# Trackside Details headlight? 15mm Reflectors?



## San Juan (Jan 3, 2008)

I just received a Trackside Details order. They make some really nice castings.

One item I got is their headlight (TD-12). Perfect for the K-27 I've been adding details to. 


However I'm wondering how to finish off the headlight. Has anyone used mini flashlight reflectors with it? How would a headlight with lit side number boards work with a reflector? 


There was an earlier post here about mini reflectors, however the ones listed were really small. It looks like I need a 15mm reflector for this headlight. Anyone know of a source for these? 


Any help, links, or tips are appreciated.


----------



## Jim Schulz (Aug 10, 2009)

After I painted my small Trackside Details headlight (TD-13) I was able to press fit an Otto Frei 13mm crystal ($7.50) into the front for a lens. Otto Frei supplies many sizes of crystals in both glass and plastic.


----------



## Trains West (Oct 4, 2008)

do you have a part number or a liink becouse I just did a bunch of looking at Otto Frei and could not find anything


----------



## Jim Schulz (Aug 10, 2009)

I took the headlight to a jeweler whom I thought could get me a crystal. He could... for $35. Too much for my budget. Since he also measured the diameter of the headlight (actually 13.05mm), I called Otto Frei (www.ottofrei.com) to see what they had available. I couldn't (or didn't want to take the time to) figure out Frei's web site, so I called. I took a chance on the 13mm glass flat-edge crystal for $7.50. It fits very snugly. Hopefully under live steam conditions it will stay put. 

Short answer: call Otto Frei for what you are looking for 1-800-772-3456. 

I found out about Otto Frei from Howard Maculsay's "Bashing a Ruby Kit" blog here on MLS (http://www.mylargescale.com/Features/BuildersLogs/tabid/66/EntryId/41/Default.aspx). Following is the text regarding reflectors and lenses for his Trackside Details headlight TD-163: 


Iâ€™m getting down to putting together some of the detail parts necessary to complete my Ruby bash. 

I was looking at what to do for a reflector for the headlight (TD-153), instead of polishing the castingâ€™s reflector. I found that I had, over the years, collected a number of freebee miniature flashlights, among other seemingly useless stuffâ€¦.shoved it all in a drawer and never gave it all another thought. 

Lo-and-behold, I had a little flashlight that had a mirrored reflector that fit exactly into the headlight. 


Now if I could only find a lense that fits. 
What do you use for lense material? 

It seems that it pays not to throw any stuff away. 

Reply from Noel: 

Noel, the insulation is 2 layers of 1/32" thick, asbestos free, high temp gasket material. I picked it up at a local auto supply store; very cheap. 

Earlier in this log, I go into the detail of making & attaching the lagging with a lot of help from other MLS members. 

Reply from Vance Bass: 
>I wish I could find something, too. All of the plastics I've tried have failed. I cut one from mica on another engine and that held up fine, but it was so thin that a careless bump broke it in two. Polycarbonate might work, if you can find it in the right thickness. It's supposed to be good up to 280 deg. F. 

Our own MLS sponsor TAP Plastics carries polycarbonate, which you can buy a sample of (4x4 inches) for a couple of dollars. Alas, it's 1/8 inch thick, which isn't going to do us any good. They list many other thicknesses, down to .015", which should be dandy for us, but I can't tell whether you can order a 4x4" piece of that....< 

Reply from Steve C.: 
>Why don't you try picture frame glass? It's cheap and you can get quite a few lenses out of a 5 x 7" piece. Glass isn't all that difficult to work with. 

One simple method is to cut the glass into squares very close to the size required for the round lens. Then using an indelible marker (i.e. Sharpie â€" fine point) draw the final circular size of the lens on the square blank. Next use a pair of needle nose pliers (or if maybe youâ€™re into stained glass the proper tool is grozing pliers) to slowly chip away the unwanted portions until you get close to the circle. Next use a fine-grained grindstone to finish removing the glass to the line. 

Another more sophisticated method is to find a metal tube that has the same I.D. as the O.D. of the lens you require. If you canâ€™t find an exact match, then find one that is as close as you can get but larger than the end product. 

Next youâ€™ll need the following. 

* Some modeling clay. 
* Some grinding abrasive, about 120 grit. 
* And something to spin either the tube or the glass itself (i.e. drill press or a motor driven lazy-susan) 

If using a drill press to spin the tube, then fashion a fixture to hold the sheet of glass to keep it from spinning and allow you to clamp it to the drill press table. Next with the clay build a circular dam around the area where youâ€™re going to cut the disk from. Make a grinding slurry with the grinding abrasive. You can use water as the fluid, but turpentine is better, it allows the abrasive to cut faster and stay sharper longer. 

You are now ready to start cutting. If your drill press has various speeds use the slowest one. Fill the inside of the clay dam with a small amount of the slurry, just enough to cover the surface of the glass about 1/16â€� deep. 

Turn on the drill press and lower the tube to the surface of the glass. Maintain a light downward pressure on the tube. Occasionally lifting the tube slightly off the surface of the grind to allow additional abrasive between the glass and the tube. Continue the above process until youâ€™ve cut out your disk. Remember that as you get close to cutting through youâ€™ll need to lighten the downward pressure or run the risk of shattering the glass.< 

Reply from Noel: 
>This site is thanks to Mike Chaney. Go to http://www.ofrei.com/index.html Look for their Regular Flat Mineral Glass. All sizes etc and very reasonable in price. Thanks for the tip on the insulation material.< 

Thanks for the ideas on lenses. 

Even though I would like to make a lense myself....I went to the Otto Frei website and found a right-sized flat mineral glass crystal at the right price. 3 for $2.50... Thanks to Noel.


----------



## SteveC (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By Trains West on 06 Mar 2010 08:53 AM 
do you have a part number or a liink becouse I just did a bunch of looking at Otto Frei and could not find anything
Scott

You most likely were on the main web site and the watch materials is on its very own site.

Otto Frei - Watch Materials / Watch Crystals[/b]


----------



## San Juan (Jan 3, 2008)

Interesting info. Thanks

I was messing around with cone patterns on paper and actually came up with one that seems to fit nicely into the TD-12. Allowing for room behind it for a second bulb to light the side number boards, just like the prototype.


Now I'm wondering if I could find some thin aluminum, cut it to the pattern shape, and then shape it to the cone. I tested some aluminum foil and it looks fantastic. But unfortunately the foil is too thin to hold its shape by itself. And the slightest bump causes creases in the foil.


Here is the pattern if anyone would like to mess around with it. 











When printing the size that works well in MS Word for the cone is 0.93" width, by 0.79" length.


----------



## rkapuaala (Jan 3, 2008)

I made the headlamp and the reflector in the crudest way possible. I drilled a hole in a piece of maple about the size of the inside of the headlight, annealed some thin sheet brass. 
Then I took a ball pine hammer and gentle hammered the brass into the hole with the round end of the hammer, spining the brass as I taped away to make it smooth.
Finally I polished the inside using various grits of sand paper and the polishing will on my dremel with some buffing compound on it till it was a mirror finish, then I chromed it.
Depending on the time period you are working in, you don't really need to chrome it.


----------



## Trains West (Oct 4, 2008)

Posted By SteveC on 06 Mar 2010 12:23 PM 
Posted By Trains West on 06 Mar 2010 08:53 AM 
do you have a part number or a liink becouse I just did a bunch of looking at Otto Frei and could not find anything
Scott

You most likely were on the main web site and the watch materials is on its very own site.

Otto Frei - Watch Materials / Watch Crystals[/b]



thank you thats what I needed


----------



## dawgnabbit (Jan 2, 2008)

Matt,

The MiniMaglite 2-cell AAA size uses a 16 mm diameter reflector. This has an extended rim which can be turned down (or filed down) to 15 mm overall.

I ordered mine from *Flashlight King*. The part number is 108-064. $1 each, as I recall. They also sell the matching 16 mm lens. 


Dawg


----------



## Totalwrecker (Feb 26, 2009)

If you need one (lens) right away and live in a large town with a mall, look for a Fast Fix store. They usually carry a wide array of watch crystals. 

Matt, make one out of thin brass, add a tab (inside the open pie slice) to solder together and then put your foil one inside with a little glue. 
You can cut thin brass with scissors. I do.

John


----------



## San Juan (Jan 3, 2008)

Posted By Totalwrecker on 07 Mar 2010 12:15 PM 
Matt, make one out of thin brass, add a tab (inside the open pie slice) to solder together and then put your foil one inside with a little glue. 
You can cut thin brass with scissors. I do.

John 

That sounds like a workable solution. I needed to get some thin brass anyway for some flanger blades.

Sometimes I wish I had some large power tools, lathe, press, etc... Then I could probably fabricate my own metal reflectors. If I needed a lot, then I would look for a local metal work shop. They might be able to tackle some small metal cones. But since I only need maybe 7 max (thinking for future projects), it's not worth looking into mass fabrication.



To help show those who may not know what type of reflector I'm trying to simulate, here's a nice photo I found online:


----------

