# Ultrafire C3 Stainless Steel CR2 Conversion



## ma_sha1 (Sep 29, 2009)

I wanted a Cool SS CR2 light but don't want to pay $$ & get what everyone else get, such as SS Raw or similar.

So I decided to convert one of mine Stainless Ultrafire C3 into CR2.
Here is the before & after shot. Just finished cutting,
have not finished putting the guts back-in yet. 

Not sure if the C3 can run on Li-ion or not, if not,
I'll need to swap the chip. Probably put one of my Cree XPG (on pre-order from Cutter) in there & drive @ 1A to get >300 lumens out of it. 

It'll be run on AW 14250, same battery as in Raw.
The length after the mod is about 62mm. 

Sorry for my poor photographic skills. 
Will try to take better photo when all done. 

Before & After, with flash on:






Before & After, without flash:


----------



## Norm (Sep 29, 2009)

Nice mod :goodjob:
Norm


----------



## KnOeFz (Sep 30, 2009)

Oh, that makes one very sexy light!


----------



## Essexman (Sep 30, 2009)

Oh nice one, I like CR2s.

Can you show us a pic of the bits apart to understand how it goes together?

You know some people would pay good money for one of those......


----------



## ma_sha1 (Sep 30, 2009)

Thanks for the good comments, guys. 


The concepts is simple, I'll try to explain, don't need a picture really.


1. Cut the Middle section of SS battery Tube (That's the hard part, I don't think you can use pipe cutter as those I had only works on softer materials such as Alu & copper).

2. Make sure the remaining section that screws to the head is short enough, so that that it slide into the tail cap & nearly disappears.

3. The tail cap will meet with the front taper section of the battery tube & appears to be seamless like what you see in the photo. 

4.. Then, you JB weld the Tail Cap to the battery tube.

That's it!

The whole thing will only un-screw apart at the head, it becomes a tiny SS CR2 twisty. 
It'll still retain all 5 modes, by quickly twist on & off. It does have memory to remember the last mod & turn on to it.

When I am all done, I'll post more pictures. I am still tinkering on how to close-up the big hole in the tail end where the clicky use to be, perhaps add finishing touch with "Gator butt"? LOL. I have some nice Gator skins, which I think will add a classy touch & enhance sexyness of this tiny SS creation. 

stay toned.





Essexman said:


> Oh nice one, I like CR2s.
> 
> Can you show us a pic of the bits apart to understand how it goes together?
> 
> You know some people would pay good money for one of those......


----------



## ma_sha1 (Sep 30, 2009)

Made some small progress Today.

I plugged the tail cap hole with a trimmed a penny,
then soldered a small spring to the inside. 

Still decided on how to seal the hole from out side. I have 3 options:

A. Seal the out side with a piece of clear plastic, so one can the penny.
B. Do A but cover up with a round piece of Alligator skin.
C. Do A but cover up with a round piece of carbon fiber. 

What do you guys think? Which one make the most sense?


----------



## frankiej (Oct 2, 2009)

Man! That looks awesome! Great idea. I think the little carbon fiber disc at the end would look best. +2 on the request for pictures of it disassembled. I'm going to order another C-3 and try this I think!


----------



## Gunner12 (Oct 2, 2009)

Nice Mod!!!

I think instead of any of those, get gome GITD powder and epoxy the bottom. That could be nice too.


----------



## ma_sha1 (Oct 2, 2009)

frankiej said:


> Man! That looks awesome! Great idea. I think the little carbon fiber disc at the end would look best. +2 on the request for pictures of it disassembled. I'm going to order another C-3 and try this I think!





OK, here is the picture disassembled.

Next to it, is the Carbon Fiber disc version of the tail. 
It looks much better in person. The flash is kind messing up the picture.


----------



## frankiej (Oct 2, 2009)

ma sha 1: Thanks for the pic. That makes it much clearer. The carbon fiber looks awesome!


----------



## Toohotruk (Oct 2, 2009)

That looks really cool! 

I may have to try that myself. I'm curious as to how the stock electronics will handle the extra voltage.


----------



## maxspeeds (Oct 3, 2009)

definitely a cool mod!


----------



## ma_sha1 (Oct 3, 2009)

maxspeeds said:


> definitely a cool mod!




Thanks!


Boy, I haven't finish this yet, I already got a cooler mod coming 
Check out what I just received, another stainless host but it's AAA.

The plan is to Split one average looking SS flashlight into *two super cool mini flashlights!*

Steps:


Cut the Stainless AAA host into 2 Pieces.
Mod each piece separately to get *TWO* stainless steel flashlights out of it!
The longer piece (with original head) will run on 10280 or N cell ~60mm long. About the same height as the CR2 one but slim!.
The shorter piece will Run on 10180, XPG-R4, only 28mm long! It'll be the smallest Li-ion flashlight ever, Smaller than Wee (34mm) & Drake (33mm). Close to the size of *La Petite Killer (24 mm)* but will blow it out of the water!
The Stainless Clip will be modified & go on to the CR2 light for Pocket EDC.
Absolutely nothing will be wasted, check out the host on the right:


----------



## richardcpf (Oct 3, 2009)

Poorman's Ultrafire C3 14250 conversion. Soldering skill not required!


----------



## ma_sha1 (Oct 4, 2009)

Here are a couple I made using similar method. 

From left to Right:

Q5 SS 14250 cut from 1AA; 3W Nichia 14250 Cut from 1AA; 1W Nichia 10280 Cut from AAA; 18650 Battery; Peak 3 led N Cell chopped the lug but remain key ring cary.


----------



## ma_sha1 (Oct 9, 2009)

Just received AW leather holster for CR2 Flashlight,
I think it fit in there quite well, my new CR2 EDC.:thumbsup:


----------



## Toohotruk (Oct 9, 2009)

So it does handle the extra voltage alright, or did you make some changes?


----------



## ma_sha1 (Oct 9, 2009)

No changes needed, it's DX SKU 26122, it runs on 14500 Li-ion, 
so 14250 Li-ion conversion is no problem.


----------



## Toohotruk (Oct 9, 2009)

Duh...I should have looked at the specs on DX before asking.


----------



## ma_sha1 (Oct 10, 2009)

Just finished Converting the Stainless A2 AAA to N cell light,
this one can't run on Li-ion, so I am running on NiMN N-Cell.






Time for a Stainless Steel Family Photo: Left to Right CR2, N-Cell & AA.


----------



## Crenshaw (Oct 12, 2009)

wow, can i send you mine and you help me do that?

gosh its nice

Crenshaw


----------



## ma_sha1 (Oct 12, 2009)

It's possible, but I am not sure. I don't have a machine shop,
these are made by hand tools for fun & take a lot of time. 

PM me on which one you want to make, give me a chance to think this over.


----------



## greenpea76 (Oct 13, 2009)

Very Nice Ma sha! 
I think I will order one of those light myself and modding the body. I'll get a chance to finally turn some stainless on the lathe. 
I've been looking for a stainless CR2 based light for awhile and not wanting something in Ti(expensive) as I am afraid to lose it while hanging on the keys. 
My Lummi light is already kind of beat up from being made of aluminum.


----------



## ma_sha1 (Oct 14, 2009)

Thanks, & Go for it, it's def. worth the effort. 

I just received EZCR2, putting it next to my SS 14250.








Now the beam shots: EZ CR2 on left, SS 14250 on Right.


----------



## DavyC (Aug 25, 2010)

I've been lurking for a few weeks now and have found myself inspired by some of the modding shown in CPF. In particular this and other mods by ma sha1 which are great tutorials for a beginner. :twothumbs

So here I am inspired C3 in hand and ready to go with this relatively straight forward conversion, but I am not quite sure how the twisty switching works as the -ve contact will be made through the threads until the head separates from the tail and the +ve contact will be maintained by the tail spring pushing the battery towards the head. I am guessing it is done by somehow adjusting the tail spring so the +ve contact is broken after a short turn. 

Any advice before I start cutting will be much appreciated.


----------



## ma_sha1 (Aug 25, 2010)

Wow, you dug up my old Thread from the grave 

Can't use spring, use a hard contact, so it'll turn off when un screw.


----------



## DavyC (Aug 26, 2010)

Thanks, I guess I was fooled by the picture that shows a spring in the tail cap.


----------



## ma_sha1 (Aug 26, 2010)

I see the picture too, it's been so long. Don't remember how exactly I did it, I am pretty sure the spring would have been soldered shut, I.e no spring action or very very little spring action, it was just used to raise the center for contact. Like ARC AAA lights, hard bottom, battery crusher style. 

I've since made many similar lights, the easiest was to use a hard bottom,
For example, make a Copper or alu disc from a thin sheet & then Punch the center so the center raise-up to contact battery, then jam it to the bottom.


----------



## DavyC (Aug 26, 2010)

Excellent, just ordered a bit of thin copper sheet off ebay, everything is pretty clear now, so I will make a start this weekend. 

Thanks for your help :thumbsup:


----------



## DavyC (Sep 12, 2010)

Well I have made 2 different versions of this mod:

Firstly a 14250 clicky made from a 98mm C3, I ground down the switch pill and epoxied the switch in place and cut down the spring to size, I couldn't fit a CR2 in so it had to be a 14250. I will probably add a nitecore clip to this one.
Length is 66.5mm.

Secondly a CR2 twisty (made from Aurora sh033) as recommended a battery crusher with the copper disc soldered in the base, I initially planned to fill the end with gitd epoxy but at the moment I like the solder finish which covers the whole of the copper disc as it looks good with the stainless steel. So I could grind down the end some more or fill with something else at a later date.
Length is 57.5mm.

L-R quark mini CR2, CR2 twisty, 14250 clicky, standard 93mm C3




Twisty and clicky ends


----------



## ma_sha1 (Sep 12, 2010)

Great Job! Looks very nice!


----------



## ma_sha1 (Sep 13, 2010)

Here are some two more CR2 & 14250 cut-downs from the SS C3.
Both were made long time ago, both were clickys & made to clone the 
look of Mac's SST-50 EDC.

The one with a clip has a slightly fatter body tube ID & fit real CR2 (15266). The other one w/o clip only fit 14250. 
Both were about 3" long (Mac EDC is 4" long). I could have made it a bit shorter, but I find the "hour glass" 
styling with the right proportions very attractive.


----------



## DavyC (Sep 13, 2010)

The one with the clip looks perfect, the C3 makes a great host for cut downs, they look great, and the feel and weight of the stainless steel in hand is hard to beat!


----------

