My SS LD01's First Piercing! Result: Permanent Pocket Clip!

The one thing I really wanted for my beautiful Stainless Steel LD01 (courtesy of www.4sevens.com ) was a pocket clip that didn't easily move around or altogether slide off. I set out to accomplish this task with a dremel, a couple of 1/16th drill bits from Wal-Mart and a lot of heart.

Turns out, smooth stainless steel is EXTREMELY hard to drill through. After breaking both drill bits (multiple times, but continuing to use them, only pausing when they literally turned red hot) and burning my fingers I finally got a hole in the clip!

Originally I planned to use a eyeglass size screw and nut but could not find a nut at all, nor a screw long enough. A I deemed my project "postponed indefinitely" and began to feel sorry for myself, the thought suddenly occurred to me to use the included keyring!

Though my project lacked proper tools, supplies and skill (and it is virtually irreversible ) I now have a pocket clip that is firmly affixed to my light! It can also still be attached to keys and still tail-stand!

And now, the moment you've all been waiting for!

I wonder if one could just tap the hole... at that point it would be fairly trivial to engineer a clip with a hole and a tab to fit the notch to keep it from spinning.

Good effort!

I like it. :thumbsup:

Good job, phatalbert.

Is this light the same size as the little AAA Maglite solitaire that's sold everywhere for $5? I need a light that small. I would appreciate it if someone can do a size comparison. Thanks.

davidt1 said:

Good job, phatalbert.

Is this light the same size as the little AAA Maglite solitaire that's sold everywhere for $5? I need a light that small. I would appreciate it if someone can do a size comparison. Thanks.

Click to expand...

Ask and ye shall receive! The LD01 is slightly larger in diameter and slightly shorter than the Solitaire.

Exact measurements are:
LD01 length 3"/76.20mm and dia. .565"/14.35mm
Solitaire length 3.204"/81.38mm and dia. .5"/12.70mm

the only thing I can see wrong is now it is hard for it to tailstand isn't it?

Lynx_Arc said:

the only thing I can see wrong is now it is hard for it to tailstand isn't it?

Click to expand...

Phatalberts last pic shows it tailstanding, so I´d guess= no problem.

mr.snakeman said:

Phatalberts last pic shows it tailstanding, so I´d guess= no problem.

Click to expand...

must be the third to the last pic has the clip riding up high because the ring is tilted.

Yeah there is a small amount of movement side to side and up and down, but it can still tailstand great!

Another approach:

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/215168

curtis22 said:

Another approach:

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/215168

Click to expand...

Haha! Assuming I was the person you mentioned wanting to drill a hole I would have loved a PM

That is an extremely creative solution. I guess there is more than one way to skin a cat/ mount a clip!

How about a bit of SuperGlue under the clip? Wouldn't that work well enough without drilling holes in the light? I would imagine you could break the glue loose and clean it off, too, if you wanted to pass the light on to somebody who didn't want the clip.

BabyDoc said:

How about a bit of SuperGlue under the clip? Wouldn't that work well enough without drilling holes in the light? I would imagine you could break the glue loose and clean it off, too, if you wanted to pass the light on to somebody who didn't want the clip.

Click to expand...

The only thing permanent about my method is the hole in the clip. You could always snip the split ring off if you decided you didn't wan the clip anymore and would be left with an unaltered LD01 and a clip with a small hole in the back

nice work and good thinking :twothumbs

phatalbert said:

I set out to accomplish this task with a dremel, a couple of 1/16th drill bits from Wal-Mart and a lot of heart.

Turns out, smooth stainless steel is EXTREMELY hard to drill through. After breaking both drill bits (multiple times, but continuing to use them, only pausing when they literally turned red hot) and burning my fingers I finally got a hole in the clip!

Click to expand...

That's the problem, Dremel spins way to fast to drill steel, so you killed the temper of drill bit, which makes it either too brittle or too soft, and possibly hardened the stainless steel you are trying to drill. Next time go slow (300 rpm at most), plenty of cooling and lubrication and you will go through it in no time.

Nice job. I'd be afraid to do that.

vovw said:

That's the problem, Dremel spins way to fast to drill steel, so you killed the temper of drill bit, which makes it either too brittle or too soft, and possibly hardened the stainless steel you are trying to drill. Next time go slow (300 rpm at most), plenty of cooling and lubrication and you will go through it in no time.

Click to expand...

drilling stainless is tough... need sharp bits... high speed steel with lubrication and have to press harder than usual too. I find going about 50% faster helps sometimes too.... but not way too fast just ends up heating the bit up which then can lose its temper and not cut as well.

Which pocket clip is that? It does not appear to be the Fenix branded clip.

vovw said:

That's the problem, Dremel spins way to fast to drill steel, so you killed the temper of drill bit, which makes it either too brittle or too soft, and possibly hardened the stainless steel you are trying to drill. Next time go slow (300 rpm at most), plenty of cooling and lubrication and you will go through it in no time.

Click to expand...

Diamond bits aren't too hard to come by these days and would probably be a good bet, but still go slower with it.