tent zippers).
It is not made with a lathe, so it is not round. I use a Dremel for making the holes, the rest is done with hand tools!

Sounds good - I'll buy whichever you don't want =) Btw, what size trits are you using, 1.5x5mm ones? I recently got some from Bart, his are super bright.

Neat, so are you cutting it from acrylic rod? Now that you mention it, in the top picture it looks like I can make out the flat profile...very cool. Did you seal off the end w/ an actual tiny plug, or just some epoxy/superglue?

Very cool! I'll take one depending on final price.

mcmc, the tritiums I use I bought from gregw. If I remember correctly they were 1.5x4.85mm. I see that Bart's tritiums are 1.55 mm thick, i.e. a little bit thicker, so I will have to order some to make sure they will fit. To make sure the tritiums will fit, I will not sell empty shells after all. I think I will order green only, but let me know if you want some in dark blue instead.

The glowring is cut from a 3mm thick plexiglass/acrylic plate, creating it from a rod would have been much quicker, but the end result would be far from as nice.

To install the tritium I coat the interiour walls with clear glue (that means it is not plugged, but the the tritium can't fall out). Coating the walls also make them more transparent, because uncoated walls are very matte after the boring.
I had a problem finding the right glue for this since some of them ate up the plexiglass while others made it crack (probably because of some strange chemical reaction), but I finally found a glue that worked well.

The price for a complete glowring will be $16 for one, or $15 each if you buy two or more. Shipping is $3 (regardless of number).
Please let me know if you are still interested.

Hey again MSI,

Thanks for the info! I see - interesting, these are small enough that you could cut them out of a plate. Good idea =) And I can see how finding the right glue would have taken a long time - I've had my fair share of run-ins w/ plexiglas and other polycarbonates. Strange beasts sometimes.

Hm, for $16 I may not be as interested =) as that is almost the cost of the Nite Tritium glowrings. Not that I am knocking your price! I know things like this take time and research and effort, so that's fine. I'm wondering though if I could send you the trits I have (I was able to get some of the other colors before they ran out, orange, red, light blue, etc.)? If so I would probably consider going forward.

I *do* have some tools and a Dremel at home - perhaps it'd just be easier if I learned from you how to cut these? Or would that be a losing proposition you think?

thanks again!
mcmc

The price may seem high compared to a Nite glowring, but remember that they are moulded and easy to make while this is hand made with small tolerances. I'm going to bed now (I'm located in Europe so it is pretty late), but I can post a receipe for you later, on how to make them yourself. It is not a problem for me if people want to make these themselves.
I'm going to buy some tritiums from Bart anyway (I will make some glowrings for gifts to my friends), when I receive them I will know if they will fit or not or if I will have to make a bigger hole. When I know if they fit, I can send you some so you can install the tritiums yourself, or one so you can see how it should be if you want to make the rest yourself.