tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561798115215934165.post5903148954872243999..comments2023-05-22T07:56:10.520-04:00Comments on bicycle lighting: Classic bicycle taillightsminisystemhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02307045935296201366noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561798115215934165.post-20414142082365777582012-02-23T13:12:21.908-05:002012-02-23T13:12:21.908-05:00All good ideas Joey. It's looking increasingl...All good ideas Joey. It's looking increasingly likely that a lens could be fabricated by 3D printing for testing and that a soft moulding technique could be used to produce the lens economically at low volumes. Still researching, but have talked to a couple of 3D Polyjet printers that say they can fabricate a clear prototype with appropriate colour tinting.minisystemhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02307045935296201366noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561798115215934165.post-21848956056118900032012-02-09T22:06:48.137-05:002012-02-09T22:06:48.137-05:00and to offload more of my notes to your blog, here...and to offload more of my notes to your blog, here's some <a href="http://madmodder.net/index.php?topic=6108.0" rel="nofollow">info</a> on sourcing your own lathe conversion parts<br /><br />I think there is a good amount of demand for bolt-on metal lamps, anyone with a classic bike and a dynamo hub. Most consumer LED bike lights work great until the chintzy plastic casing and bracketry fails from real-world use. The old lamps probably had less such issues, and they were positioned in more illuminating and less obtrusive places, instead of the top of your handlebars.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11672504246115490167noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561798115215934165.post-35574510132376923412012-02-09T21:47:22.387-05:002012-02-09T21:47:22.387-05:00here's a wood lathe conversion kit, showing th...here's a wood lathe conversion <a href="http://www.pennstateind.com/store/MSSTART.html" rel="nofollow">kit</a>, showing the requirements for converting a used lathe. I've also read that old/cheap bronze-bushing machines are perhaps better than ball-bearing spindles for the leverage work involved in spinning.<br /><br />for the design, I would say to make the main body as a cone that you can glue your (very awesome, imho) circuitry and collimator inside of, and to make a lens bezel as a second piece, which can just be a very short cup that you drill a hole out of the bottom that's large enough for the protrusion of the lens but captures the lip of it. the bezel should be a slightly large diameter than the cone. drill a hole in the side of the bezel and tap it to accomodate a grub screw, which will bind the bezel to the body. <br /><br />google sketchup could work for this kind of thing, but I find the idea of wood spinning most appealing because your freehanded wood prototype becomes the production mandrel/form - no need to reproduce precise cuts from pure instructions as you would with turning down or milling raw billet.<br /><br />this is just all spouting off of course, i'd like to see someone (or myself) try this. on flickr, i've seen a Peirera and a JP Weigle with custom little dynamos on the seattube, not sure if they spun them or turned them.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11672504246115490167noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561798115215934165.post-2075195607041422042012-02-07T12:50:04.687-05:002012-02-07T12:50:04.687-05:00Joey, I was just looking at that lens casting kit ...Joey, I was just looking at that lens casting kit as I was researching this post. I suppose getting a positive machined out of aluminium and using that to make your mould might be reasonably economical. The results do look impressive! I've also been looking into spinning, which would produce probably the lightest and most elegant result. However, I don't really know how to design a shape for spinning and am unfamiliar with the additional stamping, bending or folding steps that would be required attach the lens and mount the internal electronics.minisystemhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02307045935296201366noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561798115215934165.post-4098110999455406772012-02-06T23:17:04.039-05:002012-02-06T23:17:04.039-05:00I've thought about making my own Frenchy taill...I've thought about making my own Frenchy taillight as well that would look good on a fender/rack/seattube. <br /><br />You can mill, cast, or spin the housing. All of those paths require heavy machinery, but i think spinning would be the simplest route (if you can find an old heavy wood lathe and outfit it with a spinner's tool rest) and would produce little tin cups all day long.<br /><br />For the lens, I looked at cheap-ish motorcycle signal lights but they are all too big and just don't look good. Casting your own lens can be done with a ~$100 <a href="http://www.alumilite.com/howtos/TailLightCastingNoEquipment.cfm" rel="nofollow">kit</a>.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11672504246115490167noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3561798115215934165.post-43641135455094321822012-02-06T21:41:47.645-05:002012-02-06T21:41:47.645-05:00As someone that bothered to hand carry Kimura bull...As someone that bothered to hand carry Kimura bullet lights and reflectors back from Japan when they were unavailable here, I'd say the world absolutely needs a new tail light and new headlights as well. While we currently have plenty of light, we are still lacking in beauty, grace and a compelling reason to squat down and take a closer look at the small globe that lights the road. In the meantime Compass Bicycles at least gives us the option to retrofit a dearly held vintage model with a modern LED bulb. <br /><br />-spokesnifferAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com