I need some help designing a wooden tube style mod

[Godzilla]

I have decided I have figured out why you dont see more of these.

I want to build a 5 volt mod using (2) 14500 batts one on top of the other. A friend of mine turned a beautiful piece of manzanita on a lathe for me, but I cannot wrap my brain around how to get the negative lead of the battery (the opposite end of the atty) back up to the switch, while being able to take the thing apart to change the batteries. I plan on using rare earth magnets inlaid to hold the two parts together.

I have a design in mind, but I need some sort of connector I can set into the outer wall of the wood in order to continue the negative lead into the chamber that will hold the switch once its put back together.

I have thought of having excess wire shoved up into a hole, but that seems like a PITA when trying to get the magnets lined up to hold the thing together.

I think flashlights use the outer wall of the flashlight tube to maintain continuity once the cover is screwed on, but a wooden chamber adds quite a challenge.

Does anyone have any ideas for me?

Maybe a tiny second spring on the end cap that will touch a tiny metal rod that could be inserted in a hole along side the batteries, but I would have a hard time finding a drill bit that small and that long.

 

[cracker75]

.....but I would have a hard time finding a drill bit that small and that long.

If you're patient you can use a small diameter round file to carve out a cavity in the inside of the tube wall.

 

[Capt' Brian]

So, the bottom of the wooden tube is solid? So you need to drop something pretty flush against the wall down to make contact with the negative post. Is that what you mean? Wonder if a thin piece of flat brass, or solder braid attached to a negative pad with spring would do it.

Can you post pics? Sounds tough.

 

[Godzilla]

I have only designed it on paper. Making the wooden cylindar is the easy part. I am guessing that the outer coating of the battery is insulative, or a flashlight would never work. you may be on to something with the strip of brass that could contact a second spring. digging a long hole with a small file sounds a bit cumbersome. Keep em coming. Tomorrow I may scan a pdf of my drawing and post it in here once I get to the office.

 

[BorisTheSpider]

You can run the lines to the magnets themselves. You don't necessarily need a hole, but a recessed channel on the inside should be fine.The magnets will conduct and finish the circuit when it is assembled. Just in case you doubt, I will point out that lots of mods - and high-end mods to boot - use magnets as a spacer when running different types of batteries.

 

[asdaq]

You could add a channel on the inner wall right next to the battery as Calypso did here:

There is a spring in the bottom and uses a molex connector where the sections meet.

 

[Calypso]

The hole that is showing is the female pin from a molex plug. The male end is in the top. This works very well. The magnate idea will also work. BTW do not solder directly to magnates. They will demagnatize.

 

[Godzilla]

The molex plug seems like the answer, or a brass strip. I am trying to avoid cutting this wood cyinder into too many pieces. The fact that it is round, I need to stack the batteries to fit them in there, and that creates a long mod, and drill bits just dont come that long, so I will be forced to cut the mod, and glue it back together just to be able to drill a long enough hole. That is why I am thinking the brass strip along side of the batteries may work the best. beautiful mod asdaq!

Thanks for the help gents (and ladies if there was one)

 

[Calypso]

Godzilla,
Another option to the drill bits.
Use a core box bit on a router table to create two havles of the hole then glue together and turn on a lathe. The vein for the wire and connectors could be added before glueing also.

 

[asdaq]

It is beautiful, but it's Calypso's

You can avoid drill bits by creating a groove inside the tube alongside the battery, with several ways to go about it. An easy way would be taking a thin bladed hacksaw, remove the blade and re-assemble with the blade in the tube and cut a groove, and then clean it up with a needle file or sandpaper. 104mm just for the batts, that is pretty long.

 

[Zen~]

Go to a stained glass shop, and get some copper foil tape to make your negative line up the inside of the tube... no filing needed.

Amazon.com: JVCC CFL-5CA Copper Foil Tape (Conductive Adhesive): 1/4 in. x 36 yds. (Copper): Home Improvement

Any stained glass shop will sell you a foot or two of it... it's adhesive on one side. You can solder to it. You could also tuck it under the magnet before gluing it in place, and use conductive glue.