edit – light mount, not optic mount. end of day. brain fried. many apologies.
Like the title says, in late 2009, I had an idea for a light mount. I sketched it out on a piece of construction paper with a crayon, and my rocket scientist friend Mike W (an actual rocket scientist, with patents to his name for rocket nozzles and stuff) turned those sketches into CAD drawings. Here is what it looked like.
The idea was to throw the light forward while allowing adjustment for various hand positions and sizes. It would also not require a quad rail, only a top rail handguard like a Vltor CASV, Troy TRX or Samson Evo.
I shopped it around to a few companies, but nobody seemed terribly interested.
Before anyone asks, the colors were done to make it easier to see the individual parts, not make the real thing clown colored. I point this out because I have been asked in the past if models I showed were going to really be colored “that way” – and this was in more than one industry.
I think having a multicolored optic mount would be cool. There would be no confusion as to whose rifle was whose at a course or on the job.
I see a thorntail…
So is this for optics then, or just lights?
I like it – I’d much rather keep the handguard as slick as possible. I think you can use the Haley Strategic mount http://bit.ly/xbLYLN on the top rail, although I like how yours would allow for rotation.
I’m sure you’ve seen Mr. Haley’s light mount, recently. This post reminded me of it.
Very neat idea!
All you needed was a little dragonfly on it and you would be all set lol.
I’d suggest you build a prototype or get a machine shop to build you a couple and sell’em off the blog. you can never say you didn’t try. . .
nice!
i can see a few minor improvements (reduced machining steps) but otherwise that looks like a great product
I’m in no way ridiculing you Andrew, but I want to point out why it wasn’t picked up.
First, what is keeping the red holder from rotating on the yellow shaft? It Would have to be a very sturdy connection or One hit and it would come out of place. That is the main functional weakness.
Second, it just doesn’t have a good flowing design to it, look at all the magpul stuff, look at the latest handgaurds, people want stuff that looks good, since the majority of folks will do a lot more looking at and showing off of their guns than they will be shooting them.
Third and most importantly, the design isn’t very sturdy, this thing would no doubt be made of of aluminum and AL is pretty soft, even when heat treated, the shaft is too small and fragile, the point where the shaft part transitions to the squared mount part is a major stress area. When dealing with softer metals you have to eliminate sharp transitions and corners because they creat places for tears to form. from the scale I’m gonna guess the shaft would be anywhere from 1/4″ to 3/8″ and that’s not very much meat for something that will be taking direct hard impact during drops. Especially with the amount of leverage the dewing places on it.
I like the adjustable idea, but it’s not an easy one to accomplish.
No arguments from me, however, it’s still a concept and would’ve needed to be tested. Sharp corners? I’ve never seen a drawing without an edge break and chamfer/radius note, so modeling them was a waste of time for me, since I was volunteering my time to do it.
A prior version where the light mount to the adjustment leg is held via two integral clamps. It exists, it just didn’t look as sexy. Andrew may still have that version to show too.
I can’t remember if that bar was aluminum or steel. Like I said, it was a concept for Andrew to beat on and then we’d update, so I wasn’t overly concerned.
The bar was steel, we were thinking. I also think that in the original mount, or one of the original designs, the bar was hex shaped and allowed adjustments at 60 degree intervals, or whatever.
I think an option to make it quick detach would be great as well.
It looked like a good ideal. I especially like the top rail mount, so you don’t have to have rails on the sides or bottom.
On a unrelated not how is your S&W 5.45 holding up?
Bub
I sold it a while back. It was still very reliable, though.
I like it! My suggestion…and this is coming from a guy who isn’t all over ARF.com or the LaRue and Magpul websites, so I don’t know what all tacticool gadgets are out there….instead of the orange-ish/yellow-ish shaft which the light interface rotates around, why not put a hinge right where the silver screws are, and/or a dovetailed slot for the light to be able to move up and down. The hinge I have in mind is kinda like how the EOTech and AimPoint flip out of the way magnifiers are made.
Don’t feel bad…when Mr. Knight had seen footage of our troops in 1989 in Panama for Just Cause where they had literally duct taped Mag Lights to the forearms of their M-16’s, Knight then went to Colt to present his idea. The higher highers in the board room basically laughed him out of there. Look at him now.
Looks like a good concept to me Andrew. We do a lot of CAD designed projects at the facility I work at. The CAD drawing never does the end product justice so I can viualize the end product in more of a refined high speed, low drag form.
I wouldn’t give up just yet. Companies might not have shown much interest but I bet they were thinking ” Damn, why didn’t we think of that?” Keep you’re eyes peeled and make sure they weren’t making mental notes. Some companies like to make others good ideas thier own. lol!
… so wait, this is like a thorntail dropwing hybrid?
I think it’s odd this didn’t make it with any manufacturer, then again, you don’t have a “name”.
Why not give kickstarter.com a try?
I like this idea, nice CADs, I’m a machine tool technology student at the moment. I would love to make a prototype for you. It seems like a fun project.
Hey, it looks like your concept incorporated in this: http://unitytactical.com/products/fusion/
Great minds think alike