little matchcase

[Leonid Angere]

I've had a maglite solitaire flashlight (1 AAA) for years, never used it much, so I made a lil matchbox out of it. I cut off the head and made a cap from a .45 cartridge. I had to machine the cut end so the cap would press in snugly, then I J.B.-welded the cap in place. I found that my old ferro rod fit nicely into the flashlight's butt end, so I cut it to size and used J.B. Weld to secure it. To cut the flashlight, .45 casing and ferro rod, I used a cordless drill as a lathe.

The matchcase can hold eight or so small matches, but it's much easier to re-insert the ferro rod with only 4 or 5. If I had cut off the extra metal ahead of the threads in the ferro end, the matches would have fit without having to be snipped, but I like the extra purchase it gives me when making a spark.

When I put a knife in one pocket and fire in the other for the day, I usually choose my matchcase over my lighters. It gives me a good excuse to practice making a fire with a spark, but it's not as handy as a bic for a quick light, unless I try to use one of those confounded strike-nowhere matches. I'll have to see how well full size matches fit.

[Don Meredith]

Good stuff! :D

[Mike M]

I did something similar, but found some plastic end caps at Ace Hardware that were a perfect fit for the AAA body- the caps go on very (very) firmly

I put a sparklight and tinder tabs in mine, I like the firesteel idea though :)

[Terry Trimble]

I really like your guys idea about the match case. I have a old red maglite solitaire flashlight with battery stuck in it because a battery leaked. I have a question does the strike any where matches strike and light on the knurled grip of the maglite solitaire flashlight? Now I just need to find my old red maglite solitaire flashlight.
Thanks for the simple easy project,
Terry

[Mobile Calculator]

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[Leonid Angere]

Full size matches are a no-go. The sticks are too thick for the space around the ferro rod.

@ Terry: I honestly hadn't thought of using the case as a match striker. Mine's not knurled in a crosshatch, just has parallel lines, and I tried a normal stike-anywhere without success.

I had considered gluing a circular piece of strike paper to the bottom, but it wouldn't be shielded from water much.

Speaking of matches, I've read about lighting them with a flick of your thumbnail… and I'm thinking the modern version is more 'safety' than the original strike-anywhere. As for the diamond-brand small strike-anywhere that fits in my case, it's pretty much useless. Either the white tip wears off without doing its job, or the head lights without the stick catching. So much for 'made in the U.S.A.'

Eventually I'll probably remove the firesteel and have a dedicated match case. Then I could fit a few different matches, a birthday candle, some tinder.

@ Roger: Those paper matches are good for making match rockets with kids, but I would hate to have to rely on them in an emergency, especially in damp weather.

[Terry Trimble]

I really miss the old formulation of light any where matches. They truly would light any where on your zipper,pant leg,side walk, knife and if you did it right you could use your thumb nail and flick the top and the math would light.
But I think they got rid of the old formulate matches because they had accident were a match struck on another in the box and the box exploded in a box of flames.
Terry

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