Which Jetbeams are made from solid billet (aluminum bar)

Hi again Fellow CPFer's, just a quick question. I noticed on the website and catalog that "MOST" of the lights are made from solid bar...so i'm concerned about the Jetbeam PA10. If anybody knows which Jetbeams are made from a solid (non extruded) aluminum bar, please tell me! Thanks in advance

I don't know one way or the other, but maybe they just meant that they (JetBeam) also offer stainless steel and the occasional titanium bodied lights?

An interesting question to know the answer to, regardless.

ssvqwnp said:

I don't know one way or the other, but maybe they just meant that they (JetBeam) also offer stainless steel and the occasional titanium bodied lights?

An interesting question to know the answer to, regardless.

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Well, I just emailed a few distributors and Jetbeam themselves...hopefully I'll get the same answer across the board

I never understood that. Seems like a lot of waste and work to build a flashlight from a solid bar of aluminium. Why don't Jetbeam etc just buy in aluminium tubing and machine the bodies from that?

davecroft said:

I never understood that. Seems like a lot of waste and work to build a flashlight from a solid bar of aluminium. Why don't Jetbeam etc just buy in aluminium tubing and machine the bodies from that?

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It would cost alot less to buy pre-made tubing I suppose, but maybe Jetbeam wants their lights manufactured to their standards with as few arbitrary discrepancies as possible? Maybe the leftover aluminum shavings get melted and extruded then sold to the cheaper "HWA-WYS" manufacturers (a.k.a. the ******fires)? I have no idea how metallurgy works but a solid aluminum bar generally isn't as susceptible to defects as extruded aluminum. Many drop tests also seem to indicate that flashlights machined from solid bars are more robust than extruded aluminum.

davecroft said:

I never understood that. Seems like a lot of waste and work to build a flashlight from a solid bar of aluminium. Why don't Jetbeam etc just buy in aluminium tubing and machine the bodies from that?

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Okay, so I got a response back from Jetbeam, and the people over there are MOST friendly . So anyways, the conclusion is that the RRT's, Military Series, and Outdoors series are indeed milled from solid aluminum bar stock. The newer "performance" B and P series are indeed as davecroft suggested, constructed out of aluminum pipe stock (pretty much saves them the hollowing out step). I'll figure that many of the distributors will respond with the like, and common sense (davecroft ) seems to match up.

*P.S* The opening response from the email from Jetbeam's service center went like this:
"Before answering your question, may I ask why you want to know this? My boss would be possibly mad on me if you turn out to be a competitor of us later with flashlights made from solid aluminum bar. ( just joking)". Like I mentioned earlier, friendly people over there

Have you seen this video of them making an RRT-3?

http://youtu.be/MkqVXYa1d6g

BarryH said:

Have you seen this video of them making an RRT-3?

http://youtu.be/MkqVXYa1d6g

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Actually, yes! I still find it amazing how the milling process takes place...I assumed that their larger lights were milled from solid aluminum bar, but wasn't sure about their smaller offerings. And now we know!

Thanks for that - it makes sense, using pipe stock for lower end lights to keep costs down. Although my BA10 feels pretty solid!

A easy way to see, see if the inner tubing has threads or not
Machined and hollowed out light usually has rings inside body, came from drilling and machining
If it is smooth then probably it was pre-milled