Maglite tail swich build.

Hi flashlight enthusiasts,

I just finished up my latest creation. I have been wanting to get this going for a while I just hadn't made the time to do it until now.

The first thing I did was to select a switch capable of doing the job. There are a lot of push button switches out there but not with a high enough load capacity that will fit in the tail of a D Maglite.

A McClickie would have been the easiest choice, but these switches are really not built to do what I need them to do. Dont get me wrong, for small lights they are very robust, but the resistance in them is fairly high and I dont like the size of the spring VS a 26650 or D cell.

I ordered a whole spread of the Judco switches and tried a few of them out including the forward click one. Sadly the only way to get a good feel out of that one would be with a raised switch boot ( Yes Techjunkie, I know you told me so), there is just too much travel on that switch. It was like trying to stick your thumb down far enough to touch your wrist or something, just not a good feeling:shakehead.

After a quick look at the others the field narrowed rapidly to the stumpy 10A reverse click. Its small, heavy duty and has a very short travel.


The next step was to bore out the tail cap to fit the mag switch boot.



I used the factory boot so the light will still be able to tail stand when it is done.

Next I needed to make a housing to support the boot and hold the new switch. Delrin is the preferred material. Ahh if only everything machined like this stuff.



Here's what she looks like all nestled into place.




That little part looks fairly simple but man is there a lot of steps and changeovers to get all the little angles and cuts made in that thing.:toilet:


Now we need a second piece to hold the spring. All we have to do for this is pop the lid off a film canister.



LOL.... A film canister.. YEAH RIGHT! Seriously though more cutting, change overs and steps. Fortunately I have my QCTP to ease the pain .


Here is the final product.





Now it's time to make a host.

Oddly enough the place to start here is with the knurl pattern. I thought about it and didn't see any way to get what I wanted from a 2D so I jumped to a 3D.

Doing the tail switch mod means having to cut and re-thread the light from both ends anyway so I figured I might as well get the look I want too.



A plug is needed at the other end where the old switch was, so acetyl and copper it is.



A groove is then cut for a snap ring to sit above to hold it in place.



Here is the little guy all finished up.



VS a 2D Mag.






EDIT: After posting this I have heard numerous comments about wanting a C size so I decided to go ahead and detail a few other options.

Here is what the C will look like.







I'll offer thees for sale here



Let's hear your thoughts on this guys..!

Nice work! Do you have a link to that switch?

Here is the link scaru.
http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/40-4520-00/550PB-ND/1277810

Welcome to CPF!


Thanks for sharing FM. Thats pretty cool getting it into a C mag like that. It was hard enough getting it in a D.

The only way I know of to get a clickie that small that will carry a load that heavy is to take apart one of the radio shack ones. My local one sells a clickie that is rated for 3A @ 125V. The button on the one I got was square, but when I took off the outer shell it was a round clickie. Even thought the switch is only "rated" at 3A when you take it apart and see the contacts in there the thick chunks of copper inside will lead you to believe differently. Even the judcos dont compare.

When I get my act together (more important projects to do myself) I'm going to see if you're interested in making me a 1D sized mag with tail switch....or whatever size a tail switch mag could go down to. Probably a little while off but it'll happen - your work is too good not to!

Thats very nice of you to say Mattaus. In the meantime while your saving up remember eye candy is free!



After hearing several mentions of a C version I went ahead and made one up, I hadn't initially planned to do a C but it seems that a lot of people have interest. Pictures have been added to the OP.

Awesome thread VoB. Thanks for sharing your custom creations with all of us!

I'm glad you're doing these, it's been a very long time since Mac stopped making his without any options in between.
I have an existing cut down and re-anodised host that I'd like to convert to a tailswitch type, if I sent it to you could you mod it?
I'll send you a pm with my email because I don't check into the CPF all that often any more due to time but the habit still has a feint pulse.

Glad to see you still have the pulse, hopefully we can get your heart pounding again. Email sent.

These are awesome! New here and stumbled onto this thread. I love Maglites and I have never seen or even thought this type of a mod existed. So cool.

Welcome to CPF Maglight240!

Mag mods have a huge following here. If you look in the Homemade and modified section of the forum you can find many lights that will blow your mind. Some of the old school mods can be found by googling Mag623. Here is a list with some of the other older type incandescent mods that still top the charts for output.
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...1-LuxLuthor-s-Most-Powerful-Maglite-Mods-List

Here is one with some of the LED stuff listed.
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...lite-LED-and-incan-mods-and-drop-ins-Overview

Thanks for share, this is a very nice mod... Congrats


Sent from my phone with camera with flash and internet on it...

Would it make any difference if this was on a 6D light?

Hi Sleepy,

This should work fine for a 6D. The spring is a little shorter than a stock mag but I could make height adjustments as needed.

I may be shooting you a pm in the future about handling some 6D mods.

Is the mag c stock length or cut down to?

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

Hi Wolfen,

The tail switch for the mag C will work for one of my shorty mags, or if you wanted one that will work with a standard length mag I can do that as well.