Adapter to mount Scout head to 18650 flashlight body

[91Eunozs]

OK, I know I also need an adapter/sleeve to properly run CR123 batteries in an 18350/18650 flashlight body, and have that covered, but can’t seem to find any adapters to mount my dual IR/white light flashlight heads with 16mm threads onto the larger 18mm bodies.

My dilemma:

Background: Picked up a pretty awesome piece of kit from Echo Arms that replaces part of the clamping mechanism on my MAWL with a flashlight body that accepts Surefire tail caps…cool!

However, it‘s sized for 18350 batteries and heads…or for 18650 batteries/heads with the screw-on adapter/extension piece; also very cool (see top pic). However, the MAWL takes a single CR123, and I’d like to carry just one type of spares.

And while I have some nice white-light 18350/18650 heads, including Modlite’s dual fuel head that will fit this body and run on either CR123 or 18650 batteries, I’d really like to have the option of white light, or additional IR illumination to augment the MAWL.

Also, I’m running this light off a tertiary switch that’s offset, and slightly forward of the rather nice factory two-button MAWL interface:

Of note: Echo Arms actually responded to my request to make an adapter/extension that would allow for the use of ‘Legacy’ heads like my Surefire dual IR/white light heads, and indicated this might be something they’d be interested in doing, but not holding my breath for one any time soon.

I’ve scoured the interwebs and have found a couple very nice adapters to go the other way…to mount a dual fuel 18mm head onto legacy scout/Arisaka/etc. bodies, but nothing to go the other way.

I also found a potential dual IR/white light head that will fit the 18mm architecture from a company called ‘Nextorch’ …their WL50IR light, but would have to buy the entire light and not sure if their threading is proprietary to their bodies/heads. Never heard of ‘em and leery of unknown brands. I guess for less than $200 I could try it, but honestly don’t know if I could trust it in the field, even if the head does fit.

Anyone here have any other ideas?

Thanks in advance for any insights or options…

 

[iceng]

Ok, im NOT a torch guy, nor am I fully up to speed on your combo setup...

However... i cant make the part you want (i actually can, but im in AU), ill help quickly design it in CAD so you can 3dprint it (proof of concept) and pass it to someone to manually / CNC machine.

You want a M16->M18 thread adaptor ? M16 is usually 2mm pitch, however i expect it to be a fine pitch thread, and same for the M18, so maybe M18x1 or 1.5..

What length is each thread, and some measurements .. can you draw a side profile ISO drawing and ill have a go at it.

Hand drawn pic, with measurements like this image:

 

[91Eunozs]

Not sure of the thread pitch, but will try to figure it out today.

basically what I need is either a very short collar to go over the threads of the 18350 (or 18650 extension piece…same threads), but then necks down to fit Surefire/clone heads; some flavor of 16mm. It would have to be very compact though, so the wound spring electrical connection from the flashlight head will extend far enough in to actually make a connection with the battery.

Alternately, and probably the best option, I’d need a replacement adapter for the 18650 extension; same length, but again, necked down to the same threads that a Surefire flashlight head would need (some flavor of 16mm), and with a smaller bore to better accommodate the smaller diameter CR123 batteries.

On an ipad right now with no access to any type of CAD software, so please forgive the crude finger painting, but basically this (greatly exaggerated here of course):

 

[iceng]

Ok. I can work with that. I wont be able to do it now, but give me 24hrs and ill make something you can use.

 

[91Eunozs]

No rush whatsoever! And I haven’t figured out the thread pitch yet, but grabbed some basic measurements … and quickly realized the 18mm and 16mm references are for the battery diameter; the housing obviously has to be larger. Pretty obvious in retrospect, I blame it on no sleep last night, LoL.

Here’s the overall length:

 

[91Eunozs]

Outer Diameter of the main housing:

 

[91Eunozs]

I’m still digging through the internet, and will probably be able to find exact thread pitch and size, but for rough dimensions, the female end (to fit 18350 bodies like Modlite, SF’s newer Dual Fuel lights, etc.):

…and I couldn’t figure out a way to measure the depth of the threading on that end with these simple calipers, but the male end should be the same (fits the same heads):

…as indicated below, no luck finding an appropriate size nut, bolt, or tap/die set to confirm, but my best guess is the female end is 15/16-20 pitch.

Since they’re designed to mate, we can use the male end to get better measurements:

 

[91Eunozs]

For the (new) male end, so far I’ve found one reference to the thread pitch for the head to be:

13/16-20

…but still looking for something more reliable.

No luck finding an appropriate size nut, bolt, or tap/die to check, so gonna have to go with old school pitch gauges. 18 and 24 almost work, but 20 pitch is indeed the sweet spot:

This Arisaka mount is a match for the major dimensions though:

…and the inner diameter that would run the entire length, until it opens up on the female end of course:

 

[91Eunozs]

Both ends appear to have pretty course threads; again, still trying to find the exact dimensions, but will grab some thread pitch gauges today if I can’t find it online.

 

[91Eunozs]

I’ll try to whip up something at least close to scale mañana, but here’s what I have so far:

 

[iceng]

Should be to your measurements. The original sketch (2d drawing) can be edited "live", and the model with automagically update. So altering any measurement is no problem.
The thread is done in imperial, and its of the format "diameter in inches, divided by 2" because i drew one half, and said "make it a cylinder on this axis (revolve). The thread has a 1mm diameter undercut, 1mm wide, so you can source an oring to fit in there. Basic chamfers were also added.

I can upload a .3mf file which should work with most 3dprint software, and can give you the .f3d / .step file to mess with (fusion360 cad software, theres free versions).

Whole job was under 5mins.

 

[iceng]

Female thread. Forgot to include.

 

[91Eunozs]

You are awesome! Now to find someone local with a 3D printer…

 

[91Eunozs]

View attachment 8234259View attachment 8234260View attachment 8234261View attachment 8234262View attachment 8234263View attachment 8234264

Should be to your measurements. The original sketch (2d drawing) can be edited "live", and the model with automagically update. So altering any measurement is no problem.
The thread is done in imperial, and its of the format "diameter in inches, divided by 2" because i drew one half, and said "make it a cylinder on this axis (revolve). The thread has a 1mm diameter undercut, 1mm wide, so you can source an oring to fit in there. Basic chamfers were also added.

I can upload a .3mf file which should work with most 3dprint software, and can give you the .f3d / .step file to mess with (fusion360 cad software, theres free versions).

Whole job was under 5mins.

Owe you the beverage of your choice and a box or three of ammo if you ever make it to the San Antonio/Austin area of Texas!

 

[strikeeagle1]

The Hide at its best on display in this thread.

 

[iceng]

Ufile.io - 1695599108

Browse files uploaded to 1695599108 securely with ufile.io

ufile.io

All 3 files should be there for everyone to look at. .3mf is a new format "universal" 3dprint file. The .step is generic "CAD" file which almost any software can open and view, and .f3d is fusion360 design file, which you can view and alter the file, and has a preserved timeline. Enjoy.

 

[91Eunozs]

@iceng thanks again for your help, but I still can’t seem to download the files…the downloads are blank when I do it from home, and got a bunch of malware alarms when I tried to open that link from work (and a message from our IT team, LoL).

If unable to upload here, any chance you can email them directly?

I can PM you my email address

 

[6.5SH]

@iceng thanks again for your help, but I still can’t seem to download the files…the downloads are blank when I do it from home, and got a bunch of malware alarms when I tried to open that link from work (and a message from our IT team, LoL).

If unable to upload here, any chance you can email them directly?

I can PM you my email address

All 3 in a zip.
Got one false positive on VT from a shit tier china AV, Baidu.

VirusTotal

VirusTotal

www.virustotal.com

 

[91Eunozs]

Thank you!

 

[iceng]

Glad it worked out for you. Shout out to @6.5SH For being awesome.