WOrk in progress - dual 18650 DNA 40

[polarbare]

Been fiddling with this for a bit - body out of purple heart with aluminum end caps.

Did some of the soldering after the above picks - still need to install the magnets for the door (not looking forward to making the holes line up ) and soften the corners of the wood. The gap between the battery sleds is where I'm going to run the wiring for the fuses. Wondering whether to do some laser engraving on it and what kind of finish for the wood.

Sad part is, after the amount of time I put into this thing, I'm finding it's a bit big (the last pic is next to a coupler clone I put a dna 40 in) and I'm not sure if the dual battery configuration is worth it

 

[tehdarkaura]

I like the looks of it but it is a big'en

You could save some space by using a dual 18650 sled -- eliminates the wasted space you have inbetween your single battery sleds.

you could also tuck the dna40 on top or behind the batteries and use external buttons to trim some of the width off too.

I do like the look of your chosen materials though!

 

[BlueridgeDog]

To make the holes line up, I took small finishing nails with a head the size of the magnet, then cut them off so they are only 1/16 long. Stick the nail on the magnet with the cut end exposed, them press the cover on. The nail tips will mark where to drill and install the door magnets.

 

[Visus]

When ya round er down the size will appear smaller.

I would not be able to resist dyeing that redder, lol very nice piece of wood there..
The buttons are elegant. Time well did spent and huge reward of run-time to boot..

 

[BlueridgeDog]

What is the bottle with the masonic symbol in the background?

 

[polarbare]

I like the looks of it but it is a big'en

You could save some space by using a dual 18650 sled -- eliminates the wasted space you have inbetween your single battery sleds.

you could also tuck the dna40 on top or behind the batteries and use external buttons to trim some of the width off too.

I do like the look of your chosen materials though!

The DNA 40 is tucked in up top - in fact it (and the adjacent 510 connector) is the limiting factor on the internal width. Wall thickness of the wood is what it is - right now the sides are .210" thick to accomodate 1/10" magnets. I could take them down to .150"(which is what the back and front are), but wasn't sure if 1/16" magnets would be strong enough.

Overall width is 2.517" and thickness is 1.171" - I left the aluminum caps with a slight overhang to give some visual interest, but might wind up making it even with the wood part.

To make the holes line up, I took small finishing nails with a head the size of the magnet, then cut them off so they are only 1/16 long.

What is the bottle with the masonic symbol in the background?

Thanks for the tip - hopefully I have some nails with the right size head.

The bottle with the masonic symbol is Angel's Breath by 3rd degree - it's a keylime pie. Tastes great out of a nautilus, but nasty when I ran it out of a subtank

When ya round er down the size will appear smaller.

I would not be able to resist dyeing that redder, lol very nice piece of wood there..
The buttons are elegant. Time well did spent and huge reward of run-time to boot..

When I put the finish on, it will darken up significantly - I'm thinking a wipe on poly for simplicity sake, unless you have some suggestions

The buttons I made out of 3/16" aluminum rod, then drill and tapped with 0-80 setscrews, which are then screwed into some micro switches I tapped holes into - I want to make them shorter, but since I don't have a lathe, it might mean starting over

 

[Visus]

I had no idea purple heart could be this vibrant.

My suggestion after rounding would be sand her down with some steel wool med to extra fine or use the scotch brite pads.
I like steel better, wear gloves or have rusty dots and lines in your hands months later lol..
carve an inlay signature inside the door
Beeswax every 6-9mon

 

[chefjoosie]

That piece of wood was a great choice. It's gunna be smokin' hot when you put some finish on it.
The size is a little big, but as long as you have big hands it shouldn't be unmanageable. I'm sure on your next one you could shave off 1/4' or more off of the width and depth.

 

[Ren76]

Well if you don't like it cause it's too big you can send it to me! Lol

I think you have done a great job so far.

 

[polarbare]

Done (at least as far as I'm going to )

Shaved the buttons down to about .030" above the surface

Did a poor man's brushed aluminum with 600 grit wet sanding and with a guide on the side to keep the lines straight. Recessed some socket cap screws (instead of set screws before).

Internals - the wiring between the battery sleds is for fuses

Now onto the next one - going to try to make a single battery mod inspired by the Hana V4S. Just not sure if I want to pick up another DNA 40 chip yet - been trying to wade thru the 1000 page monster thread, but haven't come to any form conclusion about the newest boards and what their problems are. If anyone here has some insight, let me know