Considering a run of shifter knobs, I've not done one in years Options

[VaccaRabite]

Hey all, I'm considering a run of 917 style shifter knobs, which I've not done in about 5 years.

These would be different from the ones I have made in the past.

I bought a bit of European birch plywood, and I plan to make them from that. The shipping cost more the then lumber, and the lumber wasn't cheap.

In the past I have always used either maple and mahogany or maple and dark walnut for these knobs. And then finished them with several oats of oil and wax.

This time around they would be very (hopefully very very) similar to the knobs made by the Porsche race teams for their 917 cars. Right wood. Right finish. Wrong car. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/lol-2.gif)

The knobs were known as "balsa" shift knobs, but were actually made from birch ply and glued onto the shifter rod.

My plan is to turn and smooth them, and fit them with the delrin inserts I make (instead of glueing the knob to your shift rod). But otherwise they will be very much like the originals - no finish save the oils from your hands.

The wood is a furniture grade euro ply - its not the rough crap from the local home depot.

I've not got the wood yet, and I need to order more delrin rod for the inserts. But before I do that, is there even any interest in this, or am I the only one that thinks its a cool idea?

As far as I know, no-one else is doing these this way, everyone is making them similar to how I was doing it, though I've yet to see someone making the inserts I developed for use with the stock crush rings.

These would definitely be a little more racey and raw. I don't know, maybe I'm the only one that thinks it would be cool.

I should also point out, these could also be finished in oil and wax for a bit of refinement and would likely look awesome. But I kinda want to make them as close to the actual deal as I can this time, and see how it goes.

Let me know what you think. And I'll make up a test knob when the wood gets to me.

Zach

[VaccaRabite]

The past month has been ROUGH.
Overcommitted calendar as always while I try and balance kids and family and me.
And then we added cancer, death and a funeral to someone I consider a parent and mentor (often referred to as my outlaw dad). We got him in the ground earlier this week, and I've been looking for a project to take my mind off.

These knobs fit the bill.

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/live.staticflickr.com-1435-1713462461.1.jpg)

I made up 2 blanks, machines a bunch of the delrin inserts, bought fresh epoxy and started making. The original knobs were glued on to the shift levers, but I don't thing that will work for most of us. While I'm trying to make these as close to the "real" thing as I can, I think I have to diverge a little here for the sake that these aren't "disposable" race cars.

I have a larger block that will make about 18 more knobs clamped up, but these two will be the prototypes.

I realized I needed to make a new friction fit attachment for the lathe, so I did that first today, and then mounted and turned the first knob.

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/live.staticflickr.com-1435-1713462462.2.jpg)

After turning a gave is a rudimentary sanding and put it on the 914.
(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/live.staticflickr.com-1435-1713462462.3.jpg)

Off the bat I see a few things I want to change. I want to take about 5mm off the face and reshape it - right now its just slightly more oblong then I want. If the knob is 48mm wide, then I need to trim the height down to about 45mm to get the profile looking how I want it.

But, overall I'm happy with it. Bear in mind this has NO FINISH on it what so ever.

That's how the original ones were made. This is also the correct (I think - as correct as I could find and get imported in) baltic birch ply. I have no idea what the Porsche race shop would have used at the time, or if the wood even would have been graded in 1960s as it is now - probably what was on hand. I did splurge and get a furniture grade product. I went that way as builder grade ply often has breaks and voids that are not acceptable in finished goods.

This knob is also a few MM smaller in diameter then the ones I have made in the past, around 48mm instead of 50mm. I may take it down another MM when I turn the face down a little.

If I add some oil I expect it will darken up a little. The second knob will be a test of that. Unprotected wood will also darken naturally on its own pretty quickly as the oils from your hands work into the wood.

Assuming I make a run of these, an oil and wax finish will likely be an option - like my prior knobs - with a slight upcharge. My goal with these is to make them simple and sell them pretty cheaply - somewhere around $50 plus shipping I think but I've not done all the math on that yet. Putting a finish on adds about a week to production. And it gets away from the "because racecar" vibe that I'm aiming for. But I do understand that I'm kinda weird, and people tend to like nicer things.

So anyway. No fancy mahogany and maple. Its European plywood. No fancy time consuming finish. Lower price.

You guys are my market research. Am I off my rocker?

Zach