Bore 6P for 18650 ?

Is there any way I can bore an old 6P myself? Just picked up a small cylinder hone at Harbor but it's a little to big.

fishx65 said:

Is there any way I can bore an old 6P myself? Just picked up a small cylinder hone at Harbor but it's a little to big.

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I imagine you could do it by hand with the right size round or half round file. Results might be a little rough but I know a trick to clean that up. Cut a straight piece of coat hanger wire and fold the end over, then slide a strip of sandpaper into the fold and clamp it down. Then roll the sandpaper around the wire in the right direction so that you can spin the wire with a drill without unwrapping the paper. Start with coarse paper (300 or so) to get the file marks out and then step to something finer. Following up with a strip cut from a scotchbrite pad will leave a nice professional looking finish.

An old transmission guy taught me that trick for polishing scratches out of the bores in an aluminum valvebody. I don't see why it wouldn't work exactly the same in an aluminum flashlight body.

Thanks for the idea T, I'm gonna give it a try. I'm thinking that it could be opened up with some 80 grit and a lot of elbow grease.

An idea I've seen suggested is to wrap sandpaper around a dowel and attach it to a power drill.

You're still going to get the best results from a machine finish though. You might consider the $20 to have Moddoo or someone else bore it out for you. I'll be set up for it in about a week or two, and I'd be willing to do it for cost of shipping, but I can't guarantee results as good as Moddoo.

Ive never seen it done without a lathe. Modoo did mine and I am very happy with it. You should be aware that the part tolerances are pretty tight underneath the tailcap O-ring groove. FWIW, mine just barely fits non-protected 1865o cells, its a nice snug fit with no cell rattle. According to Moddoo theres .5mm cylinder wall beneath the tailcap O-ring groove.

I think the solarforce body is the most economical way to get there...
http://www.lighthound.com/Solarforc...ized--2xCR-123-or-1x18650-battery_p_2630.html

Almost there! Had some time so I decided to give it a go. I'm wraping some 100 grit cloth backed sandpaper around a large drill bit. Gone through about 5 pieces of paper in 1/2 hour so far. Should have time to get her done later tonight.

fishx65 said:

Almost there! Had some time so I decided to give it a go. I'm wraping some 100 grit cloth backed sandpaper around a large drill bit. Gone through about 5 pieces of paper in 1/2 hour so far. Should have time to get her done later tonight.

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Nice! So the sandpaper (emery cloth?) alone is enough to get it with some patience?

Got her done and it turned out pretty nice! Lots of elbow grease and patience is key. To slow with a cordless but an electric drill gets the job done pretty quick. Finished it off with a 400 grit wet sand. The bore on mine came out very even cuz I kept turning the body. Keep in mind that this was a very old 6P so destroying it would not have been a big deal to me. I used 100 grit for the whole job but starting with 80 would have been better. Now I can use my new 18650's in the old 6P!:kiss:

fishx65 said:

Almost there! Had some time so I decided to give it a go. I'm wraping some 100 grit cloth backed sandpaper around a large drill bit. Gone through about 5 pieces of paper in 1/2 hour so far. Should have time to get her done later tonight.

Click to expand...

:thumbsup:

How did you attach the paper to the drill bit?:thinking: wouldn't the drill bit just free spin inside the paper?

kramer5150 said:

:thumbsup:

How did you attach the paper to the drill bit?:thinking: wouldn't the drill bit just free spin inside the paper?

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I used masking tape on each side of the sandpaper. Also, gotta make sure you roll the sandpaper in the right direction around the bit.

Noticed this thread , had an old 6P body which now fits 18650s!

What I found works well:

Tape the sandpaper to the drill bit well , with good quality tape.
Fit too much sandpaper to the drill bit , removing a small amount at at time until you can just fit inside the body.

As the sandpaper wears (and the hole in the tube increases), I cut the worn piece of sandpaper off the end and insert some cardboard under the sandpaper , to increase diameter.

I managed to complete the job with a third of one piece of 80 grit wet and dry. I "bored" until my Sony 18650V cells fit. AW 18650 2200mAh also fit , I did not keep going to allow AW18650-2600mAh to fit though with the aim of leaving a little more metal in the body.

I was really surprised at the quality of finish.

Awhile back I had one of our CPF'ers ream out my M3 body, an A19, and A14, so that they would fit an unprotected LiIon. Works fine with LG's and AW's unprotected 18490's. I just did not want to have it reamed out for protected LiIon's, as not enough meat, for my thinking.

Bill

The one I did fits a protected 18650. Not sure how much material is left by the o-ring but it feels pretty solid.

If I were to bore my 6p, will the p60 still work in my body? I have seen some bored and they leave a lip for the spring to land on. I'm just wondering if I should leave a lip, or bore all the way through. Also, any problems going 18.65mm in a 6p? Thanks

I used a 47/64" reamer on my 6P, and it's working well. The reamer I got isn't the greatest ever, so the finish was a bit less than perfect, but the finished hole just fits AW 18mm cells.

I recommend leaving a lip, just for the fact it's material that doesn't need to be removed. The less material you remove, the sturdier the light will remain.

Tekno_Cowboy said:

I used a 47/64" reamer on my 6P, and it's working well. The reamer I got isn't the greatest ever, so the finish was a bit less than perfect, but the finished hole just fits AW 18mm cells.

I recommend leaving a lip, just for the fact it's material that doesn't need to be removed. The less material you remove, the sturdier the light will remain.

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Good point. I had my M3 body drilled out just to fit the LG size 18560's (+ drilled A19) so it will not take the protected LiIon's, which leaves more meat.

Bill

Yes, leave a little ridge there if you can. it will prevent the 18650 from falling out when youre swapping different modules in and out.

Tekno_Cowboy said:

I used a 47/64" reamer on my 6P, and it's working well. The reamer I got isn't the greatest ever, so the finish was a bit less than perfect, but the finished hole just fits AW 18mm cells.

I recommend leaving a lip, just for the fact it's material that doesn't need to be removed. The less material you remove, the sturdier the light will remain.

Click to expand...

What type of reamer did you use, and how much lip did you leave? Thanks