Old Toasters & New Tools

I just had some custom made LED mounting bases manufactured, which are very awesome. However, it was going to cost and outrageous amount of money to have LED soldered to them by a third party vendor. Soooo, I decided to make my own Reflow Toaster Oven! Don't worry, that's not as terrible of an idea as it sounds. I purchased a Black & Decker FC150 Infrawave oven like the one below.

Black & Decker FC150 Infrawave toaster oven

Basically any toaster oven with infrared heating elements will work. The FC150 is very old and hard to find, but is one of the original "host" ovens used when this kind of mod became popular...oh...a bunch of years ago. The main reason I wanted this model, is I knew there was space inside the side panels for all of my kit. The upgrade involves some fancy electronics that you'd need a degree to identify and assemble, but in the internet age...ETS Techincal already makes a kit! Let's open this bad boy up shall we? 

Yes, it's as much of a mess as it appears to be. (Click for a larger image) 

I didn't really take any "process" shots but this is about 3/4 of the way through the conversion. It's reasonably simple if you have some basic knowledge of AC wiring, DC wiring, and relay wiring. No biggie right? :) The main part of the kit is a microcontroller with an integrated LCD display and external keypad. You basically disconnect ALL of the existing wiring/controls and install the new kit in the side panel of the toaster. I also installed a sheet of adhesive backed thermal shielding to help isolate the electronics from the heat inside the oven. Blah blah right? Where is the video?!

Best Viewed in Full Screen (1080P HD)!

Box full of bodies...

...what were you expecting?

When in doubt, MacGyver it

So yes, I did look up the spelling of MacGyver and it's corret. Weird right? Anyway, I don't mean to give myself too much credit with that title but I couldn't come up with anything else. Recently I had to install a phillips screw inside the control panel of my CNC machine. The trick was it was between two circuit boards that are mounted on end. Think of sliced bread with a 1/2" gap in between and about 6 inches deep and who knows what kind of sensitive electrical components on each side. Remember that game "Operation?" Zap!

Yeeep, right in between those drive cards.
Oh and don't touch the capacitors. 

What to do? I rolled some painter's tape into a tube so it would be sticky on both sides and jammed it all together. Enough grip to keep the screw on the driver but can be removed easily enough. Pretty good eh? It worked beautifully.

It ain't purdy but it worked

How it's made

I had a few people ask about seeing more of the process, so I thought I'd post some random photos from time to time. I also had someone ask what the "chips" were that I referred to in my last post. Chips are what machinist's call the little bits that get shaved off by the actual machining. While sawing isn't really machining (or is it?) the shot below is the best "chip shot" that I had on hand. This is after cutting off a batch of raw stock to length. That's a lot of chips in case you were wondering.

The deck of my chop saw..the lip on the pan is about 2" deep. 

 After all of the parts get cut to length they get piled into boxes and it's on to the next step. The saw cut edges are quite sharp and have "burrs" on them. I need to debur one end before it goes into the CNC mill so the parts sit nice and square. Otherwise, the burrs would make them tip one way or the other.

Cutting the stock to length is not my favorite job. Earplugs and annoyed neighbors required

McClicky Switch Mod Part 2

Well, I don't think anyone was sufficiently impressed for my liking, so I decided to step it up a notch. I completely disassembled the switch and gold plated all of the internal metal components...even the ones you can't see in the photo :) I bought myself a little gold plating setup a few weeks ago and this was my test run. I also plated the (already nickel plated) retaining ring just to show off :)

24K gold, need I say more ? 

Can't leave well enough alone

So I bought a new toy...er...tool today: a combination belt/disc sander. Woohoo right? I'm not normally a fan of combo tools. It's like a Swiss army knife: good for some, great for none. In this case, that's just what I was looking for. Nothing hard core, just a little something to help take the edge off. I don't know if you were paying attention but that was a tool pun.

Anyway, those of you that know me, know that I have an obsessive compulsion to modify and customize things. As I was assembling my new sander I spotted a 3L sized V belt on the machine. A deformed and pathetic one at that. Fortunately I remembered I had some high performance 3L Fenner link belt just lying around. No really. That's one of the advantages of being a hoarder. You just have stuff lying around.

If you are wondering, I'm blabbering on about the bright red pulley belt in the photo. Enjoy!

For those that care: a Rikon 1x42 belt + 8" disc sander from Woodcraft. 

Side Projects: Zipper (awesome) Pulls

I don't really have time to be doing side projects...but I've been thinking about this one for ages. I had a little down time yesterday and decided to whip out a zipper pull. When I started, a tear drop shape was the plan, but ultimately I was really happy with this "pill" shape. I'd actually like to make an sell these, so please leave a comment if you'd be interested. I'm thinking I'll do them in both nickel plated aluminum (to match your Alpha) as well as titanium.

A 6061 aluminum zipper pull with 2mm spectra cord

Laser cutting LED thermal pads (Epilog Helix)

I have been buying pre-cut thermal pads but this time I decided to make my own. This is the same material I normally use, purchased in a bulk sheet. Cut on an Epilog Legend 45 Watt laser cutter @ Techshop in Menlo Park. Nothing like cutting parts with a beam of light!

Chaos at Work

My pocket clips get processed in a vibratory tumbler to knock down the sharp edges that come from the waterjet process. Each clip is fitted with a nylon cable tie to keep them from sticking to each other.

When I pulled these clips out they were stuck to the same cable tie...meaning, one clip left its own tie and then attached itself to another! I'll spare you the electron metaphor. Anyway, I thought this was pretty wild...because I'm a science geek. And yes, I'm positive they didn't start out this way :)

Solid Copper: one-of-a-kind custom

Hi folks. Sorry about the lack of content. I've been super busy and slightly de-motivated on the blog front. I've been working hard though! Just wanted to share a one-off custom light I did for a chap in the UK. He's been very patient with me and this is the result. Hope he likes it as this will be the first glimpse of his new light that won't go in the mail till tomorrow :)

I have a batch of limited edition copper lights currently for sale. I had a fellow contact me about doing some special work on his light, and this custom was born.

This thing is a tank. I hope my customer has a stout belt. 

This is also my first light to feature tritium vials. Tritium is a mildly radioactive element that glows on it's own. No need to "charge" it like normal glow in the dark materials. It's half-life is about 10 years. Don't worry, the radiation is so weak that it can't escape the glass vial...and if it did, the amount is so tiny it wouldn't hurt you anyway. Read on after the jump for some photos!

Fun with coatings, part 1: Cerakote

I've been doing some experimenting in the "lab" and I started working with a Cerakote applicator to test out the finish on a couple lights. Cerakote is similar to powder coat but it's a proprietary ceramic-based coating developed primarily for firearms. It comes in a variety of flavors and is very durable. It also looks awesome. I had two lights test-coated and you can see them below!

Cerakote by NIC Industries

So a lot of people Cerakote over raw aluminum. The coating is hard, but the aluminum underneath is still pretty soft. I Cerakoted these lights after they have been nickel plated. This means you retain the corrosion and wear protection of the nickel and you get additional surface hardness to make the finish last longer. I'm not aware of any other manufacturer (custom or commercial) that goes to this kind of trouble.

The two colors shown are "carbon black" and "flat dark earth." Read on after the jump for a couple more photos of awesomeness.

New Name/Logo: I Need Your Vote! (only six days to vote)

Okay folks, this little project is in a time of transition. As you know, I just did a big overhaul on the website. You might not know that I'm on the edge of a big "all or nothing" marketing push. I'm going to be sending lights out to some big national magazines and top tier blogs. It's pretty hard to do that since I'm going to be flushing a bunch of lights down the toilet, but hopefully one or two will generate some badly needed big press. Yes, it's psychologically difficult to send out a bunch of my (very few) lights to someone who might just throw it in a drawer and never look at it again...but I know I need to suck it up and do it.

It's kind of like dating...hey, call me back...okay? 

Anyway, the last piece I need to put in place (immediately) is becoming a "real" company and incorporating a business. This also means I need a grown up name and a new logo. I was hoping to have you, dear public, pick my new name; but time is not on my side. So I bit the bullet and I'm going with "Prometheus Lights." I hope it doesn't suck...too late now anyway. In case you don't know, Prometheus is the Greek titan that stole the secret of fire from the gods and gave it to man. Of course he was severely punished for this but let's just ignore that part of the story for the moment. In Greek, the name also means "forethought" which seems appropriate in light of Wired Magazine's latest article on the future of LED lighting.

I was also hoping to have you, dear public, help me pick from a variety of logos I've been working on; but that pesky time thing is still a problem. I need to have all this sorted...say, in the next week. So, I spent a few days beating myself up about my lack of community engagement in the business design process, but here we are.

Click this image to see a full size version

What I need your help with now, is the final refinement! I've provided 4 versions for your viewing pleasure. Which one do you like the best?

Which combination of logo and text do you like the best?

MAJOR website overhaul

Hi everyone, I've been slaving away for the last week on a new website. Prototype #4! Basically a never ending work in progress. The hope is to make things a little more clear and easier to navigate. Please take a look at the site and let me know if you have any feedback on things like layout, content, or navigation.

This is the link to Dark Sucks

Look Ma! YouTube videos!

Also, please let me know if you discover any buggy behavior or broken links. You might have to "refresh" a couple of pages to get a recent view if your browser has cached the site in the past. I attempted to implement a fix for this (it shouldn't happen) so let me know if it does.

One of the main reasons for the update is I also discovered a pretty major compatibility issue with Internet Explorer...so let me know if anything appears really crazy in a visual sense. It's probably a bug and not just because I'm an idiot...though I never rule out the latter ;)

Flame Colored Pocket Clips

Is this cool or what? I've done some flame coloring of Ti before so it occurred to me that I should play around with these pocket clips. They are so small it's hard to accomplish but I've never seen anyone do this with a Ti clip before. The colors go great with the natural warmth of the nickel coloring. I'm more about photos than blabbering on these days so here you go.

Reminds me of a peacock! 

This looks pretty awesome if you ask me! I've decided to offer this option for $5.00 with the purchase of any clip. Since these are done by hand, each one is a little different and a unique work in it's own right. As such, I don't take requests for a specific appearance...you just get what you get. I know, it's a little risky. Feeling crazy though?

Don't forget to click for a larger image! 

VIDEO: Indoor and Outdoor Beamshots!

Hi all,

I've been working on getting some better video of the flashlight beam. It's really hard to get everything set up right, but here is my first attempt with my new camera! Cheers, Jason.

New Goodies: Custom as usual

I'm trying to class things up a bit. Unfortunately that costs money. I have been wrapping the batteries (for shipping) in a little piece of paper. Functional, but not much to get excited about. I don't know if this moves the excitement needle very far either, but I had some custom battery tubes made by Caplugs. Why custom? Cause I couldn't find "exactly" what I needed. I'm including one tube with every battery purchases, gratis. However, I'll be selling these guys on my site (empty) for $1.99 each...probably some volume discount like 5 for $8.00 or something like that.

Tubes fit 1x18650 battery or 2xCR123 batteries! 

I had the caps done in high-vis orange so your spares are easy to see in the bottom of a bag or pack. They are square to provide anti-roll capability. Fresh batteries get stored with the + terminal towards the "head" of the battery tube. (think of it like a mini flashlight) When you deplete a battery, store it with the + terminal towards the tail. Since the tubes are clear, you can tell at a glance whether the battery is fresh...or dead. Cool huh? Around here we call that product design. Just one more close up for your viewing pleasure.

I have 1000 of these so don't be shy! 

Getting a little fancy: Titanium flame coloring

So I've been meaning to do this for ages. Finally remembered while I was in the shop today. Titanium produces some awesome temper colors when heated, much like steel, but even more dramatic. I do this by hand with a propane torch so every one will look a little different. The fade and asymmetry is intentional :)

I think it goes great with the nickel finish! But I'm biased. 

The different colors represent different temperatures as I heated the material. I've done this on some other Ti stuff over the years and I'm really pleased with how the clip turned out. I plan to offer this as a new option for an extra $5 bucks. Any feedback? Don't forget to click on the image for a larger view!

Flashlights: (NOT) all fun and games

Ouch. So this actually happened about a month ago and I'm all healed up so don't worry. I'm scrounging for content because being buried under stuff to do has turned me into a poor documenter. That's not a word is it?

Anyway, the cut I gave myself was actually much worse that it looks in the photo. I was reaching inside a storage cabinet to pick up my 4 jaw chuck...and apparently there is an exposed edge of sheet metal inside the cabinet. My thanks to the manufacturer.

Worshipers of duct tape...meet painters tape. 

Since I was holding the chuck in my hand it had a ton of momentum and even though it was just a "bump," it cut through all the layers of skin over the knuckle of my thumb. I stopped short of flexing my thumb enough to see if there was any tendon or bone showing beneath.

I braced it with a tongue depressor (that I use for mixing silicone rubber) and babied it for about a week because I had to go out on a contract fabrication job for one of your favorite TV shows the next weekend. It was tender for a long time but it seems 100% now! A little more gore for your viewing pleasure...

Can your flashlight do this?

We were up in Sun Valley, Idaho last week and I found a cool spot for a "beam shot." This is inside the Sun Valley Opera House. Not much explanation needed. Just note the distance and width of the beam...and then how you can barely see the actual flashlight in the shot. This is not a "long" exposure shot, it's basically what you see with the naked eye.

A "wall of light" as we call it in the industry

Every time I get into a setting like this I'm astonished at the amount of light the Alpha produces. I know, you can't take my word for it because I'm selling them...but I tell ya, the ability to blast darkness into submission with a little light I carry in my pants pocket still makes me giddy.

Ohhhhh yes I did!

Let's keep this one short. A photo is worth a thousand words right? Put me down for 2K...done.