The Ultimate Home-Made swirl spotting torch

[steelghost]

I'm wondering why people are buying / making these when good LED torches are relatively inexpensive these days?

(Not a dig - genuinely curious!)

[E60525d]

Originally Posted by steelghost

I'm wondering why people are buying / making these when good LED torches are relatively inexpensive these days?

(Not a dig - genuinely curious!)

Any links?

[steelghost]

Originally Posted by E60525d

Any links?

Mostly on eBay but also worth a look at the lighting section of Heinnie Haynes.

[E60525d]

I have bought one of ebay, fingers crossed.

[euge07]

Originally Posted by steelghost

Mostly on eBay but also worth a look at the lighting section of Heinnie Haynes.

wouldn't know where to start with that selection lol

[steelghost]

Originally Posted by euge07

wouldn't know where to start with that selection lol

From Heinnie I'd be looking at the Nitecore MT1A, or the Fenix E12.

From eBay, this "Vansky" one looks OK.

(My wife got me a Fenix LD41 a few years ago which is a beast of a flash light, but the lower power modes work well for swirl spotting - and taught me that one of the most important / useful features is variable brightness modes).

[Kam09]

If anyone wants to sell their home made sungun then give me a shout

[valve5425]

Here's another one using a second hand, Black & Decker CP-142 drill. £14 off Ebay, (had a smoking motor!!) with two batteries, charger and case. Nice touch is that there's a battery charge check on the drill.

Needed some "Dremelling" to grind a bit off the screw housings at the front of the drill. Also needed to recess where the rim of the bulb sits as well, increasing it from 50mm diameter to 51mm. Without this the casing wouldn't close properly.

I've only got the Decostar 50 watt bulb at the moment which does show small scratches in daylight, but doesn't show the few buffer trails which I know are there. I'll get the Solux bulb ordered from Amazon.com. Only 1-2 months wait, but when it arrives I'll post how it goes.

[Bikeracer]

Just made one from an old Argos Challenge drill.

No need to buy a bulb holder a couple of 5 amp chocolate block connectors fasten straight onto the bulb pins.
Found the 12v NiCads were shot so ended up wiring it to a discarded 12volt stairlift battery with about three and a half metres of flex.

Just got a standard 12v 35watt bulb at the moment to try it, but wondering if the cost of nearly £20.00 to get the proper bulb worth it ?

Allan

[Croques]

Originally Posted by valve5425

I'll get the Solux bulb ordered from Amazon.com. Only 1-2 months wait, but when it arrives I'll post how it goes.

2 months wait you think? I've been waiting since 7 September. A message to Amazon asking where it is revealed it is STILL on back order. So good luck!

Edit:
Just had this email from Amazon.com
"Due to a lack of availability, we will not be able to obtain the following item(s) from your order:

"EiKO 35003 SoLux True Daylight Flood 35 Watt MR16 Halogen Lamp, 36 Degree Beam Angle, 12 Volt, 4700 Kelvin"

We've canceled the item(s) and apologize for the inconvenience. We must also apologize for the length of time it has taken us to reach this conclusion."