Let us turn our regular mini mag flashlight into a cool burning laser pointer. Here is how you do it. First, you will need a 16x DVD burner. I am using an LG that I had as a spare. Remove all the screws and take apart the case. Remove the drawer to expose the carriage assembly. That is where you will find a powerful laser diode.
Old DVD burners will have a set of rails the laser assembly rides on. After pulling out the assembly, start removing all the little screws to get to the laser diode. Be careful, because the diode is a fragile electronic component. Then you will need to pickup an access laser housing. You will have to disassemble it an also remove the laser diode that comes in the housing.
I used the back end of an exact two knife handle and gently tapped out the existing laser diode, then, you are going to carefully install your new DVD laser diode in the laser housing. You are almost done. All DVD laser diode use a similar configuration. Be sure to test your polarity using two double A batteries. Then you are going to solder two longer pins under the positive and negative terminals of the laser diode.
Disassemble your mag light, removing the ring, the inside reflector and of course the bulb. You will need to drill out the existing reflector so it sits around the laser housing. Now, put everything back together, load your two double A batteries and here are the test results.
Your new burning laser pointer easily lights a match and pops a balloon in an instant. That is how you turn a mini mag flashlight into a powerful burning laser pointer.
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