The Wycan sucked! How about a 2can Sam?

All this talk of the Lux3 123 gig has me going on something I am calling the Wycan. I haven't got the Habor Freight flashlights in the mail yet but I thought I would try and get a head start on fitting a TVOK/MMWO sandwich in one. The over all outside diameter of the compression nut is .705" and the height is about .463" from the positive contact to the top of the compression union nut. Do you think she's going to fit?
Okay here's the skinny, the aluminum ring is from an Oracle PR base that I cut a thin slice from and sanded very flat with a diamond type knife sharpening stone. The reason it has been Artic Aluminaed in place is the brass didn't have a flat enough surface for me and I want make sure as much contact as possible is made with the sandwiches sink. I did use some foam up against the aluminum as to not mar the surface I prepared when I epoxied the parts together. The threads have been ground out of the compression nut and the .592 o.d. .014 wall thickness brass tubing slides in nice and tight but will release easily. The sandwiches potting has been adapted to fit into the brass tubing real tightly with the use of epoxy putty and this also helps to center the sandwich when used in an AA flashlight. The sandwich can still be used in other flashlights just slip the collar off and it;s like nothing ever happened. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
The Frean optics fit into the hole at the top of the compression nut with enough spare space to allow for twist on/off operation. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif
What I plan on doing with the Harbor Freight flashlight is to move the brass lamp holder all the way to the front of the battery cylinder and cut the raised area away. After cutting the raised area away I am going to grind a larger hole in the now ex-lamp base that will be slightly larger then the optics athough following the contour of the optics again to allow for twist on/off operation as well as the clicky on the rear of the flashlight.
I imagine I will have to grind some of the edges from the compression nut but it is very close to the right size so this shouldn't be too bad. I don't consider the connection of the points on the compression nut all that important as the heat sinking will go through the aluminum ring to the brass compression nut and onto the ex-lamp holder as I will press these two together very tightly.
EDIT: So do you think she is going to fit or is it really that bad? Please give me some feed back I'd like to know what you think good or bad.

Re: The Wycan! Will she fit?

Uhh... brass isn't very good at thermal conducitivity. If you could fine copper, that would be much better.

The top metals are like so: Diamond >> Silver > Copper > Aluminum.

Re: The Wycan! Will she fit?

Thanks for the reply Mark,
I kind of figured this would come up. I was looking for the larger coax fittings to make the can from and may have to find one yet. I've run a wire from the - end of the battery to the can for a few seconds and have felt no heat at all. Is this what you mean by the brass being a poor thermal conductor? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ohgeez.gif Back to the drawing board and Home Depot again.

Re: The Wycan! Will she fit?

since when is diamond a metal? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

very creative wylie! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

wylie, you might try looking into copper endcaps for plumbing. you could either mount a led on top, and drill holes through and pot the converter inside, or it may be possible to drill a big hole in the middle to allow the led and leads to poke through while housing a sandwhich inside.

Re: The Wycan! Will she fit?

Roth,
That was kinda like ESP as I had the same thought. Off to HomeDepot with me.
I'll let you guys know what I come up with.

Re: The Wycan! Will she fit?

I don't have a digital micrometer here at home, as close as I can measure the id of the HF is 42/64 or 43/64, which is .656 - .672

John

Re: The Wycan! Will she fit?

Thanks John,
Uh, if it is .656 I'm looking at some pretty interesting machining. I do all of this stuff with the wrong tools, a Dremel a cordless drill and a lot of ingenuity is about all I got, but it works. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif I guess I will have to call this effort the Wy2kcan and the new one the cu2can or maybe just the 2can, sam. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
I hit the Depot last night and got started on a new can again but I have botched it pretty bad. The sleeve is all set for the sandwich and is a real nice fit, fiberglass it may just keep a little heat away from the circuitry. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif I scuffed up the contact surface to the sandwich in the last 1/2" cap but that's alright at $0.32 after tax I can wreck these things all day long.
I know there have been some cu flashlights built but why did this stop? I just went through the Machinery's Handbook and cu is almost twice what al is in the way of heat transmission. I can't find much on radiation of heat though this would really be the factor here I am most interested in at this point. It seems like cu holds the heat more then al but I can't find any information on this personally.
Well it's back to the Depot with me in search of 3/4" cu washers and a new 1/2" cu cap. Forget that stupid brass lamp holder if I can rig something else you know. It's a thumbscrew and nothing but a thumbscrew as far as I am concerned at this point.
Anybody have anything on galvanic response between cu and al? I don't think these two mix very well at all if I remember correctly. A little electrolyte may be in order here as well.
I sure set myself up for some schooling here didn't I! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif
Thanks guys /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

Re: The Wycan! Will she fit?

weight /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Re: The Wycan! Will she fit?

Okay,
I'll have to go for a little heavier flashlight before I burn up too many LEDs myself. Expense may be a factor as well but should be justified with the lose of a few 5 watts I'm sure.

Re: The Wycan! Will she fit?

more expensive too /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif but probably worth it

Okay the Wycan sucked! How about a 2can Sam?

Hey Roth the cap was close but the 1/2" plugs are golden. You direct drive guys need to check into the copper 1/2" plugs as these things will set you guys up well with a coulpling for your A sized flashlights.
So here it is the 2can.

I have worked a hole in the 1/2" cu plug, cut it down to size and put a mirror finish on the contact point for the sandwiches heat sink. I installed a little heat buffer(I hope) for the circuit board by installing a fiberglass insert into the 1/2" coupling that has also been cut down to size. That also works as a stop point for the reworked plug. Notice the ring around the coupling, I did that with a dull tubing cutter to make the fit to the plug tighter and it worked nicely. You guys with all the tools will find this one real easy. You guys with the Dremels and ambition like I have I feel for your finger tips. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif
I also picked up a 1/2" to 3/4" adaptor that will most likelt find its way into the head of the Harbor Freight flashlight. Notice that little extra sticking out of what was the coupling, yep slides right into the 1/2" end of the adaptor and optics set right on top of the that. I just need the flashlight a little work to the couple to mill it to the right size and I should be able to put all this together. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/buttrock.gif I think the 1/2" to 3/4" adaptor may be a little bit of work but should bring some heat away from the batteries and other vitals.
Have fun guys,
Wylie
P.S. That Wycan was just a fodder mix but good practice none the less. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Re: Okay the Wycan sucked! How about a 2can Sam?

looks good wylie! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

Re: Okay the Wycan sucked! How about a 2can Sam?

Thanks Roth,
It turns out I may have a flashlight built before the flashlight ever gets here. I though I should clear up the misinformation I spuded earlier. The optics fit inside the 1/2" to 3/4" adaptor like a glove. Check it out, the 2can is on the bottom and that is a very nice fit as well.

No mail on Sundays! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

Re: Okay the Wycan sucked! How about a 2can Sam?

Very interesting. Now we talkin'...

Re: Okay the Wycan sucked! How about a 2can Sam?

Thanks Charlie,
I'm just waiting on the victim now. The mail man is starting to look a little freaked but I guess it's better then a dog humping his leg right. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif I have to ask just what body is that Baby Pin made from? I don't know that flashlight.

Re: Okay the Wycan sucked! How about a 2can Sam?

The mail hasn't come yet and this thing is still progressing. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/yellowlaugh.gif

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif I left the MM hanging out a little to show the epoxy putty. A little Artic Alumina and some glow powder and there you glow. These Frean optics are reall hard to get straight by the way.

The 2can can!

Although there hasn't been a lot of interest in this I am going to go ahead with the finished mod here.
With the right tools this mod should only take an hour or two max barring drying time for the Artic Alumina. If you don't have the right tools just have a lot of patience. I bet there are some of you that thought I would never pull this off, I guess you just don't know me that well. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif I have run the stock flashlight and the modded flashlight and the stock model heats much faster then the mod. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif The one big hitch I found was the stupid lens didn't have an easy way out but an old minimag body and a hammer convinced it that it was time for a change. The big bummer was the Sapphire lens I broke trying to press it in with an oring to hold it in place. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon3.gif That's life! An old mag lens has worked fine though and I will make the change to a better lens later. The throw from the stock model is just a little better then the mod and I think these aren't bad little flashlights in the first place myself but I was on a mission. I totally surprised myself with how well I centered the Frean Low Profile optics over the TVOK/WO sandwich. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/buttrock.gif I was beginning to think that there was something with the L/Ss themselves but it is just the fit of the optics over the L/S that makes all the difference. I had to cut a new retaining groove for the lens and oring which was a real trick and grinding out the head for the copper adaptor got hot enough the rubber started to melt. Oops I guess I would have been better off removing them first but okay I'm right I'm not perfect and I can find something that will replace them anyway. The brushed aluminum look is because of a slip I made with the Dremel, yep far from perfect. Considering all I think this is one of my finest modification to date and was my first 123 powered flashlight. So here she is guys.

This one powerful little flashlight! The beam shot were taken from the same distance with the same battery and the stock flashlight was focused to the tightest beam possible.

Re: The 2can can!

Very Nice!!

Thanks for all of the detail on this mod. I will have to go to Home Depot and look for those copper tubing connectors, I really like the way that this looks!

Re: The 2can can!

Hey Guys,
I just learned something! My flashlight here I have modified is not as well set with the optics as I had thought. I just learned an minicus magnifier close to the same size as your optics will work to find the best position for your Frean Low Profile optics. Another thing I have founds that will help as well is the plastic end cap from a 12.5 mm 80 milliamp laser module I got from Deharporrt Trade Company years back. The center is a little small for the dome but if you get it right the outter ridge aligns the optics perfectly.

Re: The 2can can!

Hmm, how about this, and a complete light made out of matching copper? Sure, it'd go dull after a while, but would certainly get an award for indoviduality!