Surefire boring service

[precisionworks]

Glad you like your light, Ken

Look forward to possible e series bores!

Funny, as that's next on the list. I'm boring up a set of soft jaws to fit the E-series outside diameter, which is much smaller than any other Surefire I've handled. As you already know, the tail section is very small, so boring is done from the front (LE) end. Minimum wall thickness (at the forward O-ring groove) is very small, just barely enough for an 18mm cell, but it can be done. Boring for a 17mm cell leaves a much thicker and sturdier tube.

[precisionworks]

The Surefire 6PX-Pro just arrived ... sweet light that has one of the nicest beams I've ever seen from SF.

Got out the micrometers & the bore gage to verify dimensions & found that all thickness readings are identical to the 6P (not a big surprise). Tried to unscrew the head only to find that it is bonded on tightly to the tube

I remembered reading an article here on how one member had bored his 6PX, and noticed this photo:



Pretty easy to see the red Loctite adhesive that bonds the head to the tube. Red Loctite does soften above 325°F, but that sounded like a bad idea considering that the MPCB, emitter, reflector, etc., would all be subjected to this very high temp.

Even if the head had unscrewed easily there's another issue. The back of the MPCB uses no spring contact, but is dead flat:



Not a problem when using primaries, as primary cells have a positive contact post that sticks up far above the battery body (probably 3mm to 4mm). Many rechargeable cells are flat topped, like the AW cells I use, and a flat topped cell probably will make either poor contact or no contact with the MPCB. I thought about machining up a delrin ring with a copper post in the middle, to act as a positive contact extender, but that will have to wait until my business slows down.

If you have a 6PX and want it bored, there are probably people on CPF that will do it for you. At this time I don't plan to accept any for boring

[beach honda]

Hey Barry,

Can you bore my C2 Centurion to accept 18650?

Thanks!

-Chris

[precisionworks]

Chris,

I'm pretty sure the C2 will be almost identical to the M2 that was done for Chrisdm (see post #16). If for some reason it cannot be bored, I'll pay return shipping back to you.

This is a great time to send your light in, as I can usually bore it & return it within one business day. My "regular" job at the tool & die shop should pick up soon, but I'll continue to get lights finished ASAP.

I'll PM with shipping info.

[^^Nova^^]

Hi Barry,

Can you also PM me with your shipping details? I would like to post you my E2E to get you to bore it (I may have a 6P body around here also that could do with boring, I'll see if I can find it).

Cheers,
Nova

[precisionworks]

I would like to post you my E2E

That light is about to be an international traveler

Nova, if you can find the 6P and send it along at the same time, shipping for two lights should cost the same as sending just one. I have a personal E2L to bore, a friend in town also wants his E2L bored, and I plan on boring your E2E at the same time.

PM sent with details ...

[beach honda]

Brother Barry,

The light is being shipped to you directly from shao.fu.tzer. Paypal has been sent as well.

Thanks very much!

-Chris

[precisionworks]

I measured a couple of E2L tubes tonight, and those measurements are not what I thought they would be

In post #31, I stated " Minimum wall thickness (at the forward O-ring groove) is the same as a 6P..." it is not. In fact, the O-ring groove is .025" smaller than on the 6P. That does still leave an option. As Nova mentioned in post #27 " A 17670 fits 90% of the way but the body narrows near the tail threads. You will have to bore from the head end." I didn't have time to run a bore gage down the tube tonight, but will verify those dimensions tomorrow. The tube can be bored to as much as 17.2mm (.680") to accept the 17670 while still leaving adequate thickness at the O-ring groove.

IMO, a 17670 is the best & most practical option for the E-series lights. Boring for the 18650 can be done, but the walls will be left really thin (about .011"-.012"). There are commercial tubes having that same wall thickness, so it's probably adequate. The battery fit will be almost snug with an AW protected cell, and a RediLast cell will not even enter the tube. Depending on the individual cells you use, the labels may have to be removed ... it's that close.

[Fusion_m8]

Barry:

PM sent.

[precisionworks]

Fusion m8,

PM replied to. My wife & I got a good laugh out of your sig line She & I have been married (almost) as long as Surefire has been making lights.

[precisionworks]

Received this question by PM and thought some other people might also be interested ...

Just wanted to ask the cost of boring out the small portion on E series bodies that prevents 17670 use?

It's the same price as any other two cell light, as a special fixture has to be machined, the light has to be set up in the fixture & centralized in the lathe chuck, etc.

I imagine that $40 may seem like a lot to charge for a small amount of machine work. The problem is that setup time is the same or just a little bit longer than it is on any other light.

[precisionworks]

Just received this question by PM:

I have a JETbeam Raptor RRT-0 with AA extender. I want to use 17500 cells so the AA extender needs to be bored out (it necks down to hold the slimmer AA). How much would something like this cost?

A photo shows what appears to be a fairly thin extender wall:



The diameter of the O-ring groove on the extender determines if this is feasible or not. I believe the tube will need to be bored to about .681", so the O-ring groove needs to measure about .721". There is some give in both those numbers, but not a huge amount. If the tube has adequate thickness, cost of this mod is $40 + $5 return shipping.

[genius5th]

sir PM sent C2 HA gray needed for 18650 just like beach honda,

[precisionworks]

PM replied to, Jeff. Look forward to working on your C2.

[Rat]

I would like to have two C2's bored please PM sent.

cheers

EDIT: Sorry Barry I just seen your sig email now sent thanks.

[precisionworks]

Wow, this must be C2 Week on CPF

Two coming from Rat is Australia & two more from genius5th.

My shop has been buried in e-call work (emergency call out) and yesterday saw five hours on the lathe making a motor-shaft-to-chain-sprocket adapter. Touchy work as the adapter had one bore that needed to hit within .0003" (.0076mm) and one outside diameter that also had the same tolerance. Managed to nail both those dimensions & the part fits very well. The adapter goes on a motor that makes 380 lb ft (515Nm) of torque, so the material used was 4340 chrome moly shafting. Tough stuff to machine, but the adapter will last for years - running 12 hours per day, 6 days per week.

First two photos shows the size of the gearmotor & the 1.750" diameter output shaft. Surefire E2L Outdoorsman shown for scale:





The original chain sprocket was bored so that the shaft could be turned down & press fit in. Two hardened dowel pins retain the sprocket and transmit motor torque.



From the back end (the end that first goes on the motor shaft) the boring job looks much like that for a light:



That job will be almost all finished today, with final installation tomorrow morning, so the lathe will be clean & ready when more lights arrive. Still working on a 24 hour turnaround time, so your light or lights will not be long in my shop.

Shipping is combined whenever possible, and four lights will fit into a Small Flat Rate box unless they are longer than 8" (203mm). Domestic shipping is $5 & international is $14 as long as all the lights will go into the Small Flat Rate box. Each light is wrapped in a thick layer of foam padding, so multiple lights in one package will never touch each other.

[Rat]

Hey Barry
The two C2's are on their way from Midway thanks for all your help.
I just noticed you also do M3' in your sig. I will send you a M3 as well but if we could keep the two jobs separate that would be great. I will have you send the M3 elsewhere when you are finished that's why.

cheers

[precisionworks]

I just noticed you also do M3's

If you look back at post #16, there are photos of an M2 bored for 18650. The M3 is a longer version of the M2 and is identical to machine, except that the boring tools have another 30mm to travel to enlarge the tube.

I will have you send the M3 elsewhere when you are finished that's why.

No problem, just enclose a note with the light so I can send it to the next stop

[beach honda]

Barry,

That C2 I sent SHOULD be showing up today....me thinks.

Have a good one!

-Chris

[precisionworks]

The Post Office carrier left only a pile of bills today

Most likely it traveled from Florida to California to New York & is now headed here ... I'll let you know when it arrives.

EDIT: The Brown Truck just left a package that looks a lot like a C2

[precisionworks]

I knew Murphy was hiding somewhere in the shop, and last night he appeared Trying to hurry up and finish a commercial job on the lathe, boring 4140HT (tougher than nails), pushing the machine pretty hard. Difficult to describe the sound of a lathe feed gear breaking, but sickening comes close. The good news is that the gear is stocked in Memphis, they'll ship it today & it will arrive within 48 hours. Not a problem unless you happen to own one of the five lights sitting on the work bench.

I have the broken gear out of the machine & installing the new one should take only about half an hour. First job is to bore those five lights & ship them out on Saturday. I appreciate everyone's patience. I want to get these bored and shipped almost as badly as you want to get your lights.

[beach honda]

Hey, it happens! You should take more machining pictures! Neat to look at your works in progress!

[precisionworks]

You should take more machining pictures!

You're right. I try to remember to take them, but often the time schedule is really tight, especially for customers who are badly in need of a part. My website will be up when the work schedule slows down, done by a friend here in town, and will be photo heavy - some machining, some welding, some industrial electronics.

Installed the big gear motor today (post #46), will work on alignment tomorrow, and do the final control wiring on Friday when a special order air switch arrives. It took only one week to convert their machine from air drive to electric drive, versus 5-6 weeks waiting on industrial parts from Ingersoll-Rand. Really glad to put that job into the books and move on, as it took about 5 hours per day for the last 6 days.





It will be a nice change to get back to boring lights

[Rat]

Hi Barry

Again sorry to hear about the machine problems. But on the other hand it's worked out ok for me as I just picked up a M3 on CPF market place so that will be on its way to you to do your magic on it. If you did not have this problem my other two C2's would be on a flight home already.
By the way this is not that other M3 I was talking to you about that one will still be a separate job. If you could keep this new M3 with the C2's that would be good.
So you will need to send me a PM with the total cost of doing the M3 and the extra shipping cost. The M3 is also a complete light.
cheers

[precisionworks]

Hello William,

The cost for boring a 3-cell light (M3, C3, 9P) is $8 more than a standard 2-cell, so $48 plus shipping.

The more challenging part is figuring out your return shipping cost. I'm 90% sure that your M3 will fit inside the same Large Video Flat Rate carton as the other two C2's ... if so, there will be no additional shipping cost. Keep your fingers crossed & I'll see it there's room for all three with good padding.

[precisionworks]

Show time

It was hard to get all the girls to hold still & smile, but they did really well:





Beach Honda's light is far left, then the two black C2's from Rat, and finally the two C2's from genius5th.

Made up a different & better fixture to bore the C-series and M-series lights. They are a bear to hold properly because of different body diameters & also because of the large clip boss that projects from the body. Delrin (acetyl copolymer) was used to make this fixture. First step is an outside diameter clean up cut:



The center hole was then started with a twist drill & finished with the boring bar:



The photo below shows the finish after two boring passes:



Next the reamer is run through:



Finally the ball hone is used to refine & clean up any reamer marks:



The lights will go to the Post Office first thing Monday morning, except for those belonging to Rat ... waiting for his M3 to arrive here.

[genius5th]

Great pics! Thanks Barry!

[beach honda]

awesome Barry! love the pictures of machining work!

[precisionworks]

I thought you'd like to see your lights getting done

Forgot to post one photo, showing the way the light is centered in the chuck:



Hard to read the dial, but it shows that the centering is within +/- .0002" (.0004" total indicated runout). That's really important when working with thin walled tubing, as it assures that the tube walls are uniformly thick after boring.

Check your email - tracking numbers just sent.

[barry]

Barry,
It's nice to see you take such care in your work. I was wondering how you held the C2/M2s with their irregular surface because of the clip boss. Now I see. I'm also impressed you hone the bores after reaming to improve the finish. Very nice. I'll have to send my new C2.
barry
(Sorry for the Barry-barry confusion.)