Maglite Mod Thread

[350xfire]

Guys:
A while back I was asked if I could make a video or something similar to aid in modifying maglites. I am working on two Mag/OMS based canister lights and decided to take some pics and post the progress.

So the first thing to do is to dissassemble the light. Now, I won't go into details on that but I will tell you that for the new generation mags you will need a T7 wrench to remove the switch. Pry off the rubber cover from the switch and stick the T7 in the small hole that goes through the switch. The loosen while tugging back and forth on the wrench. Once you feel the switch move, push it down and out of the tail of the light. That should be the only thing many people will question about dissassembly. You will not need the switch/bulb, reflector, orings, lens... Save those in your garage for 10 years and then throw them away when you realize you'll never use them. I have a bunch laying around for that "one project" that I KNOW will come some day when I'll NEED them... haha!

To protect the barrel, keep the old packaging material and tape it around it. Or you could make a Delrin bushing to slide it through to hold it on the lathe... Yes, I use a lathe for my mods. With a lot of patience you may be able to do this with Dremel... I don't have the patience though!!! lol

So, first thing to modify- the head... Mount the head on a piece of scrap threaded barrel or use the light's barrel to holt it on the lathe. Protect it as noted above. For this modification we will use the Cree LED modue from DX. This will also apply to the P7 module, although the Cree needs a bit more metal removed to fit. The multi-LED modeules from DX are slightly bigger around towards the bottom and may need additional material removed from the head and the module so not as easy!!! Head modifications are 2- (1) remove about 1.7 mm from the top threads of the head to allow for the new 5mm lens to fit in there with only a minor gap. This is not an abosulute must-do but will make the final head look better... 1.7 mm will still leave a small gap on the bezel and head to ensure the oring is crushed properly. (2) Widen the ID of the head to about 1.95" to allow the LED module to fit in there. You will need to deepen (about 0.45") the wider ID to allow the module to sit in there all the way down. You can also remove some material from the top of the reflector but I don't recomment this as you may knock off some of the reflective coating. Be careful with the reflector!!! Very fragile... Will cover reflector protection in later post.

Install bigger orings on head and bezel... The bezel does not get modified at all!

Thigs to watch out for:
1. Do not increase the ID of the head too much or you will get into the threads causing them to come off and ruin the head... I speak from personal experience!!!
2. I have listed approximate readings as I normally custom fit eveything together so I don't worry abour exact measurements and such. One of these days I'll standardize everything... SOON!!
3. What the heck is a T7 wrench?... Well it's a Torx wrench. It's like a star.. Machinist use these to remove inserts from tooling. I found that one of the best T7 wrenches are the ones that come with some of my tooling. They are really small and fit in the Mag switch hole.

 

[350xfire]

Tail cap:
Chick the tailcap on the lathe or clamp on a drill press and drill a 9/16" hole. Then tap with M16x1.5 tap. Install bigger oring.
I use Agro glands on all my builds.

 

[350xfire]

Reflector- Like I said, this is the Cree module. Machine the OD to fit in the mag. Now, if you notice the thing closely, there is a bevel, right below the thickest part of the reflector, you will need to either straighten it out or make the maglite's bigger OD deeper to allow the beveled area to sit in there all the way.
The one on the left is the machined one. I did remove the bevel. I don't worry about whether the module goes in too deep into the head because I use a pressed-in heatsink spacer which allows me to adjust height later during assembly.

 

[350xfire]

Lens and orings. I use 5mm boro glass lenses and 48mmx2mm head and bezel orings and 124 tail cap oring.

 

[350xfire]

More to come:
Head
1. Barrel- cut, thread
2. Heatsink spacer
3. Assembly

Canister:
1. Boring of lids
2. Installing gland and switch
3. Dust cap
4. Switch guard

Check out more pics at tlslights.com

Thanks

 

[BB1]

Thanks for sharing info - really appreaciated!

 

[350xfire]

Thanks for sharing info - really appreaciated!

No problem. I need to add more stuff to this been lazy lately...

 

[350xfire]

OK, Here is the barrel. Thing to watch out for is whether the reflector/module is too deep, once you assemble the barrel you may not be able to make the reflector go in deep enugh and you may have to machine it to allow the bezel to fit properly... The last thing you want to do is machine the front of the reflector because the reflective plating is very fragile and will start peeling off. So what do you do:
1. Pre assemble the head of the mag lite
2. Insert the barrel until it makes contact and decide how much of the barel to use. In my case, I re-threaded the barrel 0.5". This is too much and causes the LED to push up on the reflector to where it doesn't seat low enough. I have decided that 0.25 will be good which is what I will trim to. Then I will use clear silicone over the threads and the smooth part of the barrel to seal it all up or I may use good ole' JB Weld.

Pictures:
Barrel Length = 3.5" (Allows for Oxycheq light sock or hard goodman handle to be used.
Threaded section 0.5" too long

BTW, this barrel will be used for an SST-50 system using the new DX smooth reflector and possibly an H6CC driver.

 

[350xfire]

Partially assembled light head. This one was one that was ordered without any internals and has a 3.5" barrel length sticking out.

 

[BB1]

Hi Hector,

Well you've inspired me to have a go at doing my own after watching for so long. Going to try the DX 5x Cree module first.

Any chance of continueing/finishing this - next step is heatsink.

I'll PM you shortly to find out shipping and total costs for a bunch of parts once I find out how much I can get the OMS canister for here.

Do you still use the std maglite end cap for the agro gland or do you replace it with your new delrin one?? I am tempted to make a new thicker stronger aluminum end cap with a nice groove for adding a tail loop to connect a double ender to. I don't suppose you could share the thread details for both internal and external threads on the maglite barrel could you?