A damaged Maglite 5D: Is it a lost cause?

Hello everybody, this is my first official post here on CPF, but I've been lurking here for some time now. Anyway, onto my dilemma.

Long story short, the head of my 5D Maglite has a nasty dent at its base. It happened when it was knocked off of the kitchen countertop while I was trying to fix a problem with the bulb socket. (Before you ask, let's just say my brother wasn't paying attention when he pulled out the toaster oven...)

The Maglites may be sturdy, but I've seem to have discovered their Achilles' heel. I tried to smooth out the dent, but now the threads are binding to the point where they're shaving aluminum away.

So, is it a lost cause, or is there still hope?

fivemega said:

If you really want to restore it, you can find used M*g "D" head here in B/S/T

Many people bought 3" custom FM3 or larger and don't need their standard 2" head.

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Thanks, I'll look into that. It truly comes down to price, though.

This particular 5D is heavily worn, as well as having the cam screw head snapped clean off of the bulb socket base, so it might be more viable to upgrade to something new if I have to outright replace the head.

Has anyone attempted rethreading these heads before?

Have you considered purchasing a new, l.e.d. maglight or are you holding onto this one for personal reasons? If you truly want to keep this particular light send me a PM.

averagejoe81 said:

Have you considered purchasing a new, l.e.d. maglight or are you holding onto this one for personal reasons? If you truly want to keep this particular light send me a PM.

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Thanks for the offer, but it looks like the situation worked itself out.

By a stroke of luck, a friend of mine decided to give me a "Patent Pending" 5D they found yesterday. The anodized finish is heavily worn, and had a bad O ring seal at the base, but was in decent shape otherwise. Using my mag for parts, I was able to refurbish it and build a decent working flashlight.

I might consider getting a modern LED flashlight soon, but for now, I have a working MagLite again.