Welcome to Laser Pointer Forums - discuss green laser pointers, blue laser pointers, and all types of lasers

LPF Donation via Stripe | LPF Donation - Other Methods

Links below open in new window

ArcticMyst Security by Avery

Custom 6061 Aluminum Body Build

Joined
Nov 26, 2017
Messages
40
Points
8
Hey guys, I went down to my Dad's to use my lathe again a couple days ago, and got done everything i needed to in short time, so i started playing around with the leftover 6061 stock from the Medusa build.

i just started turning it, and went with a 'lets see what this aluminum wants to be' attitude. i think it turned out pretty alright! i machined a piece of brass to retain the laser in the nose, and an aluminum plug that i made my own snaprings for to retain the battery. it has internal shoulders to keep everything firmly in place, and is really tough haha!

i am still working on the button for it, but maybe you guys have some suggestions for the button mechanism. being that the button is on the back, i dont want a momentary switch, but in the meantime i have used a cheapie switch out of an old flashlight that i harvested parts from a while back...

power source is a 18650

anyways, here she is! :beer:

01_zpswkm2dq5r.jpg


02_zpsvagntkxl.jpg


03_zpssde1ku6d.jpg


04_zpskiy1knp8.jpg


05_zps7wreqx4x.jpg


Cheers, thanks for lookin!
 





BobMc

0
Joined
Apr 23, 2016
Messages
3,685
Points
113
Don't know if it's your first attempt at a host, if it is, I have to say well done. :gj:
Enjoy your new laser. :)
 
Joined
Nov 26, 2017
Messages
40
Points
8
Don't know if it's your first attempt at a host, if it is, I have to say well done. :gj:
Enjoy your new laser. :)

ive never made a portable laser host before :) the first run of parts i actually manufactured myself were Medusa's heat sinks. they fit lasers inside them. but this is a whole new beast haha! had to incorporate a battery area, and have it separate from the laser area, and have enough space between the battery and the laser driver board so that they dont interfere. i soldered a spring back onto one of the green lasers (the extra one) and with the battery in, and the cap on, the spring is about half compressed, so it all went quite well! ive modified tons of parts on the lathe, but only have 3 days experience making parts on a lathe.

thank you :) :beer:
 

BobMc

0
Joined
Apr 23, 2016
Messages
3,685
Points
113
Only three day experience? In that case it turned out extremely well than. Impressive, keep up the good work. :)
 
Joined
Nov 26, 2017
Messages
40
Points
8
Only three day experience? In that case it turned out extremely well than. Impressive, keep up the good work. :)

Thanks man! yea, the last time i used the lathe, i turned down some hubs for my 1985 toyota pickup. i needed to fit rotors over the hubs, instead of bolting the rotors to the back of the hubs, so i turned the little ear tabs down... that was... oh jeeze... like 5 or 6 years ago...

last week i went back to my Dad's place for 2 days, and turned those 10 heat sink bodies, then had to leave. made the 4 hour trip again a couple days ago, and made a pulley for my belt grinder, and then this laser host.

i absolutely love working with metal. im good at it, and enjoy it a lot! any time i get to use my lathe is a good time!

cheers bud! thank you for the kind words :)
 
Joined
Jul 10, 2015
Messages
9,799
Points
113
Welcome to the laser addiction. :D

I'm out of rep ATM but will tag you L8R
 
Joined
Dec 15, 2014
Messages
6,775
Points
113
Hi,
Yes the host came out well indeed, you need to buy good switches lots on Fleabay. 10 ,12 , 16, 19 mm sizes. just check the Amp rating for them before you buy them. Keep it up you will get better each time you turn out a piece. Heres a few for you enjoy.

Rich:)
 

Attachments

  • fullsizeoutput_53b.jpeg
    fullsizeoutput_53b.jpeg
    142.4 KB · Views: 20
  • fullsizeoutput_4f4.jpeg
    fullsizeoutput_4f4.jpeg
    146.2 KB · Views: 20
  • fullsizeoutput_504.jpeg
    fullsizeoutput_504.jpeg
    175.7 KB · Views: 18
  • fullsizeoutput_4ca.jpeg
    fullsizeoutput_4ca.jpeg
    142 KB · Views: 20
  • fullsizeoutput_460.jpeg
    fullsizeoutput_460.jpeg
    115.6 KB · Views: 17
Joined
Nov 26, 2017
Messages
40
Points
8
Welcome to the laser addiction. :D

I'm out of rep ATM but will tag you L8R

its fun haha!

out of rep?

Hi,
Yes the host came out well indeed, you need to buy good switches lots on Fleabay. 10 ,12 , 16, 19 mm sizes. just check the Amp rating for them before you buy them. Keep it up you will get better each time you turn out a piece. Heres a few for you enjoy.

Rich:)

the switches that were on these lasers were those little 4 leg SMD miniswitches... they dont handle much current, so i used a switch with bigger contacts, and it works just fine. still would like to find a better solution, but honestly, i think im going to have to use my lathe again haha! i need to machine the end plug out to create a shoulder in it, so that the switch butts up against the back and sits just below flush with the outside. i know exactly what i need to do, i just cant do it because thats another 4 hour drive haha! one of these days i am going to bring my lathe home haha! my Dad and i were shooting for around Christmas time... that would be a hell of a present!

those look pretty nice, how do they come apart? my brass nozzle is VERY snugly fit. if i didnt knurl it, you wouldnt be able to get enough grip to twist and pull it out haha! and then my rear battery plug uses 2 snaprings that i made and inserted into 2 grooves i turned. i really need to get a finer parting tool for creating ring grooves. and i need a better boring bar. OR i need to build a tool to hold the boring bars that i have...



EDITED: here are some in-progress pics!

06_zps0p6rbgxq.jpg


07_zpsi8ft3sta.jpg


08_zpso0ooxb7p.jpg


09_zpsn46a3iey.jpg


10_zpscjo8z4et.jpg


11_zpso4kdrxxq.jpg


12_zpshbc8veqg.jpg


13_zps9azqtmfo.jpg
 
Last edited:
Joined
Dec 15, 2014
Messages
6,775
Points
113
Hi,
All my switches are 2 prong i don't do illuminated don't need the bells and whistles . I just build solid hosts with my own designs all my switches are 3,5,6 amp rated for the larger hosts. The pen builds i do have smaller switches to keep the footprint slim. Like 10440 and 14500 pens 1 & 2 battery . Hey if you don't have to drive 4 hrs just sleep over a couple days now and then and machine all day. Thats what i would do and at night you and your dad go out for a bite to eat. Quality time..
I keep my switches recessed for safety and you can stand them up to .

Rich:)
 
Joined
Nov 26, 2017
Messages
40
Points
8
Hi,
All my switches are 2 prong i don't do illuminated don't need the bells and whistles . I just build solid hosts with my own designs all my switches are 3,5,6 amp rated for the larger hosts. The pen builds i do have smaller switches to keep the footprint slim. Like 10440 and 14500 pens 1 & 2 battery .

10440 and 14500; are those battery sizes? i have a lot of 18650's so that's what i designed my housing around. i harvest 18650's out of drill packs, laptop packs, anything i can haha!



Hey if you don't have to drive 4 hrs just sleep over a couple days now and then and machine all day. Thats what i would do and at night you and your dad go out for a bite to eat. Quality time..
I keep my switches recessed for safety and you can stand them up to .

Rich:)

thats what i do. the Wife and I go down when she has a couple days off in a row, we spend 2 days there, and i machine all day. typically i dont eat breakfast or lunch, so i can work for like 6 or 7 hours straight, have dinner, then machine for a couple more hours.

im definitely going to have my switch slightly recessed just because i want to be able to stand it up, and avoid accidentally bumping it and turning it on.

dimensions of my host are:
1.132" at fattest part
6.169" long

its pretty small, it fits inside my pocked easily. one of my friends thought it was a bigger vape pen haha!
 
Joined
Dec 15, 2014
Messages
6,775
Points
113
Hi,
Those 10440's and 14500's are really for the pens i make . ! & 2 cell builds i am building a 2x14500 pen for a customer with grooves and a rounded focus adapter . Yes machine all you can if you have the time . i spend at least between 4 to 8 hours a day when given. A recessed tail switch is the way to go and it looks nice and clean.

Rich:)
 
Joined
Nov 26, 2017
Messages
40
Points
8
Hi,
Those 10440's and 14500's are really for the pens i make . ! & 2 cell builds i am building a 2x14500 pen for a customer with grooves and a rounded focus adapter . Yes machine all you can if you have the time . i spend at least between 4 to 8 hours a day when given. A recessed tail switch is the way to go and it looks nice and clean.

Rich:)

Nice. So how do your hosts come apart? Threaded or press fit? Once i get a proper tool for doing inside threads, ill be able to thread stuff. But for now, this one is press fit with some snap rings i made :)

Cheers!
 

BowtieGuy

0
LPF Site Supporter
Joined
Oct 14, 2012
Messages
6,090
Points
113
Very nice job on your new EDC size host/laser a56x, looking forward to more of your build projects! :gj:
 
Joined
Dec 15, 2014
Messages
6,775
Points
113
Hi,
Threading takes a lot of time with gear changes , or you can figure out what size tap and dies to conform to the size of the host. I make threaded tail caps with latching switches. Tooling is costly i cant count how much i spent on it and there's always another tool that catches my eye.

Rich:)
 
Joined
Sep 20, 2013
Messages
17,254
Points
113
Congratulations on your first laser pointer host. Hope you decide to stick with it. It can be fun....and profitable.
 
Joined
Nov 26, 2017
Messages
40
Points
8
Very nice job on your new EDC size host/laser a56x, looking forward to more of your build projects! :gj:

i am thoroughly enjoying lasers right now. honestly though, im kind of questioning what to do with them... they are cool to have, but for me, personally, they do not serve a purpose haha! i have no use for them... what do you do with your lasers?

on the other hand, im also more of a 'enjoy the journey' kinda guy... i LOVE building things more than actually using them... i love building aquariums and sumps more than maintaining them, but i really do enjoy my fish. i love building trucks and tools more than driving them and using them... i just enjoy the challenge of engineering something, then building it. so i very highly doubt this is my last laser host... ill probably make a whole bunch more, and each one will be better than the last.

cheers! :beer:

Hi,
Threading takes a lot of time with gear changes , or you can figure out what size tap and dies to conform to the size of the host. I make threaded tail caps with latching switches. Tooling is costly i cant count how much i spent on it and there's always another tool that catches my eye.

Rich:)

i have some rather large taps and dies. haha! but nothing quite that big... if i went with a smaller battery, instead of a 18650, i could use one of my taps... but i think my biggest tap is 3/4, and my battery cavity is just slightly too big for that tap haha!

ive already started eyeballing a quickchange tool post... and a new boring bar setup, and a new parting tool setup... im obsessed with tooling... i come from an automotive background, so i have a lot of tools. i even built a whole bunch of my own specialty tools because i didnt want to spend 150$ on something that i could make myself. have a whole drawer in my toolbox dedicated to specialty tools i made haha!

Congratulations on your first laser pointer host. Hope you decide to stick with it. It can be fun....and profitable.

if i could sell these, id definitely make a whole lot more! im probably going to make more anyways, just because i really enjoy working with metal. i love designing something, and then creating it with my own hands. the greatest thing in the world is taking something that started as a thought in your head, and making it tangible... being able to physically hold your idea is SOOOO satisfying haha!
 




Top