# Wood grip for MAGLITE- mini tutorial



## rherrell

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.





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.



Here it is mounted on the pin chuck ready to turn. I used epoxy to glue it on the aluminum.




Here it is turned down and ready to sand. I used some tape to protect the aluminum during sanding and finishing.




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.




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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## OKLAHOMAN

Neat!​


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## Phunky_2003

That is sweet.  I really like that!!

James


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## judgesawdust

*What a bright idea!*

Very Cool


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## jleiwig

So, who's going to start selling the turned down barrels?


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## gwisher

Now that is SWEET!


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## rjwolfe3

Awesome!


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## RAdams

jleiwig said:


> So, who's going to start selling the turned down barrels?


 


I was thinking (Hoping) for the same thing!


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## bgibb42

Really cool!


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## hewunch

Could you turn the wood part between centers instead of using a pin chuck?


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## snyiper

I would think it would take some hefty bushings 17mm!


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## jleiwig

snyiper said:


> I would think it would take some hefty bushings 17mm!


 
The bushings for the peppermills from JohnnyCNC are larger.


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## bgibb42

jleiwig said:


> So, who's going to start selling the turned down barrels?





RAdams said:


> I was thinking (Hoping) for the same thing!



I was wondering if you could turn down the barrels on a wood lathe with regular chisels.  I don't have a metal lathe.  I think I'll go try it this afternoon.


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## hewunch

snyiper said:


> I would think it would take some hefty bushings 17mm!



Why would you need bushings?


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## razor524

Real cool looking!


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## Jim15

Great looking flashlight, awesome work.


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## jbostian

Great idea.

Jamie


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## jleiwig

bgibb42 said:


> I was wondering if you could turn down the barrels on a wood lathe with regular chisels. I don't have a metal lathe. I think I'll go try it this afternoon.


 
Yeah you could, but I'm lazy and short on time. :biggrin:


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## rherrell

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?


 
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:


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## markgum

excellant work.


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## bgibb42

jleiwig said:


> Yeah you could, *but I'm lazy* and short on time. :biggrin:



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.


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## hewunch

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:



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


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## theHullTurn

Awesome!!!


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## rherrell

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


 
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:


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## PenTurnerfromMaine

Thank you for sharing, this is awesome.


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## KingBentley

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:


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## Karin Voorhis

That is super sweet!!!!


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## cnirenberg

Rick,
It came out terrific.  Love the finish.  Thanks, now I have another project I really want to do.


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## el_d

Yeah Thanks Rick!

It turned out really nice great job and another project to put on my to do list....


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## Lenny

Nice job Rick!

Anyone want to try to guess when one of the major suppliers starts maketing their own version? :biggrin:


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## kennspens

I'm definetly going to ruin a flashlight trying to replicate that!


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## johncrane

Top job Rick!


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## desertrat

"I have seen the light"


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## Woodlvr

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?


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## JimB

That's amazing. Great job 'figuring it out' as well.


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## barkisini

Check out this post for making a pin chuck:


http://www.penturners.org/forum/showthread.php?t=2904&highlight=pin+chuck


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## BRobbins629

Very nice mod.


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## NewLondon88

hewunch said:


> Well, what do you know, there is a "Do Not Remove" on that. Well, I removed it the other day



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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## Noah

I like it...
Green food coloring...HHhmmmm...
Ed


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## hewunch

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:



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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## thewishman

Great mod! The links were great, too. Looks like another way to justify getting a metal lathe.


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## Woodlvr

I agree Chris.  Thanks for the link John I knew there was one out there.


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## hebertjo

Awesome job and thanks for sharing the how-to. I really like the food color dye job.

What do you think the wall thickness was of the aluminum after being turned down and the thickness of the wood that was left on the barrel? I am guessing both were pretty thin. Also, how strong is the flahlight now? I would not think people are going to hammer nails with one of these but do you think it will hold up if dropped?

Thanks,


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## NewLondon88

Got to agree .. the color looks superb. 

Talk about "pop" ..


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## 1080Wayne

> Great mod! The links were great, too. Looks like another way to justify getting a metal lathe.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Chris
> I know the desire , but a carbide insert tool will do the same job at a fraction of the cost .
> Wayne
Click to expand...


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## NewLondon88

1080Wayne said:


> Great mod! The links were great, too. Looks like another way to justify getting a metal lathe.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Chris
> I know the desire , but a carbide insert tool will do the same job at a fraction of the cost .
> Wayne
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Hold on .. hold on ..
> Am I reading this right?
> 
> Is this one guy taking away another guy's excuse to buy another tool????
> 
> Who is this really?  Mrs. Wayne?            :tongue:
> 
> Click to expand...
Click to expand...


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## jleiwig

I've heard that can get you banned in some states.  It's similar to castration as far as I'm concerned  :biggrin:



NewLondon88 said:


> 1080Wayne said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Great mod! The links were great, too. Looks like another way to justify getting a metal lathe.
> 
> Hold on .. hold on ..
> Am I reading this right?
> 
> Is this one guy taking away another guy's excuse to buy another tool????
> 
> Who is this really? Mrs. Wayne? :tongue:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Click to expand...
Click to expand...


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## moyehow

nice job


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## Canedriver

That looks sweet. Having been a truck driver for years and carrying a maglite in a holster on my belt I know what project i want to work on now.

Darn lathe projects are going to bankrupt me


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## Crashmph

That is a wicked cool idea!  And very well executed too!


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## Bree

You never know what people on this system are going to come up with next!  That's just incredible.  Blows me away. Great job!


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## marter1229

:good::good::good:


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## Grizz

Lenny said:


> Nice job Rick!
> 
> Anyone want to try to guess when one of the major suppliers starts maketing their own version? :biggrin:



Your not kidding and a cheaper version of it at that!

oops I mean "a cheap version of it"... meaning really poor quality.


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## RyanNJ

Awesome idea, can you inform me about the turning process (what chuck was used etc)


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## rherrell

Ryan, I made my own pin chuck to hold it and I held the pin chuck in a Beall collet chuck. Nothing special after that, just be careful because the wood is VERY thin around the aluminum body.


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## RyanNJ

ok.

sorry for all the questions but how would i go about making a Pin Chuck


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## rherrell

I used a metal lathe and a milling machine to make mine but if you don't have these machines try this http://content.penturners.org/articles/2008/pinchuck.pdf

Also, there's a plastic lampholder in the front that has "DO NOT REMOVE" on it. I chose not to remove it but Hans said he did and it was not a problem. If you remove it then you can turn the body between centers and you won't need a pin chuck.:wink:


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## Rcd567

You've got some real talet.  That flashlight is awesome.


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## rherrell

THANKS Bob!:biggrin: They're really not that hard but having a metal lathe is a big advantage. I'm sure it can be done without one but it would take a little longer.


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## RyanNJ

So all I would need to do is make a set of bushings with a 60 degree hole so that I can turn between centers.

I will ask my buddy with a metal lathe and see what I can come up with.
What size was the blank you used?


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## rherrell

I use a 7/8" blank, 3/4" is just .040" bigger than the finished diameter so you'd need to be DEAD ON to pull it off. I turn the blank round leaving it as large as possible and then drill it. Then you can glue it on the body and turn it down. I also leave it a little long and part it off at the end.
You can make your own centers out of just about anything. Try using a hardwood, they won't last forever but after every couple of lights you make you can trim them down and they're like new again.:wink:

Here's a couple more I just finished.......................


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## Rfturner

I love the idea I have ben wanting to make some flashlights and I think I just found out another future project


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## RAdams

These would look insane with some resin blanks!


Not that they look bad now.


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## FrankG

Very nice.  I especially like the effect of the food coloring.


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## jason_r

So has anyone asked Mag if they'd make us kits?


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## Varinokid

oh this would be PERFECT for my dad...his birthday is coming up in Jan.

He loves all the pens I make, but he will drool over having a flashlight with "wood" handle.

I do not have a metal lathe, just wood lathe....so I guess I'm gonna have to find out about the file scrapper!

Did it work? or I should use a different tool?  Let me know!


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