Tesla 2six Style Clone, Magnetic Switch mod
Here is information about modding a Tesla 2six clone to use magnets instead of springs. If you have an authentic Tarsius Customs 2six, or a 1:1 clone, this will not work, because the design of the button is different. I also modded a 1:1 clone, but I had to make significant changes to the button housing to get enough throw for it to work. Here's a picture of the 2six I was working with:
Note the two holes in the top cap are close together, and the delrin insulator in the top cap is small. That's the one I modify below. Now, take a look at this 2six clone:
Notice that the delrin insulator in the top cap is wider, and the holes are farther apart. If you have that 2six clone, the instructions below will not work. I'll add another blog posting later to show how I modded this type of clone.
Now, on to the Tesla clone. I started with 17mm X 10mm X 1mm ring magnets. These are some of the most common types available on eBay if you search for "17mm switch magnet". There are also 1.5mm and 2mm thick magnets, but don't use those. The throw on the button is already short, and if you go thicker than 1mm, you won't be able to press the button. Here's a picture of the button assembly:
It consists of 4 parts: 1). The copper pin, 2). the button housing, 3). the button itself, 4). the delrin insulator. There is also a spring in there, but we'll be ignoring that, since we won't need it when we're done. Here are some pictures of the parts. This is the copper pin (note: there's a ring of copper wire installed around the pin. I use this to shim up the pin for shorter batteries. More info is below):
It's shown from the bottom. It's threaded, and screws onto the center post of the button:
A note on the button picture. I've already attached one of the magnets to the button. The button itself is non-magnetic stainless steel, and you will need to hold the magnet in place to allow it to clear the space in the button housing. I've used a dab of gorilla glue to secure my magnet (you can see some extra between the post and the center of the magnet). Also note that the 17mm magnet will overlap the raised region of the center pin, this is OK when the magnet is secured in place. The important part is that the magnet needs to fit into the circular cutout in the housing, which is shown here:
The cutout I'm talking about is the hollowed out part with the two small holes in it. The second magnet fits this hollow pretty well (I don't think you need to secure it in place, it will just work fine if you place it in the hollow). Note that the magnet covers the two small holes, which I believe are the 2six's sole means of venting from the bottom. That's not good, but the venting is plain bad on the 2 six already, and there's no real airflow past those two holes anyway (there's a tiny notch in the button housing where the button fits in, but that's it). On the plus side, pressure in the battery housing will push through the holes against the unsecured magnet, causing it to move toward the button and allowing the gasses to flow past. Here's a picture of the button housing with the second magnet in place:
Make sure that the second magnet is installed to repel the first magnet instead of attracting it, insert the button into the button housing, and screw the copper pin to the button. That should be it! You may need to fiddle with the delrin insulator on the button housing and also how much the button is screwed into the center pin to get good behavior for a specific battery. The amount that the copper pin screws onto the button affects how long the throw is, but also can cause the bottom of the button to extend below the bottom of the button housing. It doesn't have any affect on the height of the copper pin relative to the button housing when the button isn't pressed. This is important because if the copper pin extends past the top of the delrin insulator when the button isn't pressed, the atty may autofire. So, make sure the delrin extends past the copper pin. I've grinded my copper pin down so that it will sit flush with the button housing for longer batteries where the delrin needs to be screwed in all the way, and then I use a small ring of copper wire to shim the copper pin up in the housing for shorter batteries (it's shimmed up in the picture above, which is why the pin is sticking out from the housing). In all, it can take quite a bit of fiddling to get everything to work correctly, unless your atty has an adjustable 510 pin. But, I have managed to get it working well with both a longer MNKE 26650 battery and a shorter MNKE 26650 battery.
In terms of button stiffness, I'm using N35 (cheap, weak) magnets and the stiffness is about the same as the stock spring. It really feels pretty much like having the spring in there, except that the spring compresses down more, while you lose 1mm + 1mm of throw to the two magnets. This does make adjusting everything a little trickier, but is pretty much the same otherwise.
Here is information about modding a Tesla 2six clone to use magnets instead of springs. If you have an authentic Tarsius Customs 2six, or a 1:1 clone, this will not work, because the design of the button is different. I also modded a 1:1 clone, but I had to make significant changes to the button housing to get enough throw for it to work. Here's a picture of the 2six I was working with:
Note the two holes in the top cap are close together, and the delrin insulator in the top cap is small. That's the one I modify below. Now, take a look at this 2six clone:
Notice that the delrin insulator in the top cap is wider, and the holes are farther apart. If you have that 2six clone, the instructions below will not work. I'll add another blog posting later to show how I modded this type of clone.
Now, on to the Tesla clone. I started with 17mm X 10mm X 1mm ring magnets. These are some of the most common types available on eBay if you search for "17mm switch magnet". There are also 1.5mm and 2mm thick magnets, but don't use those. The throw on the button is already short, and if you go thicker than 1mm, you won't be able to press the button. Here's a picture of the button assembly:
It consists of 4 parts: 1). The copper pin, 2). the button housing, 3). the button itself, 4). the delrin insulator. There is also a spring in there, but we'll be ignoring that, since we won't need it when we're done. Here are some pictures of the parts. This is the copper pin (note: there's a ring of copper wire installed around the pin. I use this to shim up the pin for shorter batteries. More info is below):
It's shown from the bottom. It's threaded, and screws onto the center post of the button:
A note on the button picture. I've already attached one of the magnets to the button. The button itself is non-magnetic stainless steel, and you will need to hold the magnet in place to allow it to clear the space in the button housing. I've used a dab of gorilla glue to secure my magnet (you can see some extra between the post and the center of the magnet). Also note that the 17mm magnet will overlap the raised region of the center pin, this is OK when the magnet is secured in place. The important part is that the magnet needs to fit into the circular cutout in the housing, which is shown here:
The cutout I'm talking about is the hollowed out part with the two small holes in it. The second magnet fits this hollow pretty well (I don't think you need to secure it in place, it will just work fine if you place it in the hollow). Note that the magnet covers the two small holes, which I believe are the 2six's sole means of venting from the bottom. That's not good, but the venting is plain bad on the 2 six already, and there's no real airflow past those two holes anyway (there's a tiny notch in the button housing where the button fits in, but that's it). On the plus side, pressure in the battery housing will push through the holes against the unsecured magnet, causing it to move toward the button and allowing the gasses to flow past. Here's a picture of the button housing with the second magnet in place:
Make sure that the second magnet is installed to repel the first magnet instead of attracting it, insert the button into the button housing, and screw the copper pin to the button. That should be it! You may need to fiddle with the delrin insulator on the button housing and also how much the button is screwed into the center pin to get good behavior for a specific battery. The amount that the copper pin screws onto the button affects how long the throw is, but also can cause the bottom of the button to extend below the bottom of the button housing. It doesn't have any affect on the height of the copper pin relative to the button housing when the button isn't pressed. This is important because if the copper pin extends past the top of the delrin insulator when the button isn't pressed, the atty may autofire. So, make sure the delrin extends past the copper pin. I've grinded my copper pin down so that it will sit flush with the button housing for longer batteries where the delrin needs to be screwed in all the way, and then I use a small ring of copper wire to shim the copper pin up in the housing for shorter batteries (it's shimmed up in the picture above, which is why the pin is sticking out from the housing). In all, it can take quite a bit of fiddling to get everything to work correctly, unless your atty has an adjustable 510 pin. But, I have managed to get it working well with both a longer MNKE 26650 battery and a shorter MNKE 26650 battery.
In terms of button stiffness, I'm using N35 (cheap, weak) magnets and the stiffness is about the same as the stock spring. It really feels pretty much like having the spring in there, except that the spring compresses down more, while you lose 1mm + 1mm of throw to the two magnets. This does make adjusting everything a little trickier, but is pretty much the same otherwise.
