# Moby ****: FM3H-2, (9) Q5, (3) Shark, dimming pot, beamshots added



## LED Zeppelin (Nov 3, 2007)

*Hardware:*

- Fivemega FM3H-2 3" head
- FM 4 X 18650 tube and battery holder
- (9) Cree XR-E Q5 WC LEDs
- (8) McR19XR reflectors 
- (1) McR27XR
- (9) Mirageman centering rings
- (4) 18650 Li-ion cells, 2 series/2 parallel for 7.4 V operation
- (3) parallel Shark drivers sharing one dimming pot, each driving 3 LEDs in series. One mother Shark wired to the pot, and two slaves with the wiper pads (center opposing) wired to the mother.
- (3) machined aluminum Shark heatsinks
- (1) 20K ohm logarithmic pot
- Custom CNC heatsink, milled from 1" thick 6061 aluminum and bolted to a faced Modamag PXR19. The inside contour of the head was mapped and the heatsink machined for a full-contact fit. 

*Details:*

- Current pot-adjustable from 10 - 920 mA
- Vf of LED strings: 9.4 V @ 350 mA, 10.4 V @ 920 mA
- Runtime approx. 45 min. on hi w/ 2400 mAh cells




























Details of the other Mags pictured are here:
https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/170085

Special thanks to Wayne and the Sandwich Shoppe for the awesome Sharks and wiring help.

*Beamshots:*

Lineup in order of appearance: 
- Mr. X, X-bin Lux V
- Quad Q4 WH, Shark/pot 
- Arcmania SF-V, Ostar
- Surefire M6, HOLA
- Moby ****
All shots taken with white balance set to sunshine, F3.5, 2sec, ISO 200, all lights on hi.






Mr X:





Quad Q4:





SF-V:





M6:





Moby ****:


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## skalomax (Nov 3, 2007)

*Re: Moby ****: FM3H-2, (9) Q5, (3) Shark, dimming pot*

Ledzeppelin, you're my Hero.

I've had that exact same thought of build as well.

Very nice indeed. Thanks for sharing.


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## scottaw (Nov 3, 2007)

*Re: Moby ****: FM3H-2, (9) Q5, (3) Shark, dimming pot*

Man do i wish i knew how to build stuff... All you modders on here RULE!


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## cryhavok (Nov 3, 2007)

*Re: Moby ****: FM3H-2, (9) Q5, (3) Shark, dimming pot*

The execution is awesome :twothumbs


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## PhantomPhoton (Nov 3, 2007)

*Re: Moby ****: FM3H-2, (9) Q5, (3) Shark, dimming pot*

:wow:

What more can one say to that beauty, other than ask for beamshots!


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## Icarus (Nov 3, 2007)

*Re: Moby ****: FM3H-2, (9) Q5, (3) Shark, dimming pot*

Fantastic job Dennis!  ... :twothumbs


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## yellow (Nov 3, 2007)

WOW !


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## Long John (Nov 3, 2007)

*Re: Moby ****: FM3H-2, (9) Q5, (3) Shark, dimming pot*

Incredible :twothumbs......:goodjob:

Beamshots would be great :bow:


Best regards

____
Tom


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## beetleguise (Nov 3, 2007)

*Re: Moby ****: FM3H-2, (9) Q5, (3) Shark, dimming pot*

Wow, that is the coolest led mod I have ever seen. I suck.:bow:You rule.
I can't even figure out how I am going to solder my shark/remora without destroying it.


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## karlthev (Nov 3, 2007)

*Re: Moby ****: FM3H-2, (9) Q5, (3) Shark, dimming pot*

Holy S___!!!!!!!!! 



Karl


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## bluecrow76 (Nov 3, 2007)

*Re: Moby ****: FM3H-2, (9) Q5, (3) Shark, dimming pot*

:duck: Please don't point that at me! 

:bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow:

Amazing mod indeed! I would also love to see a beamshot of that monster, say compared to a single emitter DHS/hotlips mod.


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## AlexGT (Nov 3, 2007)

*Re: Moby ****: FM3H-2, (9) Q5, (3) Shark, dimming pot*




I need to go find my jaw that fell somewhere on the floor! WOW! 







Beamshots are mandatory or we won't believe you!   

AlexGT


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## Firecop (Nov 3, 2007)

*Re: Moby ****: FM3H-2, (9) Q5, (3) Shark, dimming pot*

To continue with the general trend here...

Oh...my...goodness...

Outstanding! Beautiful work, and what a monster!


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## LED Zeppelin (Nov 4, 2007)

*Re: Moby ****: FM3H-2, (9) Q5, (3) Shark, dimming pot*

Thanks guys. 

Beamshots added.


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## Icarus (Nov 4, 2007)

Great pictures and beamshots too Dennis! :goodjob: ... :twothumbs


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## yusae98 (Nov 4, 2007)

cool~

where did you get Mirageman centering rings?


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## beetleguise (Nov 4, 2007)

Did you machine those "Shark Heatsinks"? I want them.



yusae98 said:


> cool~
> 
> where did you get Mirageman centering rings?


From Mirageman.:duh2::whoopin:
Just kidding, I see you only have 5 posts, so it is possible that you have not yet heard of the great mirageman. You will like his stuff.


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## cmacclel (Nov 4, 2007)

You have just RAISED the bar 

Awesome build!!!!!!


Mac


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## TranquillityBase (Nov 4, 2007)

That is one beautiful, and perfectly executed build Dennis:twothumbs:bow:

What's next?


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## AlexGT (Nov 4, 2007)

Maybe my eyes are playing tricks on me but looks like the custom MD is whooping M6 butt! How far are the trees by the center of the beam?

So the next question is, How much did it cost to build? I would love to see that design into production.

AlexGT


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## yusae98 (Nov 4, 2007)

beetleguise said:


> Did you machine those "Shark Heatsinks"? I want them.
> 
> 
> From Mirageman.:duh2::whoopin:
> Just kidding, I see you only have 5 posts, so it is possible that you have not yet heard of the great mirageman. You will like his stuff.


 

:wave: you right~ beetleguise

mirageman has a good stuff . That's what I want.

This area is very fantastic for me~ :huh:


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## acourvil (Nov 4, 2007)

This is very cool. Could you do a little more explanation of the wiring of the sharks? Is it simply power supply in parallel to all 3, and parallel connection to the pot for all three?


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## LED Zeppelin (Nov 4, 2007)

yusae98 said:


> cool~
> 
> where did you get Mirageman centering rings?



Here: https://www.candlepowerforums.com/posts/2047695#post2047695
I misspelled, it should be "Mirage Man".



beetleguise said:


> Did you machine those "Shark Heatsinks"? I want them.



I didn't machine them myself, but had them made at the same time as the heatsink on a CNC machine. I had a handful made for myself, but if there's some interest I could look into having some C and D size made. Previously I made them from bent sheet alum. See the link in my first post with info on the other Magmods for a picture of those.



AlexGT said:


> Maybe my eyes are playing tricks on me but looks like the custom MD is whooping M6 butt! How far are the trees by the center of the beam?
> 
> So the next question is, How much did it cost to build? I would love to see that design into production.
> 
> AlexGT



Moby **** spanks the M6. Not in pure throw, but in overall output. It does out-throw the M6, but the M6 is still an impressive thrower and holds its own. 

The trees at the bend of the drive are probably close to 200' out, and the split rail beyond that at least 300'. Way off across the road is a grove of trees which are probably 500' away.

How much did it cost is a question I'll avoid. I don't want to know. I could probably build 3-4 standard quad Magmods for the cost of this one, so it is not an example of an economy of scale. 



acourvil said:


> This is very cool. Could you do a little more explanation of the wiring of the sharks? Is it simply power supply in parallel to all 3, and parallel connection to the pot for all three?



It could be done exactly as you described, but it is parallel power to all three Sharks, pot connection to one, and only the wiper pad connected to the other two. The wiper pad is the center opposed pad of the 3 Shark pot connections.

Wayne helped me with that wiring tip. The new Shark ordering option is great as well for Magmods - removal of on-board pot, jumpering J1 no longer an issue (there is no actual jumper on the new Sharks, just no need - they are 26V by default).
http://theledguy.chainreactionweb.com/product_info.php?cPath=48_49_61&products_id=721

From the other builds I learned to try and keep the Shark boost at 100% or less. That is to say that Vin is at least 1/2 of Vf. These Sharks have a relatively easy life, boosting from 7.4V to 10.4. 

One indication of boost level is the amount of LED current with the pot turned down. My Quad Q4 boosts from 7.4 to 15V, the Quinta Q4 from 11.1 to 18.6. The Quad take about 1/8 turn of the pot to get any LED current at all, while the Quinta is emitting very dim light from the start. The Moby **** LEDs are lit a bit brighter from the start than the Quinta, with Vin relatively higher compared to Vf.


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## McGizmo (Nov 4, 2007)

Wow!! What everybody else has said! :thumbsup:

Really clean design, execution and idea!! :bow:


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## KevinL (Nov 5, 2007)

Seen a lot of magmods in my time. Been there, done more than my fair share of 'em too. Getting real jaded, as I'm thinking there are only so many ways you can present a LED. 

Then along comes your creation, which totally and utterly raises the bar for everybody else, both in terms of engineering, finish, and light output. Build it for myself? Probably not, I ain't that good. But stare in awe? YES I WILL!! 

Awesome light......way to go!


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## ace0001a (Nov 5, 2007)

HOLY [email protected]#$!! Wow, that is awesome!! :goodjob:


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## ICUDoc (Nov 5, 2007)

Terrific build, LEDZep, really nice job. Looks so precise I love it.
Can you keep the CNC program to build more heads (to order)???
And those new LEDs are SOOO bright- it will be nice to CNC out another one and repopulate with R4s. And R5s. And....


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## LED Zeppelin (Nov 5, 2007)

ICUDoc said:


> Terrific build, LEDZep, really nice job. Looks so precise I love it.
> Can you keep the CNC program to build more heads (to order)???
> And those new LEDs are SOOO bright- it will be nice to CNC out another one and repopulate with R4s. And R5s. And....



ICUDoc, the machinist did save the program, but for this particular build the 2S/2P 18650 tube is hard to find. There isn't another tube that fits the bill as well, without sacrificing too much runtime IMO. It would be easy enough to adapt for use with the lower cost Fraen reflectors, but low cost and Moby **** are mutually exclusive.

Certainly more heatsinks could be made, but I'm sure not many would be interested at the price. I could inquire about some more if there's interest. 

There are many ways to build such a multi-emitter light. This heatsink is very specific and will dictate much of one's build.


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## jch79 (Nov 5, 2007)

:twothumbs SWEET BUILD DENNIS!!!!  :rock:

:thumbsup: john

EDIT: I love the McR27XR in the middle!


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## criollo (Nov 5, 2007)

Congratulations on a fine piece of work. It is absolutely stunning !! :twothumbs


You surpass yourself yet again, and remain as much of an inspiration as ever 


Great beamshots too. :thumbsup:



Cassian


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## Timson (Nov 5, 2007)

The main heatsink alone is a work of art.... :bow:

I've seen some stunning work here on CPF - but this build is just something else......awe inspiring!


Love it. :thumbsup:


Tim


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## beetleguise (Nov 7, 2007)

Close the door, put out the light. 
You know they won't be home tonight. 
The snow falls hard and don't you know? 
The winds of Thor are blowing cold. 
They're wearing steel that's bright and true 
They carry news that must get through. 


Hey Zepp, about the heatsinks, if you have a few you could spare, I would be interested in buying them. If it would take a while to get more machined, I will probably pass. I have all of my materials save for the "shark heatsinks" and I am ready to begin. I just tried to solder my shark and remora boards together, but I am having difficulty getting the wire to go in the holes! I tried regular 24 gauge, and I could not even fit it in the holes where others said 22 would fit. I guess I have to go back to the electronics store and buy solid wire.


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## cat (Nov 7, 2007)

* 
+1m* to what everyone's already said - re jaw dropping, holy sheet, and ..._*wheewwwhhh!*_


I see what you say about the cost, but...uhhhh, I could be tempted to pay whatever for it.  Then again, it'll be a _while_ before you get tired of playing with it.

PS: This light really suits your user name. :thumbsup:


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## LED Zeppelin (Nov 7, 2007)

Thanks again everyone for the very kind words.



beetleguise said:


> Close the door, put out the light.
> You know they won't be home tonight.
> The snow falls hard and don't you know?
> The winds of Thor are blowing cold.
> ...



There seems to be some interest in Moby **** parts, so let me contact the shop and see what I can do about a small run, and hopefully bring the cost down. Based on the cost of my initial parts, I can say it's ain't gonna be "No Quarter".

I don't think the lead time would be more than a couple weeks.

If this is doable, I envision offering a kit with the main sink, the 3 Shark sinks, and optionally the faced PXR19 sink. 

One required operation is to drill a wire passage hole after the sink and PXR are bolted together. They must be Artic Alumina'd, assembled/aligned in a head, bolted together, and then the wire hole drilled through the assembly on a drill press. I could probably do this for a small fee so the sink is ready to go out of the box.

Everything about this build fits together exceptionally well. The only improvement I could make would be to machine an alignment groove into the face of the sink for the 8 surrounding LEDs when epoxying. This is semi-critical so that the reflectors are snug, but don't interfere with each other.



ICUDoc said:


> Can you keep the CNC program to build more heads (to order)???
> And those new LEDs are SOOO bright- it will be nice to CNC out another one and repopulate with R4s. And R5s. And....



ICUDoc, I used thermal compound, not epoxy on all the parts so that the light could be disassembled and upgraded. 

The PXR acts like a jam nut and prevents the head from rotating. There is compression between the sink and head, as well as the PXR and tube that holds everything securely. Once you loosen the head with strap wrenches everything spins apart. You can actually spin the head all the way down the tube and remove the main sink without relative movement between the sink and tube - the wires don't get all twisted. As you can see I wired the both the Sharks and LEDs with leads and spliced them together after the lilght was assembled. But you could assemble by threading the head fully down the tube, complete the wiring, seat the LED/sink assembly into the tube, and while holding the sink and tube stationary, thread the head back up both the tube and PXR. Once the head raises and fully contacts the sink, then you tignten the sink and head down and lock them against the tube (the wires will twist with this tightening, but not much). The final act of tightening the bezel/lens exerts enough torque to really lock everything together. It's hard to follow with words, but in short you can assemble/disassemble a couple different ways to avoid twisted wires, and the light can be disassembled at any time for repair or upgrades.


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## easilyled (Nov 7, 2007)

I only just saw this.

Wow, that's fantastic Dennis.

Shows your complete mastery of complex design and execution resulting
in an awesomely impressive and useful illumination tool.

:bow::bow::bow::bow:


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## beetleguise (Nov 7, 2007)

If I wasn't just paying for paying for all of my mod parts (the wife), I would jump all over a drop kit like what you described! I am sure there are people who would buy. Shoot, if you offered it, I would probably have to buy one for the future. Man that is a sweet light.
As far as the driver sinks go, I have a piece of 1/4" aluminum that has 90 degree bends that I can grind down to fit the ID curve of the mag. This will work fine I think.
One question about your soldering- what gauge wire did you use for the shark? I guess you used an external pot so 24 gauge wire would have fit. I couldn't get 24 gauge wire to fit in the remora. I just didn't know if I should go down to a 26 gauge. I guess the remora is just a control circuit, so a thin wire should be ok. I just don't want to screw this up.

Ah, ah, 
We come from the land of the ice and snow, 
From the midnight sun where the hot springs blow. 
The hammer of the gods will drive our ships to new lands, 
To fight the horde, singing and crying: Valhalla, I am coming!


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## beetleguise (Nov 7, 2007)

And if you feel that you can't go on. And your will's sinkin' low 
Just believe and you can't go wrong. 
In the light you will find the road. You will find the road 
I am going to watch the stars game now, or at least the first period. I am getting up at 4:00 am to fly to PHX. I just thought I would ask where you were from. I saw great lakes, I am from the port of Duluth, lake superior. I am a transplanted texican now.
I also just wanted to post to get closer to flashoholic status, only 5 more!
Plus, I wanted to say thanks for reminding me that Led Zep rules.


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## Mirage_Man (Nov 7, 2007)

So that's where all those centering rings went?!? 

All I can say is WOW!! Fantastic job. You Da Man! :thumbsup::thumbsup:


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## LED Zeppelin (Nov 8, 2007)

beetleguise said:


> As far as the driver sinks go, I have a piece of 1/4" aluminum that has 90 degree bends that I can grind down to fit the ID curve of the mag. This will work fine I think.
> One question about your soldering- what gauge wire did you use for the shark? I guess you used an external pot so 24 gauge wire would have fit. I couldn't get 24 gauge wire to fit in the remora. I just didn't know if I should go down to a 26 gauge. I guess the remora is just a control circuit, so a thin wire should be ok. I just don't want to screw this up.



Your heatsink should work fine. 

I used a mix of 26 and 24 guage wires for the mod. Neither had problems with fit, but haven't tried them on a Remora. 26 guage will be fine, some of my Shark to LED leads are 26 guage. I wouldn't use 26 between the Shark and cells though.



Mirage_Man said:


> So that's where all those centering rings went?!?


Brian, your centering rings have pretty much gone into all of my Magmods. Great product, I couldn't have done without them. I need to order more too.



For anyone interested, I am going to make a batch of parts including some Moby **** heatsinks, and a run of both C and D size Shark heatsinks as well.


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## skalomax (Nov 8, 2007)

I'll be interested In the Moby **** heatsinks.

thanks


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## LED Zeppelin (Nov 8, 2007)

I've posted an interest thread for the main and Shark heatsinks here: https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/179639


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## dom (Nov 8, 2007)

Beautiful neat execution on the Moby Led Zep -that is one wowser of a light.

Do you get the main sink 3D milled?
I was wondering if it was possible to clean up the inside of the head of the torch on an NC lathe and use the same program to mate the sink?

Excellent work

Cheers
Dom


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## Lunal_Tic (Nov 8, 2007)

Seriously impressive. :thumbsup:

-LT


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## LED Zeppelin (Nov 8, 2007)

dom said:


> Do you get the main sink 3D milled?
> I was wondering if it was possible to clean up the inside of the head of the torch on an NC lathe and use the same program to mate the sink?



Dom, the head was measured on a coordinate measuring machine and the data used to create the program for milling the sink. The inside of the head was left stock. 

I'm not sure if I understand your question, but you could recut the inside of the head and used the same contour to cut the sink. The fit may be marginally better, but as is with some thermal compound, the head transfers heat very well and heats up in a few minutes.


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## Ganp (Nov 8, 2007)

:wow: Awesome ... beautiful workmanship.:bow::bow:

And great beamshots too.



Colin.


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## wquiles (Nov 9, 2007)

Simply amazing :twothumbs

Will


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## The-David (Nov 11, 2007)

*Re: Moby ****: FM3H-2, (9) Q5, (3) Shark, dimming pot*



karlthev said:


> Holy S___!!!!!!!!!



+1 OMG!


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## msxtr (Nov 18, 2007)

Hi, uffffffffff totally incredible!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Greetings - Saludos

msxtr


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## LuxLuthor (Nov 18, 2007)

That is one of the most impressive, custom mods I have seen to date. Beautiful job! :thumbsup:


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## medicmerlynn (Nov 19, 2007)

this is easily one of the best mods i have ever seen. i'd prolly pay for one too if i had the funds... truly nice work.


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## dom (Nov 19, 2007)

LED Zeppelin said:


> Dom, the head was measured on a coordinate measuring machine and the data used to create the program for milling the sink. The inside of the head was left stock.
> 
> I'm not sure if I understand your question, but you could recut the inside of the head and used the same contour to cut the sink. The fit may be marginally better, but as is with some thermal compound, the head transfers heat very well and heats up in a few minutes.



Hi LED Zep
I was just thinking it may save a bit of time NC lathing it instead on milling -but you would have 2 setups on the lathe so prolly not worth the effort unless you had a bunch you were going to make yourself and had all the light heads on hand.

Cheers
Dom


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## LED Zeppelin (Nov 19, 2007)

dom said:


> Hi LED Zep
> I was just thinking it may save a bit of time NC lathing it instead on milling -but you would have 2 setups on the lathe so prolly not worth the effort unless you had a bunch you were going to make yourself and had all the light heads on hand.
> 
> Cheers
> Dom



Good point Dom. The shope I use is a very small one that doesn't have an NC lathe, just mills. The bebefit is a fast turnaround and no minimums, but that translates to a high $/per unit.

If I were going to make more than a couple at a time I would certainly heed your advice and seek out a high volume, better equipped shop with such a lathe.


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## L.E.D. (Jan 21, 2008)

Very impressive work! On a side note, that Ostar does extremely well if it's only one emitter. What a flood as well!! Would be interesting to see a multiple Ostar light..


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## LED Zeppelin (Jan 22, 2008)

He he.


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## adamlau (Jan 22, 2008)

Amazing. That SF-V is sweet


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