# Got bored today, decided to build a flashlight out of copper pipe.



## Andrew LB (Jan 7, 2015)

So yea... today I had the itch to build something and decided on having a stab at making my own flashlight. I had some 3/4" type L and M copper pipe, some 3/4" caps, and assorted parts from dead drop-ins, and a clicky switch... and after a couple hours of cutting, grinding, filing, sanding, and polishing... everything seems to be coming together nicely. The 3/4" pipe is perfect for 18650 batteries and by press fitting a piece of the thin type M pipe that I had cut down one side from end to end, it narrowed the tube just enough for the switch and pill a place to sit. I decided to order a 20mm TIR lens from Carclo Technical Plastics that's made to work well with the Cree XM-L i'll be installing, and that should arrive either late this week or early next week. So i'll post up some more photos once I get those parts installed. So far, here it is.












And if anyone asks, that TIR is not the one i'm using. It belongs in my Surefire E2DL Defender.


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## Norm (Jan 8, 2015)

:goodjob: Here's some older threads for you to investigate.

Norm


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## MRsDNF (Jan 9, 2015)

Looking good Andrew. I love these types of builds. Whats the driver your using?


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## Andrew LB (Jan 9, 2015)

TIR arrived today, so I was able to finally get the last couple pieces made and fit together. I'm still going to add set screws when i get time this weekend. Here are a couple more pics of it all assembled and working.


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## Andrew LB (Jan 10, 2015)

The driver that's currently in the light is this piece of junk. SpecialFire® 2.2A 1-Mode 16mm 3V-18V Flashlight Driver Circuit Board for Cree XM-L T6 XM-L2 L2 U2 U3 LED
I've been reading a bunch to learn about various drivers but i'm still in the dark (excuse the pun) on which one would work best for this XM-L LED. Am I correct in that I should look for drivers with an input voltage of 3v-4.2v since i'm only using a single 18650? I was just browsing Fasttech and came across this 8x AMC7135 driver which is 3-4.2v and a max output of 2800mA, would this be a good one? I don't mind spending more if there is some "holy grail" of LED drivers that you can recommend for me. I'll probably get two so I can replace the same crap driver I have in my SureFire 6P as long as it's single mode because I modded that lights internals so the drop-in has a copper jacket and full contact with the body since I plan on using it as a weapon-light for the AR I just finished building.
[h=1][/h]


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## sunny_nites (Jan 16, 2015)

Excellent build! 

I made a few copper and brass lights maybe a year or two back and still use them frequently

The copper is a great heat sync and the size of pipe available just begs to be used for lights.


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## Matrix 100 (Jan 16, 2015)

Excellent 
I am a mechanical contractor, and have all the pipe and fitting sitting around the shop
Question - Polishing the pipe with what ? and how are you going to keep the polish ??
why press fit - why not soldering ?


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## DIWdiver (Jan 16, 2015)

Yes, if you are on a single cell you should look for drivers that have 3.0V and 4.2V within the input range. That's what your battery will do, so that's what the driver should handle. If the driver can handle wider range, that's fine, but it should handle at least that.

Some people prefer to run LiIon cells down to 2.7V, or even 2.5V. This gets the most out of each charge, but reduces the number of charges before your batteries die. Just FYI.

AMC7135 based drivers are not a bad choice for this application. It's possible to do better, but for that form factor and if you want to buy an off-the-shelf driver, it's not likely you'll do better.


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## sunny_nites (Jan 16, 2015)

On mine, I use 0000 steel wool and Blitz copper and brass polishing cloth.


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## Matrix 100 (Jan 17, 2015)

you did a great polishing job - looking forward to more pictures 

Since I have miles of copper pipe in my shop - I am going to attempt to build my own flashlight


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## ChibiM (Jan 17, 2015)

yeah.. the polishing looks very nice! just wanting to know how long it keeps that shiny finish.. ? days? weeks? months?


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## H.J.M. (Jan 17, 2015)

Very nice, I was thinking of doing something similar. Thanks for the ideas, I will be back here.


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## H.J.M. (Jan 17, 2015)

sunny_nites said:


> Excellent build!
> 
> I made a few copper and brass lights maybe a year or two back and still use them frequently
> 
> The copper is a great heat sync and the size of pipe available just begs to be used for lights.


can you post some photos of them? I love home made lights. 

Hjm


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## flashlight chronic (Jan 18, 2015)

Gotta give props to this!


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## sunny_nites (Jan 18, 2015)

HandyJoeMann - Don't want to hijack the tread, I'll send you a link to your inbox.


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## RedLED (Jan 25, 2015)

ChibiM said:


> yeah.. the polishing looks very nice! just wanting to know how long it keeps that shiny finish.. ? days? weeks? months?



If you want to keep the light on display, Tuff Glide, a firearm coating/lube, will work. I have had it on a silver item kept out, and no tarnish on it for at least two years now. 

However, once you handle it the product will start to wear off.


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## H.J.M. (Jan 29, 2015)

sunny_nites said:


> HandyJoeMann - Don't want to hijack the tread, I'll send you a link to your inbox.



Did you send the link? If so, I did not receive it.


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## sunny_nites (Jan 29, 2015)

My apologies, I did send it but don't see it in my sent list. Not sure what happened.

Hopefully I won't offend the OP:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?380919-Home-made-lights


I'll probably make a new post in a week or so. Working on a XM-L version in the same form factor, just waiting on the 3.7 amp mosfets.


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## Bushman5 (Feb 7, 2015)

i want one! how much for one? this is beyond my skills, hence why i'm asking....


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## more_vampires (Feb 9, 2015)

Looking great, OP! Thanks for the pics.


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## Str8stroke (Feb 9, 2015)

Nice work! Looks super cool. I have one sorta like that built out of copper pipe as well by forum member Old-Lumens.

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...our-copper/page22&highlight=str8stroke+copper

See post #637


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## Fireclaw18 (Feb 9, 2015)

ChibiM said:


> yeah.. the polishing looks very nice! just wanting to know how long it keeps that shiny finish.. ? days? weeks? months?



I have a solid copper Cypreus tri-EDC light. Looks just like that after I polish it with Blue Magic. If I EDC'd it, to keep it looking like that I'd need to polish it twice a week. It doesn't keep the shine long at all.

Perhaps there are clearcoat finishes which would do a better job at protecting the shine than metal polish.


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## sunny_nites (Feb 9, 2015)

I had pretty good luck with urethane floor coating on a copper project a while back. That was about the only thing I found that held up very well at all. 

Put 5 or 6 coats on it and had to wait at least a day in between coats. Crazy hard stuff when it dries though.


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## RedLED (Feb 9, 2015)

You did very nice work on that copper flashlight, congratulations on a job well done!


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## Andrew LB (May 7, 2015)

Sorry for not getting back to respond to questions. I've been super busy the past couple months.



Matrix 100 said:


> Excellent
> I am a mechanical contractor, and have all the pipe and fitting sitting around the shop
> Question - Polishing the pipe with what ? and how are you going to keep the polish ??
> why press fit - why not soldering ?



So if things need to be taken apart due to my inexperience, it wouldn't be a nightmare. 

I polished everything using an 8" buffing wheel on a bench grinder and some red rouge.



> Yes, if you are on a single cell you should look for drivers that have 3.0V and 4.2V within the input range. That's what your battery will do, so that's what the driver should handle. If the driver can handle wider range, that's fine, but it should handle at least that.




I went with an 8x AMC7135 2-group driver (Nanjg 105D) and it works 300% better. I'll take pics when i get a chance.



> yeah.. the polishing looks very nice! just wanting to know how long it keeps that shiny finish.. ? days? weeks? months?




It took about 30 minutes to get the initial "bling bling" mirror finish using an 8" buffing wheel on a bench grinder. A word of warning to those who attempt this, I had to custom make a center "Hub" for the buffing wheel so it would spin properly. Any wheel spinning at 5k RPM that's out of balance is incredibly dangerous and can destroy your grinder. Also, great care has to be taken to ensure the wheel is touching it at the correct angle because an edge of the copper can catch on the buffing wheel and send the piece of copper flying across the room at about 80mph. I had the front end cap get thrown against the wall behind my workbench and it put a dent in the drywall. lol. 

The copper began to oxidize after a week or so even though I had put some carnuba wax on it, and I just ended up letting the "patina" do it's thing. Here is what it currently looks like:







I've decided to buff it out again to that nice mirror finish and spray on a couple coats of Mohawk Brass Lacquer. It's a special lacquer designed with an oxidation inhibitor added and is an outstanding product when used on brass. 



> Hopefully I won't offend the OP:
> http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/...me-made-lights



Not offended at all. In fact, wish I had seen your light earlier because I would have probably hijacked some of your ideas. hehe. In fact, I'm considering making a v2.0 and use a lot of design ideas I came up with while making this flashlight but didn't want to start from scratch again. I wish copper wasn't so damn difficult to thread due to softness. I may play around with brass and see what kind of results i can get.



> i want one! how much for one? this is beyond my skills, hence why i'm asking....




Unfortunately I don't plan on producing them for others because of the time involved in making the light. If I owned a metal lathe, i'd be able to make these things very fast but the costs involved are huge. If you think wood lathes are expensive... try the metal ones!



> Perhaps there are clearcoat finishes which would do a better job at protecting the shine than metal polish.




I'm going to try Mohawk Brass Lacquer and if that doesn't hold up, i'm going to get some 2-part automotive clear-coat from PPG and call it a day.


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