Forum menu
The original Spidereyes has been on tour around the UK since it was hacked out of a lump of Ali with a blunt axe
and I was not happy with the beam from the MK2 so started the 3 yesterday .
I did start to take pics along the way but got a bit carried away with the butcher job and tool abuse so forgot some stages
Apologies to engineering types for the blatant misuse of tools
and no fish were harmed in the making of this light .
job started with a 2.5 inch square bar and the powerhacksaw
[IMG] 
[/IMG]
Which got a little way in and broke the blade so had a good hour+ with the elbow hacksaw
Then on to the rotary table ( Oh how I wish I have bought a bigger one )
getting it all clamped up seemed to take forever.
[IMG] 
[/IMG]
Got well and truly into the machining so not many interim pics
[IMG] 
[/IMG]
just after this pic I had a good vacuum up before the whole job was buried under chips.
A bit more exercise to warm up in the cold workshop with some more sawing to remove some metal
[IMG] 
[/IMG]
then back in the mill to make more chips loving the carbide hogging out tool makes for fast removal of waste .
[IMG] 
[/IMG]
[IMG] 
[/IMG]
[IMG] 
[/IMG]
[IMG] 
[/IMG]
[IMG] 
[/IMG]
it is not quite as I had in my head but when you mill a little bit badly you then adapt to how it evolves.
here is the thing ready for a dunk in the caustic after a whole heap of rubbing with abrasives and hand files to get the final shape.
[IMG] 
[/IMG]
and having a fizzing time in said nasty stuff
[IMG] 
[/IMG]
not quite as exciting in the desmut nasty stuff just seems to sit there doing nothing .
[IMG] 
[/IMG]
heres my ano set up in the shed
[IMG] 
[/IMG]
and the thing cooking in the acid those fume control balls make a large difference to the breath ability in there too need a few more though
[IMG] 
[/IMG]
all assembled for testing
[IMG] 
[/IMG]
[IMG] 
[/IMG]
OK a bit of a why did I not like the beam from the mk2
it had the asphericals and one lens for fill in close by but as they were all pointing at the same place it was only the spill from the lens that shone down on the ground this was evident when I covered the eyes up .
so for this one I have gone back to 2 xpgs in parallel like the original spidy then in series with the 2 xmls
and have angled them down a few degrees so as to have the long beam and the short beam .
I have not lit it up in the dark but here is a shot to show what it is like on the wall
[IMG] 
[/IMG]
Wow that looks proper good- what weight is it?
Loving it. Those look great.
Bravo.
Doffs hat to the eccentric engineer type person.
😀
Its amazing how much waste material there is. Not a criticism, just an observation.
Are the asphericals really that spotty? Thinking of a single XML for the noggin.
Alternatively, are these going into production?
ooo that's nice..........
Impressive stuff there! And to think I used to get stick from the wife for having photographic chemicals knocking around.... Will show her this thread next time the darkroom gets set up 😉
Looks fantastic. Once the baubles and tinsel are on, should be perfect.
Looks great. Loving my upgraded Hope Twin LED btw. Been out for a couple of rides with it and it's more than enough imo.
Wow that looks proper good- what weight is it?
Pop Larkin
its not for the wimpy of neck , its dead on 150 grams.
but very low profile.
MarkyG82 yes without the fill in leds it is far too focused to use
on its own
and yes to your second question in a limited quantity .
beamshot it was no fit to send a dog out but the dog and I ventured in to the woods for some testing
beam shots I only hed it set on 2 levels max and level 3 on the 3 amp flex table.
[IMG] 
[/IMG]
[IMG] 
[/IMG]
First impressions were good and as you can see in the photos there is a small dark slot between the beam and the flood so it seems I am out by a degree or 2 and for perfection it would need lifting to blend with the aspherics beam .
in real life this was not so much of an issue and it was barely noticeable when moving along .
looks like 2 lights and I like it from the first walk when the damn rain stops I will see if I like it as much on the bike .
I'm avaliable for testing duties 😉
oh i can test them out for you if needed 🙂 🙂
[b][url= http://www.lindsaybks.com/dgjp/djgbk/char/index.html ]Maybe you need to start casting your casings[/url][/b]
Thought you might enjoy this site.
Cheers Epicyclo
I did once try smelting aluminium and it worked great
but the casting was not for me .
[IMG] 
[/IMG]
[IMG] 
[/IMG]
[IMG] 
[/IMG]
[IMG] 
[/IMG]
you've put on weight, too many mince pies
jeepers.how much for one? please say you are going to sell them 😀 (seriously i am interested) just buying a new guitar/amp first 😉 p.s no 5 is alive 🙂
Is so beautiful.....
Troutie; can you makes possibly tiny urban light for me please? does not in any way need to be mega-powerful like those naughty things, I'd probbly get nicked for having something that bright in London, and I live near an airport so don't want any planes crashing nearby. 😯
Needs to be tiny, very light and clip on and off handlebars. Bright enough to illuminate the odd bit of unlit canal path, but controllable enough to dim very quickly if someone's coming the other way otherwise they'll crash into the sea. And a flashing mode is essential.
That's the best looking light I've ever seen, that's awesome 😀
Troutie,
I've always been impressed by your lights but, for the helmet in particular, prefer the all in one designs produced by Exposure.
Do you have any plans to produce lights with a built in battery, in order to avoid the flappy cable situation?
They really don't need to be as bright as some of the lights that are around at present - about 500 lumens for the helmet and 1000 for the bars should do it.
They would have to be relatively quick release too.
Regards,
Bob
You've decapitated Wall-E!
Looks nice, reminds me of this guy:
[img] 
[/img]
Very pretty.
Ummm, my pic was supposed to be of Wall-E, not sure what happened there! 🙄
Now that's more like it..........I might even like that more than the origional.............
Chris, I've emailed re the origional..........
That orange one is awesome, want one. How much if you make it?
How can it have a square beam pattern? How? And 2 separate pools of light?
Looks lovely, but that beam pattern is no good at all IMO
I already have a Trout light. It's a nice bit of kit, very bright, but it's too focussed as well. Not anywhere near like that though.
Light makers (All of them) need to get away from the lumens race and make something with a more useable beam pattern. There's so much light wasted with pretty much every light on the maket right now, because they're all just using the same piddly little circular reflectors. Stop trying to make them more powerful and smaller, and give us a beam like a car headlamp on dip - i.e. one that shines all the light at the floor and doesn't waste 1/3 of it up in the air with a circular beam pattern.
Sorry. Moan over. Flame away.
This looks interesting, intrigued by the beam and disagreeing with Pete!!
Pointing at the floor is useful but if you are leading a ride you need to see the stuff around you too, otherwise we would be very lost! Peripheral vision is very useful, just ask anyone with Tunnel Vision!
Any you need testing on the puffer trout I'll gladly oblige! 🙂
PeterPoddy
whilst I agree to some extent with some of your rant i wouldnt be making 5 proto lights if I was not sure of its performance .
for a helmet light it has a great beam the focused square beam is awesome on the trail
but it is too focused and narrow close to the bike. which is why it has the other beam near
get in touch with who ever has the one doing the rounds and have a go it might alter your HO
this one is a machine shop pre production housing which I am testing before giving the go ahead for a small batch
Devs might take you up on that. when is it
I believe it to be unique as a bike light with nothing like it anywhere it is in my opinion the best helmet light ever
but then I also like Marmite
but then I also like Marmite
[img] 
[/img]
I made a light once with a hood that made sure most of the light went down on to the trail. I kept hitting branches at head level.
Trout - the light looks ace.
PP - I like a very focussed spot beam for a helmet light - I wouldn't want those extra lower ones on that light - just the nice tight spot.
Its different for a bar light but for a helmet light all you need is it to light up the bit in your central vision
This looks like it might be the helmet light I'm looking for! However, need to get the charger sorted for my liberator first - Troutie, did you get my mail about the replacement charger you sent me?
nope just gone through all mail folders and spam
and nowt from you about the repacement charger
OK, I've just re-sent it...
trout, it's on 7th Jan. Want me to email you?
Devs yep drop me a mail
Trout I took the Mk1 for its first test/trip along the SDW and its was Epic, Any chance for a Mark2 test?
mmmm liking that as a cheaper alternative to the L&M Seca 1400 and much lower profile
what are the stats like, output / run time etc?
can't ride with a bar mounted light (like riding with one eye closed), been used to my L&M Ultra Arc thingie for years, but it doesn't half take several hits riding round delamere with this profile
[img] 
&type=medium&ver=13250895220001[/img]
ChunkyPaul
Stats
Lumens theretical full 2620
medium 1300
low 600
These settings can be altered but are what I find sweet
power draw from a 14.8 volt battery and runtime from a 4.4 amp hour
full 1.8 amps burntime 2.5 hours mentally bright and totally OTT
meduim .40 amps burntime 11 hours very bright suitable for all terrain and speeds
low .12 amps burntime 36 hours not so bright but still rideable on most terrain good for on the road.
I have just had the first ride with it this morning and used only the helmet light no bar light , I was delighted with its performance
With the close up beam and the long range beam it was like having 2 lights .
Stats like that have got me drooling. It'll last a whole Puffer, did you get my email?
Whats the cost and when?
Mmmm.... these are the first lights I've seen that have come close to tempting me to try an alternative for my trusty AyUps. That power / weight / duration is fantastic. And they look great as well.
Thanks for showing the manufacturing process too, really interesting.
Devs. yes got it and am working my way towards it answering mails time off is bad for when you get back to it
gazzillions of mails to answer but yes will get it to you before the puffer but wont be posting it till I have had a few more plays .
Bigface. when ? I will be giving the machine shop the go ahead as soon as they go back after the new year
realisticly end of Jan before they are ready for sale
price info not yet worked out. be similar to the Dominator as uses same running gear cepting the fancy lenses.
waiting for a unit cost from machine shop
Trout - restarted the thing you asked about in your email - Thanks for a kick up the arse 🙂
Nice one Troutie. Can't wait to see one in the flesh 🙂
StatsLumens theretical full 2620
medium 1300
low 600
holy moly! thats going to set the forest alight you mad man! 😉 my L&M only does 675 tops
but was very disappointed with the output of a supposed 700 lumen Exposure Toro Mk1 i have so wondering whether 700 lumen LED is actually comparable to a similar lumen HID beam - the Arc was much better - but just charged the L&M up, but its not working now, so time for a change i suppose
quite interested in future beam shots when the angles are sorted - i've always been happy with my L&M Arc beam, but it was six years old and the big boys with their six packs were drowning it out completely plus the HID beam had a central hot spot that was a bit too bright