posted this before in the battery section, but i'm looking for some jb weld love....
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I made these flashlight mods for my sister's family after I got six free 18650 batteries out of an old laptop battery pack
the flashlights were in an eight pack at home depot for ten or twelve bucks, the switches cost $3 each, a one inch flat body washer and a finish washer plus a battery connector are the only parts used.
the large washer had to be filed to size, so i could press-fit it into the end of the flashlight, but that left an ugly gap, so i filled it with JB Weld, filed it down, sanded it, and colored it with magic marker, then rubbed it out with PG until no more black came off, dried and buffed
the battery connector is cut down with a dremel cut-off wheel so the center pin reaches down just enough to act as the battery connector (in the pictures the center pins were removed prior to soldering)
the shortened battery connectors were pounded into the finish washers using a special jig, then JB Welded to the flat washer only for the first three, after that I switched to only using lead free solder and scrubbed away the flux afterwards. (the drill bit size for the middle of the flat washer is 11/32")
Each cost me $6.08 to make, not including atty;
each also cost about an hour and a half of my time, plus a week of contemplative design thinking.
3.5" tall by 1" wide
before the JB Weld surround:
a micro-switch replaces the clickie
(whitled away some plastic on the corner of the switch so when bent back to the side it would fit into tailpiece as switch is a press fit)
a finish washer stuck to the top of a flat washer creates a juice well
center pins make the bat contact (removed before soldering, so not in this picture). solder points were added to bottom of washer to insure electrical continuity and strength
before and after
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Do I love my JB Weld and Magic Marker surrounds too much?
I rubbed them out with a cloth soaked in PG until no more black came off, then dried and buffed with a new cloth - they're not perfect, but I am obsessed with them...
before they were actually put together, just standing up
these show the center pin of the battery connector
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I made these flashlight mods for my sister's family after I got six free 18650 batteries out of an old laptop battery pack
the flashlights were in an eight pack at home depot for ten or twelve bucks, the switches cost $3 each, a one inch flat body washer and a finish washer plus a battery connector are the only parts used.
the large washer had to be filed to size, so i could press-fit it into the end of the flashlight, but that left an ugly gap, so i filled it with JB Weld, filed it down, sanded it, and colored it with magic marker, then rubbed it out with PG until no more black came off, dried and buffed
the battery connector is cut down with a dremel cut-off wheel so the center pin reaches down just enough to act as the battery connector (in the pictures the center pins were removed prior to soldering)
the shortened battery connectors were pounded into the finish washers using a special jig, then JB Welded to the flat washer only for the first three, after that I switched to only using lead free solder and scrubbed away the flux afterwards. (the drill bit size for the middle of the flat washer is 11/32")
Each cost me $6.08 to make, not including atty;
each also cost about an hour and a half of my time, plus a week of contemplative design thinking.
3.5" tall by 1" wide
before the JB Weld surround:
a micro-switch replaces the clickie
(whitled away some plastic on the corner of the switch so when bent back to the side it would fit into tailpiece as switch is a press fit)
a finish washer stuck to the top of a flat washer creates a juice well
center pins make the bat contact (removed before soldering, so not in this picture). solder points were added to bottom of washer to insure electrical continuity and strength
before and after
------------------------------------------------
Do I love my JB Weld and Magic Marker surrounds too much?
I rubbed them out with a cloth soaked in PG until no more black came off, then dried and buffed with a new cloth - they're not perfect, but I am obsessed with them...
before they were actually put together, just standing up
these show the center pin of the battery connector
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