$43 Helios Clone Photo

[DNAXdiver]

see it does exist

took a couple evenings to make only power tool was my little belt sander and a buddys drill press havent shrink wrapped the cells yet want to test the pak a little longer

total cost actually less than $43 because i had some scrap to make the ends and got a deal on the latches but $43 is what i figure anyone could make it for

ok the gland is brass not ss and i used a diverite combo switch boot and gurard instead of making a guard works fine

tube is gray pvc conduit pretty much the same as water pipe but the gray looks much nicer

you could simplify it even more buy using a pipe cap on the bottom but that looks kutzey and the bottom isnt hard to make

 

[kmorley]

Nice canister! I did a major double take when I opened the picture. Your canister looks so much like the one I'm building that my first impulse was to run out to my shop and make sure you hadn't swiped it! Same switch guard, gray conduit tube and the bottom of mine is even made from darker plastic just like yours.

Looking closer I did see some differences. I used the Anderson connectors like Halcyon uses, and three wires so I could put a thermistor inside the pack just in case I ever get around to building a charger for it or want to be able to use a Halcyon charger.

Have you had yours in the water yet?

DNAXdiver once bubbled...
see it does exist

 

[canuckdiver]

excellent!

Yet more proof that home-built stuff can look just as good as the commercial product. Sometimes you may not save any money, but you get the fun of actually doing the hands-on of building it!

well done DNAX.

what kind of light head are you using on that?

 

[King Kong Matt]

Way to go...looks great!

Where did you get the plans to do this? Those of us who have spent thei money on either dive gear and are tapped at the moment are VERY interested to know.

KKM

 

[ericfine50]

very nice canister. Did you make the lid yourself or have someone else cut it to spec?

Thanks
Eric

PS - Matt - AirSpeed Press has the "Dive Light Companion"
www.airspeedpress.com

 

[DNAXdiver]

i made the ends it is not hard at all

on my old sla cannister i did the ends on a lathe but i was in a hurry this time and couldnt get use of a lathe so i cut them out by hand with a coping saw a little oversize and used my beltsander to fine trim the fit not as hard as it sounds

the ends are laminated made in two layers one to fit in the cannister tube and the other to fit over and glued together that way you can cut the reccess fro the switch by hand and dont need to mill or rout its not as pretty as one piece but works fine

actaully if you polish the edges with fine sandpaper then a buffing wheel and compound they come out looking great

ericfine50 once bubbled...
very nice canister. Did you make the lid yourself or have someone else cut it to spec?

Thanks
Eric

PS - Matt - AirSpeed Press has the "Dive Light Companion"
www.airspeedpress.com

 

[ericfine50]

Thanks for the tips

Eric

 

[kmorley]

I have a neighbor with a South Bend and not enough to do with it, which is really convenient (he's all hot do a lighthead next), so we did the ends on it. We cut rounds first using a hole saw in his drill press which makes it a lot quicker.
We've been experimenting with using a router mounted on the lathe and it does a much nicer job than the lathe alone but is probably overkill.
Building a canister turned out to be one of those jobs you think and think about then when you actually do it is much easier than you ever could have thought.

- Kyle

DNAXdiver once bubbled...
i made the ends it is not hard at all

on my old sla cannister i did the ends on a lathe but i was in a hurry this time and couldnt get use of a lathe so i cut them out by hand with a coping saw a little oversize and used my beltsander to fine trim the fit not as hard as it sounds