Originally Posted by
Tom Tilmon
Adding cellophane may help to diffuse the light better. When it comes to even blade illumination, there are multiple important factors:
1. the focus of the beam needs to be appropriate, and it does sound like your beam is too wide.
2. your blade needs things inside of it to capture the light, like cellophane.
3. Have you sanded the outside of your blade? That can help capture and diffuse some more of your light.
4. Alignment of your beam down the blade, the beam must shine directly down the blade to hit the mirror head on.
5. LED brightness, which is also an important factor in even blade illumination.
So, try to focus the beam to a fine a point as possible with the maglight head. I don't think you have time to work on a lens system for the beam. Get a narrow dowel (wooden) that fits inside your blade. Wrap the dowel with about 40" or more of cellophane at a width equal to your blade length. Keep the cellophane tight around the dowel. Insert the dowel and cellophane into the blade, and then withdraw the dowel, leaving your cellophane in the blade. Allow the cellophane to unravel in the blade so that it sits against the inside of the blade.
If you haven't done so, another thing that could help is to sand the outside of the blade with sandpaper. I use 220 grit, then 1000 grit. The small scratches in the outside of the blade help to capture and diffuse light within the blade.
Hope you get it to work!
Tom
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