Introducing Mockbug: The story of my first flashlight build.

AER-Lights

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Feb 23, 2019
Messages
91
Hi folks.

I have been lurking for quite a while but i figure it's time to chime in.
Being a soft flashaholic (I know some of you guys are pretty hardcore) but you know…
Starting out as a five year old kid screaming his heart out because he wasn't allowed every flashlight he laid his eyes on and the fact that the feeling hasn't quite gone away the better part of forty years later :)

My current collection isn't impressive but it does hold of a couple of SF Cs and Es etc. But… being a home machinist i guess it was inevitable.
Spending part of my vacation i finally got around to building my own flashlight from scratch and here's my story and I'll try to keep it short so you won't get pictures and explanations of every step.

Design :
Design is tricky by nature. I mean it's got to look right, be functional , and leave enough options to be interesting. The majority happened over time in my head and i initially figured I'd do a take on a P60 type host as it would leave me a lot of open options and i could just buy a proper drop drop-in but as with so many things in live the plans changed as the design progressed.
I ended up with an in-line, clean, single RC123, mule with the major difference being that it's built in steel.
So… Short and Fat :)

The material choice was tricky but i ended up deciding on steel as it will provide ample surface treatment options and will provide a hard substrate for whatever treatment i end up deciding on. That and the fact that I like steel. Having said that it would have made my life considerably easier if I had chosen aluminium or brass.
I had also planned to use a mcclicky switch but as i live in Europe and i forgot about the switch in the planning phase it's currently built using a chinesium switch. (It takes forever to get stuff from the states and it will cost and arm and a leg in shipping and import fees)
And i can always change it later once they arrive.

Here's the result.
Mockbug-1.jpg


Once you start breaking it down quite a few components go into one of these things.
Mockbug-2.jpg


Build:
As with all machining jobs all start out with raw stock.
Here's my "shipment". (They missed a couple of things but there's enough here to get started.)
Mockbug-3.jpg


Cut to length and faced.
Mockbug-4.jpg


I started out with the body:
First problem to overcome is boring a 17mm hole through a piece of steel on a hobby grade lathe.
It did take a bit of fiddling with feeds and speeds but eventually I got it.
Mockbug-5.jpg


Next up was turning the outside and the threading.
Keeping true to most P60 style hosts as well as Dons Mcclicky i decided to go with 20TPI but in metric sizes. I know… but i am European J
so… M20-1.25 it was. No this is not a standard thread but that's what i needed.
Mockbug-6.jpg


Next up was the head:
The head turned out to be easier that i expected and pretty much just happened.
Mockbug-7.jpg


My biggest concern was if the threads would match up so a test was needed immediately.
fortunately they fit exactly the way i intended. It's not the tightest thread in the world but it matches up with what you'd find on an SF, Solarforce, Ultrafire so well within expectations.
Mockbug-8.jpg


As my dog ate the pictures of cutting the flats on the head :) you'll have to do without them but that was done on a mill using a dividing head.
Next up was the tailcap. The initial design in cad was made on the assumption that I'd have the mcclicky switch available which i didn't so it was time for a new iteration using the chinesium switch.
this in turn meant that I had to do the switch holder (a piece of brass that screws into the tailcap and holds the rubber boot in place as well as providing a proper seal between the boot and the bottom end of the tailcap)
Mockbug-9.jpg


In the end it took a couple of tries to get the "headspace" right. Eg. the switch holder and the bottom end of the tailcap in order to get a proper seal on the boot.
Mockbug-10.jpg


Almost there :)
All that needs to be done now is the Crystal and the pill/"reflector". This being a mule it doesn't really have a reflector but more of a cover to make it look a bit better than just the bare PCB.
Yet again I had to go through a couple of iterations to get the spacing right but as with so many things it can be fixed by putting in the work.
Mockbug-11.jpg


The Crystal/glass is basically a piece of 2mm polycarbonate cut and sanded to size so not much to it.
At this point the pill is built from a old CREE XR-E and the wrong driver as I'm yet again waiting for parts.

All of the above brings us to the result.
One fully functional short and heavy steel flashlight as designed.
Mockbug-12.jpg

Mockbug-13.jpg


A size comparison for good measure. (note that the picture skews the actual size. The E2E has a body diameter of 21mm whereas the short and heavy is 22mm)
Mockbug-15.jpg


Considerations:
1. This being steel "in the white" it will rust over time so I'm planning on Nickel electroplating it. This also ties back to the loose fit on the threads. There needs to be enough slop to allow for the plating.
2. I'll update the pill with a latest generation LED and driver when they show up.
3. I'll need to update the tailcap with a mcclicky.

Reading through this post it might seem that this was a walk in the park. Well it wasn't J
I added an additional picture of bits and pieces that didn't work, was out of specification or otherwise rejected. And these are just the parts that didn't get cut down on the lathe immediately.
Mockbug-14.jpg


Well… If you've made it this far i respectfully thank you for your time.

BTW. I would welcome any comments, questions and or inspirational ideas.

May you live long and prosper V.

Stig.
 

badtziscool

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Oct 13, 2006
Messages
1,722
Interesting design. I like the brass facing you made to "pretty up" the mule head rather than the bare led board. Also the dimensions of the light look like it would be very comfortable in the hand. Might be a little slick if it gets wet or greasy. Any plans on adding some knurling or ridges?
 

forstersun

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Oct 9, 2013
Messages
73
Location
Guangzhou, China
Nice!! It's handy and, how to say, tasteful, I think.

I guess it was pretty hard to machine steel on this "hobby grade lathe"...

Considering the thickness and material, it should not be very light? Do you plan to design and machine some anti-skid knurls or stripes?
 

AER-Lights

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Feb 23, 2019
Messages
91
Hi Guys
Wow! The replies are quite overwhelming. Especially considering the crowd.
Thank you !

@ Archimedes: I'm happy to share. If I'm lucky someone might get inspired.

@ Badtizcool: I thought it looked a bit nicer "prettying up" the front but i appreciate that you recognized it.
I also recognize your input on it most likely being slippery in wet or greasy situations.
I did consider adding Knurling, groves or dimples but being a Northern European i tend to like smooth and simple.
That on the other hand does not mean that it's not worth looking into.

@ Forstersun: Thank you! And Yes You're right.
Although it can be frustrating from time to time it's also what makes things interesting.
Doing this on a Mazak or Okuma would have been light work.

The Mockbug is heavy for it's size but it's not massive.
Heres a comparison. (All measurements are including batteries.)
SF C2 145/grams 5.11/oz
SF E2E 90/grams 3.17/oz
Mockbug 105/grams 3.7/oz

Regarding anti-skid… Badtizcool already touched on this and as you can see below "we" can look into that.
Enter the wonders of digital design.
let's have a look shall we :)

Mockbug-16.jpg


Mockbug-17.jpg


Personally i think I'm leaning towards the dimpled version…
And it should do the trick.
 

forstersun

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Oct 9, 2013
Messages
73
Location
Guangzhou, China
I agree with you, making a flashlight is not the whole purpose. Sometimes the process is more fun. When we see the flashlight in the future, the process is what we think of.

The dimpled version looks better, but if there are some matching on the tailcap would be great. You need to consider the align problem if the knurling or ridges on the tailcap is not circumferential.
 

easilyled

Flashaholic
Joined
Jun 25, 2004
Messages
7,252
Location
Middlesex, UK
I love the clean design, tough stocky look. I'd love it even more if the tailcap boot was recessed so that tailstanding is possible.
 

AER-Lights

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Feb 23, 2019
Messages
91
Again… Thanks guys.
Pondering the same design over and over again causes blindness which is why i asked for and highly appreciate your input.

Tail standing shouldn't pose much of a problem i might look into that.
My thought up flat steel cap instead of a rubber boot would though :)

Dimples however is a different matter.
Getting a proper pattern doesn't leave much wiggle room or error if you will on the depth of the dimples.

I'll have to do probing on the surface prior to cutting them. But that's just another challenge to overcome.
Back to the shed!! :) might be a while till i'm back though.
 

AER-Lights

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Feb 23, 2019
Messages
91
One tailcap boot recessed for tailstanding capability as "requested" :)

Mockbug-18.jpg


As i mentioned. The dimples will take a while longer.

Happy hunting.
 

DrafterDan

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jul 28, 2013
Messages
1,317
Location
Phoenix, AZ
I like the design AER-L, good work there! I prefer torches that can be easily identified by feel which end is up, you've solved that with the faceted head. My only joke is that you have a funny idea of a hobby lathe. That's a CNC, correct?

_D
 

wosser

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Joined
Jan 19, 2019
Messages
156
Location
England, UK
That is a beast of "hobby" lathe. Looks like a 4 way turret head, that machine is no joke. Can't quite put my finger on it though... Haas? Tormach?
I'm guessing it's a 4 axis if you're considering dimples instead of knurling. Anyway, a nice machine for sure. I'm jealous. :)

That is a real gem of a light you've created, I know how much work it takes to get from a CAD model to a final finished piece, this is really very impressive.
The recessed tail switch looks totally badass.

Is that Fusion 360 you're using? Nickel plating would look good but how about copper plating? After a while it would look incredible with some unique patina. Gotta be worth a re-render in copper?

Awesome work.
 
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