Sold/Expired Need Someone to Bore my L5 Body for 18650 Cell Please.

I have a L5 comming that I want to get bored out so it can fit an 18650 cell.

I have a mini lathe, but its been acting up lately. (it shakes alot, and seems generally un-accurate)

Plus I get alot of torque when using longer boring bars.

So, just to be safe, I want to have one of the more experienced lathers to do this.

So, anyone up for it?
I can send along an 18650 cell with it if need be.

Thanks
~John

anyone,,, anyone?

You might have some better luck posting this in "Materials/Mechanical/Machining"

John,

I did mine by hand not long a go. Here are some details:
link ...

If not by hand, folks like Chop can do it once he gets up and running again.

Will

Will,

Nice work !
Man, 3 to 4 hours of sanding hehe, and I thought I was slow on the lathe

I would do it on my lathe, but when I use a long boring bar, it tends to torguw it,
and I will not bore out the same amount at both ends.

And I dont think there is much room for error,
I would hate to make a part of the body tooo thin.

Do Pila Ss rattle too much in yours now? or are they still ok?
Seems only alittle needs bored out for the 18650 to fit,
so they shouldnt rattle toooo bad.
I have Pila, and AW cells that I will use alot in it also,
but I know I will want to use the 18650s also, for the longer runtimes.

~John

jtice said:

And I dont think there is much room for error,
I would hate to make a part of the body tooo thin.
~John

Click to expand...

Yes, that is part of the reason mine took so many hours - I took my time so that I would not ruin the L5's body. Plus doing it by hand is safer anyway since you are really taking very little metal at a time

jtice said:

Do Pila Ss rattle too much in yours now? or are they still ok?
Seems only alittle needs bored out for the 18650 to fit,
so they shouldnt rattle toooo bad.
I have Pila, and AW cells that I will use alot in it also,
but I know I will want to use the 18650s also, for the longer runtimes.
~John

Click to expand...

I hear you on the longer runtimes

I have not tried running my PILA168S since I did the job. I have run exclusively with the 18650 cell except for the very short time I was trying two MP700 rechargable CR123 cells to test the direct drive mode on the 5W BOG converter. Yes, there was a lot of space when using the CD123 cells, but due to the spring I did not notice any rattling during the very brief usage time.

My 18650 cells are from an used/dead Dell laptop battery pack so I am running lummen free and did not even had to pay for the actual cells

18650 cells ROCK !!!

Will

John, you could consider buying a reamer and use your lathe to keep it straight. You would probably turn the chuck by hand.

Larry

hm, what type of reamer?

I know they make types of reamers for brakes or somthing,
but last I heard someone try to open up a mag body with that it took all day,
and would barely take off more than the coating, before dualing the stones.

Unless you are talking about something different.

I am just worried about keeping it all straight, etc.
Not alot of wall thickness to play with there.

~John

John, go to http://www.travers.com and search cat# 04-005-185 (18.5mm chucking reamer) Somewhere along the way, clk cat page 83 you'll see a picture. You would use a straight flute, Right hand. Chucking reamers are used to produce precise sized holes. The same cat page has 'em in inch sizes too. Unfortunately, it'll cost you ~$24.

Edit: These guys have a good size selection. I've never dealt with them.

Larry

Thanks Larry,

Hm, seems like that would work,
at least it would center itself and not torque over one way or another.

I just took some measurements, and that seems to be a perfect size also.

I hate to pay $24 (BEFORE shipping) for it.
But I guess I could end up paying someone just about as much including shipping to bore it for me. :shrug:

~John

18650 cells ROCK !!!

Will

Click to expand...

...and not just by lasting longer: They keep the beam brighter longer, and their voltage sags less under heavy loads. A P91 powered by two 18650 or Pila 168A cells should be brighter than if powered by thinner or shorter cells.

tvodrd said:

John, go to http://www.travers.com and search cat# 04-005-185 (18.5mm chucking reamer)

Click to expand...

Ouch - 18.5mm is surely getting metal pretty thin. You only need about 18.25 to 18.30 to get the unprotected cell to slide in (that is what it took on my L5 body). I would not want to cut much more than this.

I am no expert and certainly not a machinist - just my two cents worth.

Will

yea, the 18.8 is alittle more than needed.
and I am afraid of getting the wall too thin.

I am thinking of attempting a regular boring job.
Getting it perfectly centered, and the bore being even at both ends.
Maybe I can bore it half way, from each end.

Thanks for the help guys.
~John

John, I bored out a BE2 today without any problem. :sweat: but that's not an L5 of course. :sweat: :sweat: :sweat:

Iracus, yes, but I have seen your work... :bow:

The top inch or so of the L5 doesnt need bored, since its already opened up by design.
So its not a terribly long bore. Shouldnt be real bad.
Ill have to turn up my lathe first, its been off lately.
And I am getting an odd vibration

~John

Well, I attempted to bore the L5 out myself.....

and it was a SUCCESS !!!!!! :sweat:
The L5 centered up real well on the lathe, unlike some other lights. (M@GS)
So it went pretty smooth. I had to bore it from both ends so the boring bar would reach.

Thanks for the input/help/advice/incouragement guys ! :grouphug:

I cant wait till Wensday when I will have a KL5 to try it out!

~John

Good to hear it was a success John. :thumbsup:

Awesome !!! :rock: :buddies:

Will