Wood grip for MAGLITE- mini tutorial

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rherrell

rherrell

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Aug 22, 2006
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Location
Pilot Mountain, NC
Last week I asked for your help here.... http://www.penturners.org/forum/showthread.php?t=56726

After reading that forum I realized there was no "kit" so I bought a "MINI-MAG" and set about figuring it out.
As soon as I got it home I realized that the aluminum body needed to be turned down so I could get the wood grip "flush", like with pen hardware I wanted a seamless fit. I put it on my metal lathe and turned it down to just under 17mm. I was VERY lucky as I had a 17mm brad point bit.
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Here's the turned down body, a piece of Curly Maple drilled out to 17mm and a pin chuck that I needed to make. Notice the front, I needed to leave .315" of the body unturned as this fits under the lens piece and I didn't want the finish to get messed up.
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Here it is mounted on the pin chuck ready to turn. I used epoxy to glue it on the aluminum.
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Here it is turned down and ready to sand. I used some tape to protect the aluminum during sanding and finishing.
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After I sanded it I felt it needed some "pop" so I "popped" it with some green food coloring. If you use food coloring do ALL your sanding BEFORE you put on the color. After it dries use a piece of brown paper bag to "burnish" the surface. This removes all the whiskers and shines it up some.
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Here's the finished product. I used a Sharpie for reference and as you can see it's not very big, just about right for my first one though. I think I'll try the next size larger one and maybe try and cover the lens part with some wood, that looks like a MAJOR challenge.....for me anyway.:wink:

The finish is CA, sanded with 600 W/D paper and buffed out with tripoli and white diamond.
 

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Thanks everyone, I'm glad you like it.:biggrin:

hewunch said:
Could you turn the wood part between centers instead of using a pin chuck?
Click to expand...
That was the first thing I thought of Hans, BUT, the plastic lampholder in the end has "DO NOT REMOVE" printed on it, so I made the pin chuck. I couldn't see any way to remove it without possibly damaging it but I'm sure one of you will figure it out.:wink:
 
jleiwig said:
Yeah you could, but I'm lazy and short on time. :biggrin:
Click to expand...

At least you were honest about it. :biggrin::tongue:

After thinking about it a little more, I think a metal file would be a better choice to turn down the barrel rather than chisels...assuming of course you don't have a metal lathe.
 
rherrell said:
Thanks everyone, I'm glad you like it.:biggrin:



That was the first thing I thought of Hans, BUT, the plastic lampholder in the end has "DO NOT REMOVE" printed on it, so I made the pin chuck. I couldn't see any way to remove it without possibly damaging it but I'm sure one of you will figure it out.:wink:
Click to expand...

Well, what do you know, there is a "Do Not Remove" on that. Well, I removed it the other day and put it back together and the light still works so it can be done. I will post pics later when I do it again... cause I love tearing stuff up :biggrin:

BTW, I never said it, but this is SUPER COOL and you did a great job with it. Now, if we can just find a place that will wholesale mini mags :rolleyes:
 
hewunch said:
Well, what do you know, there is a "Do Not Remove" on that. Well, I removed it the other day and put it back together and the light still works so it can be done. I will post pics later when I do it again... cause I love tearing stuff up :biggrin:

BTW, I never said it, but this is SUPER COOL and you did a great job with it. Now, if we can just find a place that will wholesale mini mags :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

See, I told you somebody would figure it out!
That should encourage those that can't make their own pin chucks, looks like turning these between centers is an option.:biggrin:
 
You know, considering that the handle doesn't actually touch the ground when the flashlight is resting and that actually looks like a pretty thick CA finish...I'd be surprised if it doesn't hold up pretty nicely..:foot-in-mouth:
 
Nice job Rick!

Anyone want to try to guess when one of the major suppliers starts maketing their own version? :biggrin:
 
Great Job Rick. I thought that we had a tutorial on making our own pin chuck but I cannot find it or else I was wrong. Has anyone seen a tutorial on it?
 
hewunch said:
Well, what do you know, there is a "Do Not Remove" on that. Well, I removed it the other day
Click to expand...

Now you've done it.

You know they monitor these groups, don't you?
It's the same people as the mattress police.
You don't mess with them. They know you removed the
mattress tags, and now they know you took the tags off
of your maglight, too.

You probably run with scissors, too. Don't you?

Don't you??? :tongue:
 
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NewLondon88 said:
Now you've done it.

You know they monitor these groups, don't you?
It's the same people as the mattress police.
You don't mess with them. They know you removed the
mattress tags, and now they know you took the tags off
of your maglight, too.

You probably run with scissors, too. Don't you?

Don't you??? :tongue:
Click to expand...

um, if you see me running look for the guy behind me with a knife. And later on you can tell DOT where the pot holes came from :tongue:
 
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