# Surefire 6P boring, reaming, honing



## precisionworks (May 18, 2011)

The first step was making a set of soft jaws (although a split bushing is probably a more accurate description). Even if I had a 6-jaw, I would not risk gripping a thin aluminum tube, finished & anodized, without soft jaws. It's impossible to mar the body this way. 

I had a short piece of aluminum round stock 2.5" OD and about 12" long (2.5" will just fit inside the center hole of the 4-jaw chuck). A light facing cut, probably .010-.020", was taken from one end, then the stock was reversed & the same cut was taken from the other end. A center drill was used to prep the outboard end & the live center was brought up for support. The OD received a light cleanup cut, just enough to get under the mill finish and about 4" long. The live center was replaced with a drill chuck & 7/8" twist drill, and the drill made a starter hole for the 3/4" boring bar. First boring pass at .050" DOC, second pass at .010", third pass at .0025, final pass just enough to bring the ID to 1.002". It was bored to 1.002" because my 6P measured 1.008" - soft jaws should always be _slightly _under sized. The cylinder was split on the band saw & all edges deburred.

The light (inside the soft jaws) was first put into the 3-jaw Set-Tru, which indicated .0004" TIR this morning. An indicator showed .0050" TIR, which is not workable, so the 4-jaw was mounted. No problem to dial it in to .0010" TIR. Bored to .701" and reamed to .738", leaving the shoulder at the front of the tube to stop the light engine or drop-in.














I ran the reamer well under most recommendations, 80 rpm (15 sfpm). This allows feeding at a controlled rate & has always produced nice finishes in the past. Reamer shank is held in the Jacobs 20N. Reamer feed was about 3-4 IPM, and the reamer could only be fed in about 1/2" at a time before the flutes filled up. Then it was withdrawn, cleaned, relubed, fed in an additional 1/2", withdrawn, etc. It's a slow process. Care has to be taken to leave a small lip at the end of the battery tube, as the battery needs the lip for a forward stop so the tail cap switch will exert pressure only against the rear of the battery.

The next two photos show the light resting in one soft jaw, and the impression left in the soft jaw by the checkering or knurling on the light.














This photo shows tooling marks at the entry to the tube. The problem is that Surefire bores this area larger than the rest of the tube, and the reamer cannot get a good enough bite to cut evenly. Although this area is easy to see in the enlarged photo, it's hard to see with the naked eye.









The area past the entry came out as expected, after reaming & honing, better than 10 Ra surface finish.






If anyone wants me to bore their light, I can do it for $40 plus shipping. There are members here who can probably do boring only for about $30, but I will not send a light out unless it has been reamed & honed ... that's not the way I work. PM if interested and please send the battery you plan to use, as battery diameters vary by quite a bit.


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## Codiak (May 18, 2011)

Very nice work....

Know where to get inexpensive reamers?


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## precisionworks (May 18, 2011)

> where to get inexpensive reamers?


Here and there, usually not the size you need when you need it 

Used reamers are a gamble. The edges are awfully delicate, and each resharpening reduces the reamed size at least .004", more if the edges are badly damaged. The shanks are pretty big, and that reamer will not go into a 14N chuck. The shanks sometimes can be turned down, sometimes not if they're super hard.

I much prefer reaming in a big drill (big meaning around 5000 kg). The chips will fall right out when reaming vertically. I wouldn't try reaming in either a mill-drill or a Bridgeport, as the potential for misalignment is too great. 

I like reamers, and have more than a few. When you have to hit size, straightness & surface finish, a reamer cannot be beat.


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## wquiles (May 19, 2011)

Nice job Barry - thanks for the photos and detailed explanations 

Any advice in general to the size of the soft jaws relative to the part you are holding? In other words, you had about a 2-1 for your soft jaws - does it mater much?


Will


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## precisionworks (May 19, 2011)

> the size of the soft jaws relative to the part


That varies with the part being held. If the part was solid aluminum the soft jaws could be much thinner, something around 1.250" OD, leaving 1/8" wall thickness. For a thin tube the jaws need to be thick enough so that neither of the two chuck jaws can distort the soft jaw that they bear against, which would then distort the tube. Any diameter around 2" should work for a 1" tube. I had a stick of 2.5" diameter stock, and 2.5" just fits inside the 4-jaw center hole, so that was used.

There's a video on YouTube, showing an M2 barely held in a chuck, with five or six diameters sticking out ... try that in any shop where I've worked and the result is a walk to the payroll office to get your final check :shakehead
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQsK9q0WOf4


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## wquiles (May 20, 2011)

Got it - thanks much. And yes, after seeing the videos, I agree 100%


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## precisionworks (May 20, 2011)

The most ideal soft jaws are those that are milled into the top jaws of the chuck. I've seen as many as 100 sets hanging by some lathes ... and there's a reason for that large number. Each set of soft jaws is bored to hold a specific diameter, and the soft jaws you just bored to hold a 1" Surefire cannot be used to hold a 2" Maglite. 

On top of that, jaws are always bored when they are expanded inside a boring ring. Rings are available in sets, usually starting at 1" and increasing by 1/16" per ring. Adjustable rings are also available:


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## precisionworks (May 26, 2011)

The Surefire M-Series lights are not as easy to fixture as the round body 3/6/9P lights. Which meant making a dedicated M-Series fixture. No photos or details, as this one took a bit of thought, time, and experimentation, but here's the end result ...





















The forward retention lip is about 2mm wide ... IMO, that's one of the more difficult parts of this job. Cut/measure/cut/measure, etc. It would be really easy to bore this feature away :shakehead


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## mojospapi (May 26, 2011)

Hi. I'm new to customizing flashlights but I was wondering if you bored a SF 6P to fit say an AW18650, can you fit regular primaries and R123's afterwards? I mean they won't be loose in newly bored body, would they? Just wondering. Thanks!

EDIT: great pics, btw


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## precisionworks (May 26, 2011)

Regular batteries will fit but they are loose. Most people would want to wrap a few turns of black electrical tape around the batteries for a better fit. There is quite a size difference between the smallest primary and the largest rechargeable.

Most of my photos are shot from a tripod with the lens stopped all the way down. Exposures are often 1 second to 3 seconds. The mirror lockup feature is used as well as a cable release.


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## precisionworks (May 26, 2011)

Double post


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## CKOD (May 27, 2011)

Wow that M2 does look interesting to hold, especially if youre trying to do it with the clip still on. 
I feel your pain though, I play around with sound suppressors for small arms also, and getting someone to thread a barrel for a rifle is always interesting, the threads have to be very co-axial with the bore, and pretty concentric, with coaxial being more important then concentric, however the bore is almost 100% guaranteed to not be centered in the barrel, and not coaxial with the barrel, so you have to try to indicate off a small diameter hole with the rifling in while holding onto the OD.


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## Th232 (May 27, 2011)

mojospapi said:


> Hi. I'm new to customizing flashlights but I was wondering if you bored a SF 6P to fit say an AW18650, can you fit regular primaries and R123's afterwards? I mean they won't be loose in newly bored body, would they? Just wondering. Thanks!
> 
> EDIT: great pics, btw



Given that the tube ID will be wider, there's more of a difference in size between the body and the regular batteries so they'll have be looser as Barry has said. Another fix other than electrical tape would be to make a removable sleeve of the appropriate size that fits between the batteries and the body.


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## gadget_lover (May 27, 2011)

I've decided a nice sleeve for my batteries is a paper strip with 'return to sender" information on it. It's bad enough to lose a light. It's even worse when you realize the finder will have no idea how precious it is.

Daniel


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## precisionworks (May 31, 2011)

PoliceScannerMan sent in a 3P to be bored for 18350 ...

As always, the first step is to set the boring bar up in the collet. This bar is an APT "mini bore" and is set so the top flat is parallel to the tool post. The insert is then presented to the work at what looks like a steep tilt, but it surely works well. I believe the insert is a TPG-3xx. After leveling, the insert tip is brought to .010" above center.







The 3P is short, but close to the OD of the 6P so the same jaws are used. It's always a funny feeling to bore and ream a part that's buried in the jaws, almost out of sight 






After boring/reaming/honing, showing the Mitu internal dial caliper & the long reach Alina indicator. This job would be tougher without those two tools.






Finished bore, smooth as silk & ready to ship back :thumbsup:


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## precisionworks (Jun 1, 2011)

Did a 3-piece body today, sent from London (also had an inquiry from Australia).

Just about to get this process down cold 






Best I can tell, the finish is better than 5 Ra


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## precisionworks (Jun 19, 2011)

Had to stop boring lights for a couple of days & do an emergency job for a local factory. They spray fiber glass resin & hardener from a special air powered gun, and the gun is fed from a pair of gerotor pumps. Those pumps were turned by a high torque air motor (150 ft lb at stall) until the motor picked a bad time to quit. Parts are 4-6 weeks out and the factory needs this fixed yesterday:shakehead

I suggested conversion to an electric gear motor (combination 3 ph motor & gear box). Pricey things, around $3000 for a 7.5 hp model with a 105 rpm output (to match the air motor). Found a nice used one for $450 and jumped on it. Surefire E2L shown for size comparison.






Output shaft is 1.750" diameter, and the keyway is .375" wide, about .190" deep.






Since I needed a dead nuts fit, the 4340 shafting material was bored for size-on-size. The adapter will be warmed up, slipped on, and there for a while 






From the back side, not much different than boring a light ... except for the 5.5 hours of labor :nana:
In addition to taking super light finishing cuts to nail the size, the toughest part was push broaching the 3/8" keyway. Three passes were needed, and a 3' tommy bar was used to push the broach through the tough 4340 material. Glad to get that part done.


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## precisionworks (Jun 27, 2011)

Finished up the gearmotor project Saturday afternoon ... just need to stop back in today & make a couple of final adjustments. Welded up a mounting base from 2" square tube (.250" wall):











Could not have handled that bad boy without the lift cart (& the cable lift shown).

Back OT, made up a new fixture for the C-series and M-series lights. Tough little tubes to properly hold, multiple diameters plus a large, protruding clip boss. Went with Delrin (acetal copolymer) as it is hard enough to give good grip while being soft enough not to mar the light body.

First op is a light OD turn to clean up the molded surface:






Then a 53/64" "long boy" twist drill is used to make a hole for the boring bar. Nothing special about that size, but it's the longest twist drill in the shop that's big enough to start a 3/4" boring bar:






To set up the light, it has to be centered as perfectly as possible. Hard to read the dial, but it swings only +.0002" and -.0002" (.0004" TIR). In addition to indicating at the tail end, the indicator tip is run up as far as possible inside the tube & checked again.






A C2 is shown after the boring pass. One pass made toward the headstock & the final pass made with the feed reversed:






Finish is no worse than a factory Surefire, but certainly no better. Next op is the reamer:






The reamer takes the ID to final diameter & assures that the bore is straight & round. Final op is honing with a ball hone:






Finished batch of lights:


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## precisionworks (Jul 1, 2011)

Received an M3 from Rat for boring, which will ship with his C2 to Australia. Because it's a 3-cell light, a different fixture had to be made.

Interesting little fixture. The tail section of the M3 has an outside diameter of 1.000", the mid section has that same diameter, the forward knurled section measures 1.013", and the body then steps back down to 1.000". All the diameters had to be bored to size before the body was split, which involved a bit of head scratching and ciphering. I believe Rat will be happy :thumbsup:

The toughest part of this job, IMO, is running the reamer in just enough to leave a small lip at the forward end of the tube. Boring is easy, as the DRO tells the exact forward distance the boring tip has traveled. Reaming is a bit more challenging, as the reamer is held in the 20N Jacobs chuck mounted in the tail stock ram. If the reamer has to travel (for instance) 3.875", the reamer is first moved into position where the flutes just contact the tube, the feed dial is brought to zero, and the ram is moved forward 38 full turns of the hand wheel, plus another 3/4 turn. It so reminds me of the first drop when riding a tall roller coaster ... you know what's coming and hope that it will be fun. FWIW, the cell phone ringer is silenced & the shop door is locked until reaming is finished.











Got a PM from a member about boring a M982 (12 volt Weapon Light). To me, it looks a lot like the M3 but a bit longer. I'm hoping the M3 fixture will work for the M982, but will build one if necessary.


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## bstrickler (Jul 1, 2011)

Couldn't you use something like automotive paint to mark one of the flutes on the reamer, so you know when you're close to depth?

Or get a piece of cardstock, cut it to the right size you need, and once the cardstock has minimal/zero wiggle room between the chuck, and end of the light, you'll know it's at the right depth? Plus, if you tear one, you can just make a new one (or have a stack of them made).

~Brian


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## precisionworks (Jul 1, 2011)

> ... automotive paint to mark one of the flutes on the reamer, so you know when you're close to depth?
> 
> Or get a piece of cardstock, cut it to the right size you need, and once the cardstock has minimal/zero wiggle room between the chuck, and end of the light, you'll know it's at the right depth?



Brian,

Those are good suggestions, and would work if there were a bigger target zone to hit. The problem is that I want to leave a lip that's about .100" deep - if the lip is deeper than that, flat top batteries (like the AW18650) will sit too far back from the LE. And if the lip is bored through, there's nothing to retain the 18650 against the front of the tube. Counting turns works, and is no different than dialing off turns on a Bridgeport that has no DRO. But you can _never_ miscount 

I saw a flat scale DRO on the PM forum this evening, and snagged it fast. The seller has already made up a collar that was to fit his tail stock ram, and it shouldn't be hard to adapt it to mine:












That will take a ton of stress out of the reaming op ... which usually leaves me totally stressed out.


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## wquiles (Jul 1, 2011)

precisionworks said:


> I saw a flat scale DRO on the PM forum this evening, and snagged it fast. The seller has already made up a collar that was to fit his tail stock ram, and it shouldn't be hard to adapt it to mine:


I have many times though about doing that as well - I hate counting turns on the tailstock. Please do post pictures once you have yours completed


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## Energie (Jul 2, 2011)

Quick & dirty, easy to adjust:


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## precisionworks (Jul 2, 2011)

Very nice install 

I'm considering mounting flat on the top of the TS housing, as well as mounting on the operator side of the TS housing. Since both the levers on my TS are located on the far side, either of those locations will work. Top mounting will cover both oil ports, which is the only possible issue with that position. Either way, installation should be simple since the quill collar is already 90% finished, needing only boring to fit the TS ram. Then drill & tap four holes to mount the scale.






The print for the scale shows a "thread screw hole for mounting", located on the back side of the reader head. I plan to attach the actuator link to that location & attach the other end of the actuator link to the collar on the TS ram.


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## wquiles (Jul 2, 2011)

precisionworks said:


> Very nice install



+1

I like it!


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## jabe1 (Jul 4, 2011)

Beautiful work!
Have you considered doing Maglites?


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## precisionworks (Jul 4, 2011)

> Have you considered doing Maglites?


I have not thought about that, as I'm unsure what could be offered. Some Maglites are tri-bored, which is something that would not be hard to set up, but there are many modders already offering that service. Do you have something specific in mind?



> Beautiful work!


Thank you very much


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## jabe1 (Jul 6, 2011)

I was thinking about shortening, rethreading and boring. The C sized lights cannot accept 26650 or 26500 batteries.
Also cutting down to specific lengths, some modders offer this, but I haven't seen one cut down from the switch side, and rethreaded to fit the head.... 
of course, the tailcap would need to be bored for a switch.
The quality of your work is obvious from the photos.
have you thought about Maglite heatsinks?


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## precisionworks (Jul 6, 2011)

> shortening, rethreading and boring


The resident expert on all things Mag is Will Quiles - he's done literally hundreds of Mag mods, including all the items you mentioned. His thread on the 1D light is here: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?239209-Custom-Mag-1D-s-for-sale-...



> have you thought about Maglite heatsinks?


Again, I'd defer to Will, Mac's Customs, or one of the other highly skilled people who've already lost count of the Mags they've machined. It will take many months, if not years, to learn all the ins & outs of the entire Surefire line - that seems like a pretty full plate already.


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## jabe1 (Jul 7, 2011)

It looks like you're well on your way!


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## precisionworks (Jul 7, 2011)

> It looks like you're well on your way!


I appreciate you saying that 

I don't see myself ever offering the full menu of modding services (electronics development, full custom light builds, emitter swaps, etc.). It looks like there is some room still to further push the envelope in the machining area. Not too many people (any more) bore the C3/M3, the U2 or the M4, so I'm currently working on Gen3 fixtures for those lights.

After making the Gen3 fixture for the C2, it seemed like the 6P bodies could also be held in the same fixture. It took all of 30 seconds to determine there was no way that was going to happen - the 6P major diameter (at the knurled section) is huge compared to the C2. The upside of that is that each model light gets a fixture that fits like an Armani suit. The Gen3's have internal dimensions that are a mirror image of the outside of the light being held, what machinists call a size-on-size fit. They aren't quick to make, with each Gen3 averaging about 90 minutes of machine time, but they are dead accurate when done.


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## pistolsnipe (Jul 7, 2011)

this would probably be prohibatively expensive, but would you consider threading the front portion of the older surefire bezel that used the lexan lens so that it could use the more modern lenses?


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## precisionworks (Jul 7, 2011)

> would you consider threading the front portion of the older surefire bezel


I'd be happy to do that. The only problem is I can't quote any type of price estimate, having never done one before. If you want me to do it, my shop rate is $1.25 per minute ... and this "simple" job could run an hour or longer


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## pistolsnipe (Jul 7, 2011)

yeah thats what i figured i purposely didn't put simple in the title hah, its expensive to be the first guy hah

do you happen to have an m2 bezel laying around? i might also be interested in an aluminum sleeve to replace the shock absorbing foam in the bezel for a better led fit, maybe that is something you could price more accurately


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## precisionworks (Jul 8, 2011)

> do you happen to have an m2 bezel laying around?


I don't, but you may be able to fine one in The Marketplace:
http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/forumdisplay.php?123-WTS-Flashlights-amp-Parts


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## precisionworks (Jul 8, 2011)

Received the titanium Pocket Rocket 8 yesterday. No need to bore it, as it's already sized for a single 18650 (and uses a three speed XM-L). Loved the light, did not like the shiny finish.

Photo below, from the sales thread, shows a bead blast aluminum PR-8 at the top & a shiny titanium PR-8 just below it.






I machined a pair of press fit Delrin end caps so that each end of the light would be masked off from the blasting media. Ran the light through, watched the awesome display of white sparks as the glass beads hit the titanium, and got this result:


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## wquiles (Jul 8, 2011)

Looks great Barry. You out to provide this as a service now


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## precisionworks (Jul 8, 2011)

> You out to provide this as a service


My thoughts also. Could probably do "straight" lights (most Surefires) for about $20 plus shipping. Turbo heads & other unusual shapes would be priced higher. 

First time I ever put a $300 light in front of a blast gun. Big nozzle as well, about .250" inside diameter and 100 psi pressure. The gun kicks back into the hand when the trigger is pulled. One of my customers is an orthodontist who uses a Danville MicroEtch air brush blaster. About 1mm nozzle, just tiny.


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## precisionworks (Jul 16, 2011)

Just posted this in my "Surefire Boring" thread in Custom BST:

For everyone who has a U2 and wants to run an 18650, or for those who would buy a U2 IF it could run an 18650, your wait is almost over 

My "organ donor" U2 was purchased on The Marketplace & arrived today. When Surefire designed & built that light, they made it to withstand Armageddon. The wall thickness at the O-ring groove is .013" thicker than any other SF tube that I've measured so far. A standard SF will have a wall thickness after boring of .018"-.019". The U2 walls will measure .031"-.032" ... which is near the thickness of an unmodified standard SF tube. The U2 is a tank, most likely because it was designed as part of a DARPA project for the military.

The challenge with the current U2 is that a stainless steel insert has been press fitted & bonded to the rear of the tube. I've developed a method to remove the insert without harming the tube in any way, but quite a bit of time is added to the job. Because of that, boring/reaming/honing a U2 is the same price as an M4 - $56 plus shipping. The price chart in post #1 (in the Custom BST thread) has been changed to reflect the addition of the U2.

Turn around time on the U2 will be the same as any other light that arrives - typically one to two days. 

Some interesting info from another forum member:



> I also had one of the very first, original U2's, which allow an 18650 cell to fit inside "as is" - with no boring, but this was 5+ years ago. This is why the tube/wall thickness is so large - it originally accepted the "fat" cell.


I can certainly understand why SF wants to limit battery choice to only CR123 - fewer warranty issues, fewer people who will mod their light, etc. Some owners just don't like the two hour runtime that SF claims on high level ... not sure how much farther the 18650 extends that, but it has to be significant. Plus, modding the U2 with multiple emitters (a la Milky & others) makes a lot more sense with 18650.


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## wquiles (Jul 16, 2011)

Here are some interesting older threads from back in the day when the U2 supported the "fat" 18650 cell 

- Old reviews:
http://www.jtice.com/review/lights/u2/
http://www.cones-stuff.co.uk/Surefire%20U2.htm

- Somebody back in 2007 selling their "18650-compatible" U2:
http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/showthread.php?158143-FS-Surefire-U2-%2818650-compatiable%29-%28WITHDRAWN%29

- Here from an interesting period where SF added a plastic insert inside the tube so that one would use only the skinny CR123 cells:
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?99132-Surefire-U2-no-longer-accepts-18650-cells!


Will


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## precisionworks (Jul 16, 2011)

Will, I appreciate all the background info on the U2 

The plastic sleeve has been mentioned before, but apparently it was too easy to remove. The pressed in & bonded collar is a #@$%&*() to separate from the tube. I surely hope that no one tries this on their own, as it would be easy to ruin the tube while trying to remove the SS collar. 

If it were not for that collar (and of course the need for a new fixture) the U2 would be no harder than a 6P ... but the SS collar will not go quietly into the night :shakehead


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## precisionworks (Jul 16, 2011)

Here's the post copied over from Custom BST. There weren't any big surprises, other than figuring out a work around for the thickness removed by taking out the SS insert. One of the last photos shows the solution.

Already had one member inquire about boring a Kroma, which should be an identical twin to the U2. And I sent a PM to Milky, as he seems to do more U2 mods than most anyone else.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


The little stainless steel insert that poses such a big obstacle. The light cannot be bored unless the SS insert is removed:












Notice the very thick walls at the head end of the U2 ... almost looks like a piece of pipe:






Measuring the inside diameter of the tail end shows .747" after the SS insert was removed:






Measuring the inside diameter of the head, just behind the LE, shows .745":






Since both the tail & the head are awfully close to .750", and since I have a brand new reamer sized at .750", that will be the dimension that the U2's will be bored to.

The spring on the back of the LE sits down in a shallow well, and the spring itself is short. For that reason, no lip will be left in the U2 tube, so the battery can come as far forward as possible:






The tube was fixtured in the 4-jaw chuck on the lathe & centered up. First step was boring out to .740", second step was reaming to .750". Photo below shows the finish left by the reamer (which on its own isn't bad):






The next step is ball honing to smooth & refine the finish:






I was certain that removing the SS insert would cause the tail cap to bottom out against the clip cover without making contact with the switch. Measurements showed that the tail cap needed to be shortened .030". A 30° bevel was then machined so the tail cap would slide smoothly over the O-ring:






The drawback to facing off the tail cap is that a tiny edge is visible if the light is just right:






Other than that, this U2 looks factory stock ... but packs a BIG surprise inside


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## gadget_lover (Jul 17, 2011)

What was the reason that the SS insert had to be removed? Was it because you wanted to hit .750, or was .750 chosen because that was the next size up after removing the insert?

Dan


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## precisionworks (Jul 17, 2011)

Good question, Dan. The SS insert needs to come out to load a battery from the rear. It could have been left in & the battery could be front loaded, since there is no lip.

I'm looking at making an ultra pure copper insert that will press in & replace the SS insert, so no tailcap mod would be needed.



> Was it because you wanted to hit .750, or was .750 chosen because that was the next size up after removing the insert?


Some makers already use .750" as their standard bore, because all 18650's will fit inside a .750" bore. Since the inside of the head was already close to that number, I saw no reason not to use .750" ... especially with the ultra thick walls on the U2 tube.


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## precisionworks (Jul 18, 2011)

I posted this in the SF Boring thread in Custom BST, but thought it would also be of interest here (from a technical point of view).

Received a request to bore a Thrunite Neutron 1A, which normally takes a single AA cell. The customer wants to be able to use an AW17500, and also be able to use a regular AA:






Most of David's lights are thick walled and the 1A Neutron is no exception. For this job, having a thick wall to work with makes all the difference:






Every flash light boring job is started by determining the thinnest part of the tube. The 1A has three grooves that all measure .7175" - .7180".






All the available literature on 17500 cells indicates that their nominal diameter is 17.0mm and the max diameter is 17.5mm. My boring target is 17.526mm, just a fraction larger than the largest 17500 cell. 17.526mm = .690"

The reason for sizing so closely is that the difference between ID and OD needs to be at least .025", which will leave the walls at .0125" thickness. By stopping at .690", the walls will be .0135" thick, which is the thickness of some commercial tubes.

The rear of the tube is held in a 5C collet chuck. The collet is almost never used for light boring, as most lights have a longer length to diameter ratio. The 1A is short enough that the collet provides secure grip & near perfect centering. Run out (on the indicator face) shows .0002", and this same reading was obtained inside the tube and at the chuck end of the tube:






Set the speed to 1000 rpm and the auto feed to the finest setting. Took very light cuts, never more than .020" DOC, because of the delicate nature of the chucking. Photo below is with the light spinning, frozen by flash. You can just see where the boring bar has started cutting.








The tube was slowly brought to final size by taking a number of spring passes (additional boring passes taken without moving the tool any deeper).











Final bore size is on the money at .690". The micrometer reading is .015" past .675", for a total reading of .690".






I was totally unfamiliar with the 1A until this light came in. Well built, as is my Catapult V2 from the same maker. It uses an XM-L, with drive limited to about 150 lumens - probably because one AA cell has no more capacity than that. It will be interesting to see what happens to the output with a 17500.

Selfbuilt did an extensive review here: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?311559-Thrunite-Neutron-Series-%28XM-L%29-1C-2C-1A-2A-Review-RUNTIMES-BEAMSHOTS-and-more!


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## precisionworks (Jul 21, 2011)

Spent the entire day in the shop on breakdown work. When I picked this chain hoist up from the owner & asked when he needed it back, his reply was "yesterday". Hung it from the overhead air hoist and went to work. Four hours later & it's good as new.






Delivered that 172# beast & headed back to the shop for real work - lights, that is. Started with a stick of 1.5" Delrin, as that was the closest size I had. Won't do that again, since 1.5" will not fit into the 5C collet chuck, and the 5C is a much better way to run this part.






Turned it down to just under the bore diameter. Wanted to hit .6880" (2 thou clearance) but got pretty close at .6879". If you've turned Delrin, you know that it's easy to take .100"-.200" DOC, with the highest speed available on your lathe:






Slipped the light tube over the spacer shaft to check for fit. The spacer has to be wiggled on, but once in the tube it slides smoothly:






Drilled the hole for the copper post with a 3/16" drill (.1875") and verified with the mic that the hole was on size. Drills often drill larger than marked size, but this one got a fresh grind right before use:






Chucked up the C101 and turned it down to the diameter of the drilled hole +.004", for a tight press fit. C101 is a bear to work, not at all like aluminum. Machinability rating is 20, compared to a rating of 100 for brass alloy 360. In a word, C101 sucks :shakehead

Also, if you plan a heavy press fit like this, remember that Delrin will expand a little. Even though the OD was dead on without the pin, it "grew" by .002" after the pin was pressed in ... enough that it would not fit into the tube. Not hard to re turn, but something to avoid if possible:











Cut off the spacer & pressed the post into the spacer with the top projecting more than the bottom:











Slipped a new SF CR123 into the tube. SF bores their lights to .692", so the .690" bore on the Neutron is just a fraction tighter than the fit of a CR123 in any SF light.






Pushed the spacer in after the battery & the pressure of the spring at the switch is more than enough to let the spacer move up & down:






Lee & I had discusse removing the ano from the threads so the tube could be run forward or backwards, but it works both ways just as is (here shown backwards):






And shown in the "normal" config:






All modes work perfectly either way. My shop built sphere shows 158.33 lumens with a fresh CR123 :thumbsup:

It's pretty impressive for a light designed for a AA cell, and can now use either CR123 or 17500.


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## wquiles (Jul 21, 2011)

Nice work 

Will


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## precisionworks (Jul 21, 2011)

Thanks, Will. That one spacer took forever & was a money loser at $15. But the next one will be turned from either 1" or 3/4" Delrin & will use 3/16" Copper 101. That way, both the Delrin & the copper start at near net size, and both can be run in the 5C collet.

If you've never turned C101 (and I had not) it is a real treat. Gummy, sticky, unbreakable chips that are scalding hot ... like the worst combination of cold rolled steel + 6061. If there was a lot to turn, I'd optimize the inserts for that material.


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## wquiles (Jul 21, 2011)

I often use Copper for my own adapters/heatsinks/etc., but so far it is mostly C110. To cut it I just use the positive edge Aluminum-specific inserts, along with the near-dry lubricator - then dealing with Copper is not so bad:


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## Mick (Jul 21, 2011)

Try alloy 145 and you will never cuss copper again.


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## precisionworks (Jul 22, 2011)

C145 is the "free machining" copper alloy. Machines nicely, but conductivity is way below C110 @ 100%, and C101 @ 101%.

Although it's often used for motor & switch parts, those are typically high voltage/low amperage applications. A heavily driven LED is just the opposite, low voltage/high amperage.


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## Mick (Jul 23, 2011)

Then McM-Carr chart is wrong? http://www.mcmaster.com/#about-copper/=davz4e


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## precisionworks (Jul 23, 2011)

McMaster is never wrong ... I have to say that because I owe them my first born son :nana:

McM lists C101, C110 & C145 as "excellent", which is a bit broad. Any conductivity between 90% and 101% qualifies as excellent, with C101 being the most excellent & C 145 being the least.


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## Darvis (Aug 2, 2011)

I'm not a machinist, not even close, but I so thoroughly enjoy reading your incredible threads with the great details and pictures. Please keep up the great work!!


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## precisionworks (Aug 3, 2011)

Darvis said:


> I'm not a machinist, not even close, but I so thoroughly enjoy reading your incredible threads with the great details and pictures. Please keep up the great work!!


 
Thank you very much 

I have always enjoyed the r&d and development work As much as the actual machining. We are currently developing a l e d tower for the m 4. Free machining copper looks like the best material for this part. When a final design is reached, we will program the Haas CNC lathe so that parts can be produced at a lower cost. I have never had access to this type of equipment so this will be interesting to say the least.


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## PEU (Aug 3, 2011)

precisionworks said:


> McMaster is never wrong ... I have to say that because I owe them my first born son :nana:



Part Number? 


Pablo


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## notrefined (Aug 3, 2011)

just a thought...one service I don't see offered very much is boring e-series tubes for 17mm cells. I don't really need this done myself, but if you are interested I can send you a donor body.


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## precisionworks (Aug 3, 2011)

notrefined said:


> just a thought...one service I don't see offered very much is boring e-series tubes for 17mm cells. I don't really need this done myself, but if you are interested I can send you a donor body.



I appreciate your generous offer of a donor body  I may take you up on this later on.

Boring for 17650 would present no issues. 17 mm cells can run as large as 17.2 mm, so boring to 17.4 mm allows all current cells to fit. That equals .685" inside diameter, which leaves lots of wall thickness at the O-ring groove (.750" OD). 

If the backlog of work ever clears up, my personal E2L is waiting for surgery ... actually, boring for 18650. It is just barely doable, meaning that the absolute minimum bore size is used to fit a specific brand & capacity of battery. AW18650's (2900 mAh) measure as large as .726", so boring to .727" would allow the cell to fit in with almost zero clearance, while still leaving adequate wall thickness.


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## wquiles (Aug 3, 2011)

precisionworks said:


> We are currently developing a l e d tower for the m 4.



That sounds interesting


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## precisionworks (Aug 3, 2011)

wquiles said:


> That sounds interesting



We've been discussing that on Custom & Modified BST: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...3T-M4-M6-KT1-KT2-KT4-head(accept-17mm-driver)

It looks like such a simple project, but doing it right requires a lot of work. I'm trying to prototype a model that adds thermal mass immediately behind the very bottom of the reflector, and make the tower from C145 Tellurium Copper (free machining). My paying jobs continue to interfere with this and other development work. 

My boss and I are looking at a possible 18650 titanium light, but that project has a long time line - if ever. I have an idea for something no one else is producing ... which makes me wonder why no one else is already making one


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## wquiles (Aug 3, 2011)

precisionworks said:


> We've been discussing that on Custom & Modified BST: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...3T-M4-M6-KT1-KT2-KT4-head(accept-17mm-driver)
> 
> It looks like such a simple project, but doing it right requires a lot of work. I'm trying to prototype a model that adds thermal mass immediately behind the very bottom of the reflector, and make the tower from C145 Tellurium Copper (free machining). My paying jobs continue to interfere with this and other development work.


Making one of those LED towers was one of my very first projects in the lathe, several years ago - I think while I still had the 7x lathe (I think it was using a Luxeon 5W LED - back then 200+ Lumens was considered state of the art!) 



precisionworks said:


> My boss and I are looking at a possible 18650 titanium light, but that project has a long time line - if ever. I have an idea for something no one else is producing ... which makes me wonder why no one else is already making one


When you are ready, you can always do a brass or Aluminum prototype to introduce the "concept" and get interest - that would help you determine if there is a market for it.


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## precisionworks (Aug 4, 2011)

> you can always do a brass or Aluminum prototype to introduce the "concept" and get interest - that would help you determine if there is a market for it.



While logical to do that, we cannot determine final pricing without machining a "for sale" version out of Ti6-4. Material pricing is easy, design time will be factored in, but machining time will make a huge difference in pricing. Adding or deleting features, like a cooling bezel, will greatly raise or lower final pricing.

About the only decision so far is that a McClickie switch will be used :nana:

When we slow down, a 3D model will be drawn in Alibre CAD (which I know nothing about), a prototype or three will be cut from Delrin to assure fit & functionality, and a working version will be machined from Ti6-4. No photos or info will be released until we have at least one ready to sell.

If it sells, great. If not, the materials & machine time will not break my bank account & I get to add one more light to my collection


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## wquiles (Aug 4, 2011)

precisionworks said:


> While logical to do that, we cannot determine final pricing without machining a "for sale" version out of Ti6-4. Material pricing is easy, design time will be factored in, but machining time will make a huge difference in pricing. Adding or deleting features, like a cooling bezel, will greatly raise or lower final pricing.
> 
> About the only decision so far is that a McClickie switch will be used :nana:
> 
> ...


 
Sounds like a good plan. And by the way Alibre Expert CAD is what I have been using myself for my 3D work - still very much in learning mode


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## 350xfire (Aug 6, 2011)

jabe1 said:


> I was thinking about shortening, rethreading and boring. The C sized lights cannot accept 26650 or 26500 batteries.
> Also cutting down to specific lengths, some modders offer this, but I haven't seen one cut down from the switch side, and rethreaded to fit the head....
> of course, the tailcap would need to be bored for a switch.
> The quality of your work is obvious from the photos.
> have you thought about Maglite heatsinks?


 
I cut the switch side and re-thread the top on my dive light applications. 25500 cells will fit, but the protection circuit makes them longer so you need a bit of extra space to be able to screw the cap back on. If you are using 2, then buy a 3 cell C and trim.


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## precisionworks (Aug 6, 2011)

350xfire said:


> I cut the switch side and re-thread the top on my dive light applications. 25500 cells will fit, but the protection circuit makes them longer so you need a bit of extra space to be able to screw the cap back on. If you are using 2, then buy a 3 cell C and trim.


 
You may want to contact *jabe1* and discuss this with him, as I don't plan to offer this service. You are more than welcome to the Mag mod business, as the SF modding keeps me plenty busy.

Posted a few (lol) photos in the Custom & Modified BST thread, but not everyone here goes over there.

Received a carton full of SF lights for boring, plus a couple of Ti Quarks for bead blasting. The M3 plus extender was first on the lathe. Look closely and you'll see the junction of the A19 extender inside the tube:







Front view, showing the retention lip:






FWIW, all the lights shown below were done in an 8 hour day. Subtract lunch and there are probably 7 machining & finishing hours.

First is a pair of polished Ti Quark 123 Tacticals from 4Sevens ... my customer wanted the more subdued look of bead blasted titanium. Delrin caps were turned & bored for a press fit over the head & tail, so that about 1/4" on each end of the light would remain shiny. Tough stuff that Delrin, to endure glass beads launched with 100 psi air pressure. After blasting the bodies, the Delrin caps were removed & the polished ends were hand rubbed to a patina finish. Identical camera exposure & lighting was used for the before & after photos.































Next on the list is a SF L1 Digital LumaMax. When SF manufactures this model, they bore in from each end & leave a centralized partition (or tube divider) which works fine for 1XCR123 ... but doesn't allow using a 17670 or 2XCR123. 









The L1 got a special fixture machined so it could be secured in the lathe, then it was bored & honed:




















SF installs a brass sleeve at the tail end, similar to the stainless sleeve in a U2 except that the brass is dead soft & easy to bore through:









The L1 is now ready for more power:








A SF L5 Digital Lumamax was next in line. Someone attempted to open this tube up for non protected cells, but left the inside diameter way too small for protected 18650's. The herringbone pattern is called "chatter" and results from a combination of factors - a tube that is unsupported, a boring bar that is over extended, too many rpm, too deep a cut, etc. It is fugly:







A fixture was machined just to hold the L1, and the fixture gives 360° support to the thin tube. The photo below shows the light spinning at 1000 rpm, after the boring/reaming/honing are complete. There was concern that some of the herringbone might still show, as the first bore job was not concentric with the outside of the tube, but there was just enough material for a clean job:




















Last job is a SF A2 LED Aviator, on of my all time favorite lights. The A2, like the E-Series, is too thin to bore for 18650, but there's plenty of room for a 17670. SF installs the stainless steel press fit collar in the rear of the tube, and the customer wanted the tube bored from the front with the collar left intact:






That's why there is no retention lip at the front:






My integrating sphere showed 4.3 lumens on the low/red LED setting:






And 138 lumens with everything lit up. This is on a 17670 that's been off the charger for a while.


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## precisionworks (Aug 8, 2011)

I've been thinking about this for a long time, and decided to give it a try today. Easier to make that decision since I scored a new tube for $25 on The Marketplace, so almost no risk.


The battery measured .725" at the fattest part, and the bore was finished out at .7265" to give a snug sliding fit (no force needed to insert or remove, but it is a piston fit so the air has to come out as the battery goes in):







The key to super critical boring is a dead nuts chuck adjustment combined with a zero runout fixture. The chuck was out .0008" TIR but adjusted down to .0004" TIR. The light, mounted in the fixture in the chuck, also showed .0004" TIR - as good as it gets in this world (or at least in my shop).






Low output measured 11 lumens in my sphere (SF states 3 lumens)






High output is a big surprise, measuring 113 lumens in the sphere (SF states 60 lumens)






A solder drop or a magnet must be used to extend the rear of the LE so it contacts a flat top cell.


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## notrefined (Aug 9, 2011)

I can still send a spare E2e tube if you want it to play with, but it looks like you've got the e-series thing down :thumbsup: 

let me know


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## precisionworks (Aug 9, 2011)

notrefined said:


> I can still send a spare E2e tube if you want it to play with, but it looks like you've got the e-series thing down :thumbsup:
> 
> let me know


 I do appreciate your generous offer. I am pretty comfortable with the process at this time but you never know when the experimental bug will bite again


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## precisionworks (Aug 11, 2011)

This is posted in the BST forum, but perhaps someone here may be able to help ...



> Received a well packaged Priority Mail carton from CPF member *barry*. It contained a SF Z44 bezel that he is generously donating for trit vial sizing. THANK YOU !!!
> 
> As most of you know, the Z44 is a hexagonal "anti roll" bezel, so there are six flats to work with. Problem is, contrary to what I stated earlier, the flats are really thin, some measuring only .056" (1.4mm). The most common trit vial measures .059" (1.5mm), so milling the slot to 1.5mm would result in the cutter going through the inside of the bezel. Not an acceptable outcome.
> 
> ...


There is surely someone in this group who wants to take on this challenge, and the Z44 can be done with the smaller vials. I sent an email to a company in Sweden, but it sounds like they require an export license ... which might take a looooong time to obtain.


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## precisionworks (Aug 22, 2011)

jabe1 said:


> It looks like you're well on your way!



I tend to agree. In three months there have been 6000 page views of my thread in Custom BST. The bead blasting has generated some interest, but it looks like the trit milling may be the most popular service. At some point I'll probably offer milling & installation as a package, instead of offering one or the other.

A pair of M4's were bored last week & they took all the bar length I had, as the bore distance is 5.5555" (eleven diameters with a solid carbide bar). So I phoned Vic Gallagher at Rani Tool & purchased an Ultra-Dex bar that takes the aluminum specific high-positive insert. That one gets a trial in the morning & hopefully will eliminate the BUE problem that the other inserts were causing. 
















A search for a Yuasa Accu-Dex came up with nothing under $1000, so I bought a new Phase II+ Super Spacer today (225-008). The 8" chuck is a Set-Tru design adjustable to .0005" TIR, and should be perfect for trit milling. $500 delivered from http://stores.ebay.com/missourimechanicshop

Emailed an offer, got a return email within 10 minutes, telephoned him & did the deal while on the phone ... and UPS already has it on the Brown Truck. Really a nice guy to deal with.

http://www.phase2plus.com/details.asp?pr=SUPER_SPACER&id=61

At 135#, this tool will likely take up residence on the right side of the mill table (the Kurt owns the left side). A 6" would have been plenty, but 8" spacers are more common & cost no more than the 6".

MSC had a good sale on their Accu-Pro end mills, & a few ball end mills were purchased for both aluminum & titanium. The package came & weighed about an ounce ... and cost the same as an 8" solid carbide bar 

Should be set for tooling for a while, at least according to my wife


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## precisionworks (Aug 29, 2011)

The Super Spacer crate was delivered while I was in the house eating dinner last Wednesday ... base of the SS was in the crate, chuck for the SS was nowhere in sight  UPS seems to have lost it during the 90 mile trip from St. Louis to Benton, which goes to prove that UPS can lose even a 60# piece of metal that was secured inside a crate. The shipper filed a claim & was reimbursed, so he credited back my Paypal account. MSC had a 35% off sale last Thursday & Friday, so I got a Phase II Set-Tru chuck ordered & it will arrive tomorrow.

Spent a couple of hours today tearing down the base, cleaning & polishing, so it would be ready for the chuck. Talk about a dead nuts knock off of the Yuasa, Phase II copied everything chapter & verse ... even the Yuasa owners manual was used as a guide for dis-assembly. Fit & finish are impressive, the best I've ever seen on anything Chinese, with all critical surfaces hardened & Blanchard ground. The master index plate is a snug press fit on the table & requires using jack bolts for removal. The table to base fit is just under .0001" TIR, showing careful machining & fitting. 

All the parts that were lathe turned were perfect. All the edges that were hand ground were pathetic, with not one being straight, square or deburred. The index masking plates had more burrs and sharp edges than I could count, causing the shot pin to catch before dropping into a slot.

All in all a nice super spacer at a low price, and more than adequate for its intended use.


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## precisionworks (Aug 30, 2011)

The Phase II 8" Set-Tru chuck came this afternoon ... talk about the good, the bad & the ugly :devil:

Good - Set-Tru style, like the Bison & Buck. Two piece jaws. Through hole is 2.480".

Bad - Enough machining grit inside to fill a coffee can, so a complete tear down was done before mounting to the base. Lot of polishing & deburring, then relubricated with Bison Chuck Grease.

Fit of the top jaws to the master jaws is perfect, tight enough that the top jaws have to be wiggled off and wiggled back on. Burrs on the mating surfaces required light stoning with a Hard Arkansas stone, but the fit is just right. Dialed in a piece of Thomson Linear Shafting & got the TIR below .0005", which is good enough for what I do. 

In total, four hours were spent on the base plus two more hours on the chuck. Performance should equal a Yuasa, but that comes at the cost of remanufacturing both the base & the chuck. A lightly used Yuasa would have cost no more when the value of my shop time is factored in.


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## wquiles (Aug 30, 2011)

Photos .....

We need photos ...

:devil:


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## precisionworks (Aug 30, 2011)

First made up a set of press fit handle covers from brown Linen Micarta:















Didn't like the way the shot-pin spring cap looked so a press fit aluminum cover was knurled & bored. The fit was .010" interference on a 1.371" diameter, tight but not bad with a 3 ton arbor press.






The witness scale would not align, as the left hole is located high, the right hole is located low, and both holes are too far to the right. The scale holes were opened up with a 3/16" end mill, allowing the scale to correctly line up.






On the table 

The through hole is 2.480", and 2" black pipe is 2.375", so a 24" long piece of pipe was slid through the chuck & spacer and used as a lifting aid. 






Shown with a McG Haiku. Don't worry, this light sees a lot worse treatment than this :nana:


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## wquiles (Aug 30, 2011)

Alright!!! Now we are talking


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## precisionworks (Sep 1, 2011)

Modified my boring bar setup, first by going to a CXA-6 "wide block" that allows double row clamping, then by fabricating a vibration damper:






Folded a piece of brass sheet stock to cushion the bar:






Results came out nicely on the E2E bored for 18650:


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## precisionworks (Sep 5, 2011)

Spent some time yesterday making an adapter base to go between the Super Spacer & the mill table. The mounting slots on the SS (with the spacer standing up) are too wide for my mill-drill table, so a piece of Mic-6 plate was used to make things work.


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## wquiles (Sep 5, 2011)

That head looks awesome!


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## precisionworks (Sep 5, 2011)

wquiles said:


> That head looks awesome!



TYVM 

I showed it to my wife & she said "Those are so dim, nobody would pay to have that done". Women just do not understand.


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## darkzero (Sep 6, 2011)

Very nice vibration damper! Is that a common way of doing it or is that another genious idea of yours? How effective is it?


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## precisionworks (Sep 6, 2011)

> Very nice vibration damper! Is that a common way of doing it ...


I've seen various things clamped onto the end of a boring bar - vise grips, C-clamps, anything that was available at the time needed. The damper clamped into the tool block is something I had not seen before but someone has certainly done it that way because it brings the additional mass closer to the source of vibration (the insert at the tip). A few lights had been bored with the new Ultra-Dex bar without damper, but those bored with the damper came out smoother.

FWIW, the tooling block + bar + damper weighs 11.9# (about 5 kg).


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## darkzero (Sep 7, 2011)

Thanks Barry. I like the idea & will definitely have to try something like this on one of my smaller bars. I really hope it works out for me.


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## precisionworks (Sep 15, 2011)

A few more trit photos:

The first slot is for a 2.5x8mm vial:








The second slot holds a 1.5x5mm vial:






Both slots ended really close to the piston sidewall:






A pattern shaped like the Greek letter pi:


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## BVH (Sep 15, 2011)

A good example of your nearly dry coolant system? Don't see any appreciable evidence of liquid coolant.

Makes me want to forget about my idea of waiting to order the mill!


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## precisionworks (Sep 15, 2011)

I do not have the accu lube on the mill yet. Everything so far has been above my budget but 1 will come along sooner or later.

The orange tip in the photo attaches to loc line hose that goes back to a small regulator. It takes only 5 to 10 pounds of air pressure to keep the slot free of chips. Not as good as accu lube but better than anything else I have at this time.


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## precisionworks (Sep 16, 2011)

Here's the way the chip blower is assembled. Everything was found here & there in the shop which is what happens when nothing is ever thrown away  











The regulator & Loc-Line hose were first used by laying the assembly on the mill table ... that worked poorly as the hose was impossible to adjust. Then a magnet was attached to the hose & that wasn't a lot better because the hose still flopped around. Finally the mag base idea evolved but it took a while to figure out the mechanical connection between the regulator & the mag base. The silver part (above the mag base & below the regulator) is a standard 1/8" NPT fitting that was turned down & threaded so it would screw into the mag base. Since the regulator is pressurized the fitting had to be sealed & it was filled with thick viscosity CA (super glue).

Even at only 5-10 psi aluminum chips are blown about 8'. Titanium chips don't travel as far since they are three times heavier. Keeping a tiny slot clean, especially when milling Ti, is essential both for part finish as well as tool life.


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## BVH (Sep 16, 2011)

Ahhhh, a chip blower. Got it. Something I would not have thought of but now seems essential.


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## wquiles (Sep 16, 2011)

BVH said:


> Ahhhh, a chip blower. Got it. Something I would not have thought of but now seem essential.



In my near-dry machining setup, which has two separate (and individually controlled tips) I have found that I don't need to have both tips squirting lubricant, so I typically do a "hybrid" in which only one tip is sending the majority of the fluid, and the second is used like Barry shows here, to move chips away from the cutting surface 

Will


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## precisionworks (Oct 30, 2011)

Trits are so small that I finally bit the bullet & snagged a Canon 100mm Macro lens on eBay. With the ability to reproduce images at 1:1 there's almost no need to enlarge an image using cropping. Photos below shot at ISO200, f/11, 120 seconds.


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## wquiles (Oct 30, 2011)

Awesome photos!


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## precisionworks (Oct 30, 2011)

wquiles said:


> Awesome photos!


Thank you 

As always a lot of research was done before pulling the trigger. The Canon 50mm Macro was the first lens to be considered but I'd owned that focal length macro lens before & it's difficult to use - the subject almost touches the front lens element (or is covered by the lens hood) which makes lighting difficult. Almost the same can be said for the 60mm Macro lenses. That pushed me towards the 90-100mm focal length in either Sigma, Tamron, Tokina or Canon. Test after test showed the Canon to be the best of the bunch. The lens I found on eBay came in the original carton with instruction manual & looked like it had never been used, at a price that was $200 less than a new one.


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## gadget_lover (Oct 30, 2011)

Isn't it amazing that a perfectly smooth surface will show all sorts of machining marks when a camera and macro are used? The edge of that bezel was obviously turned on a lathe of some sort. 

The trit slots on the bezel, OTOH, are flawless. My hat's off to you.

Daniel


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## precisionworks (Oct 30, 2011)

> a perfectly smooth surface will show all sorts of machining marks when a camera and macro are used


+1

Details are seen in macro that are missed even under magnification. Here are shots with a Nikon 5T plus Nikon 6T achromatic diopter lens screwed onto the macro lens ...











The trits in the photo above measure 1.5x5mm so two stacked end to end are just under half an inch (10mm) :devil:


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## precisionworks (Nov 8, 2011)

Received a light for boring & looked at it for a while before determining how to hold it in the lathe. Diameter at the big end is 1.493" and that diameter extends for about 1.5" to the rear. Even though a lot of tube would be hanging out in space this seemed like an idea that might work. 

Took a piece of 2" diameter Delrin rod, lightly turned the OD round & bored it for 1.493". Triple split the piece on the table saw:






Dialed the 3-jaw in using the Thomson rod so that TIR was under .0005". Mounted the split collet & light, cranked the jaws closed & checked TIR at the O-ring groove. Amazingly it was well under .001" 






Used my normal procedure of taking .010" radial DOC per pass & finished with the reamer & then the hone.


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## precisionworks (Dec 1, 2011)

A few HDS lights have been sent to me for trit milling. The tube thickness is just barely enough for a 2x8mm vial to sit dead flush but when the Norland is added it domes slightly over the trit:






Because the vial is not recessed into the slot it is possible that an impact might damage the vial. As a work around to this problem I looked at installing a pair of 1.5x5mm vials side by side in one slot. It looks like this will work out well and allow the trits to be fully protected by the walls of the slot. 

Single 2x8 slot on left, double 1.5x5 slot on right:





With trits dry installed:





Almost identical in surface area & light output:


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