polarisman14 Posted April 10, 2011 Report Share Posted April 10, 2011 (edited) I came up with a pretty neat idea the other day. A friend of mine has a really old, small lathe (Fits on a small table, it's probably 4' long by 18" wide) and some pieces of aluminum bar stock hanging around. I went to school for engineering a while ago and had experience with running lathes and mills, both manual and CNC models. It's been 5 years since I've used a lathe and I figured hey, why not give my car a personal touch. I can't weld or paint or do any other body work, and this was something I had been thinking of for a couple weeks. To start, make a sketch of what you are looking to make. If it's something like a shift knob, how exact it is dimensionally isn't too important as you can make adjustments during the manufacturing process. I forgot to take a picture of this. Next, select a piece of bar stock that is relatively close to what you are looking to make. I only had 2 options--this oddly cut piece and another one that was 3.5" in diameter. I didn't want to ruin that one (you can see it in the background) so I figured I would use this. http://i512.photobucket.com/albums/t324/polarisman14/StarQuest/image002-1.jpg After getting it chucked into the lathe I proceeded to even out everything. It was just a rough job because I knew I would be putting it into a bench vice to cut it down to the appropriate length. The lathe was very weak and I didn't want to take hours to get the final length established. I then drilled a small hole into the center, and then a larger one to screw down on to the shifter. http://i512.photobucket.com/albums/t324/polarisman14/StarQuest/image003.jpg http://i512.photobucket.com/albums/t324/polarisman14/StarQuest/image004-1.jpg I then cut the ends off that I didn't need to get the overall length close.http://i512.photobucket.com/albums/t324/polarisman14/StarQuest/image005.jpg Next, I tapped threads into it. I had a bit of a casualty in the process (second photo). http://i512.photobucket.com/albums/t324/polarisman14/StarQuest/image006-1.jpg http://i512.photobucket.com/albums/t324/polarisman14/StarQuest/image014-1.jpg I then threaded a bolt into it with the correct thread count and cut the head off of it. This served as something to put into the chuck so that I could machine the whole surface of the knob and not worry about marks on the outside of the piece from the chuck. http://i512.photobucket.com/albums/t324/polarisman14/StarQuest/image007.jpg As you can see before reaching the finished piece, the weakness of the bolt combined with the lever arm of torque that the tool was exerting on the part gave it weird wavy tool marks. http://i512.photobucket.com/albums/t324/polarisman14/StarQuest/image008-1.jpg Yesterday I thought I would call it quits at this point...http://i512.photobucket.com/albums/t324/polarisman14/StarQuest/image010.jpg But I decided to keep going today. I fixed the wavy tool marks in the final assembly by clamping the bottom, machining the top, then reinserting the bolt and machining the bottom section. I went with 3 o-ring grooves (if I don't like the feel of the O-rings I may just remove them and paint these areas) and I also reacquainted myself with cutting radiuses on the lathe. Takes a while but I'd say the payoff is pretty good. It is a nice, heavy shift knob that I'm proud to put my name on. http://i512.photobucket.com/albums/t324/polarisman14/StarQuest/image012-1.jpg http://i512.photobucket.com/albums/t324/polarisman14/StarQuest/image011.jpg Edited April 10, 2011 by polarisman14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picklesgarage Posted April 10, 2011 Report Share Posted April 10, 2011 nice work. so how do you like it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polarisman14 Posted April 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2011 I'm happy with it. Unfortunately I don't have the car as its at paint and body work right now but I'm sure I will be happy with it. I already have the Mookeeh short shifter in there and this will make the shifts smooth as butter. It is a nice weight and because the threads only go to the middle o-ring and the hole goes to the top one I can weight it a bit more if I choose to with some lead or something. Aesthetically I think I'll lose the O-rings in favor of some gloss black paint in those channels and I'll also lightly polish the outside of it, but leave the tooling marks. They're a bit of a signature just to show that it was handmade, and it'll compliment the Mookeeh radio/gauge bezel that I have (that is aluminum with tooling marks and light polishing as well). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Project83 Posted April 12, 2011 Report Share Posted April 12, 2011 Looks nice, i always like it when i can make my own stuff like that, gives a car an extra personal touch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polarisman14 Posted April 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 12, 2011 Thanks. I've since polished it with Mother's Aluminum and Mag polish and said see-ya to the o-rings in favor of black sharpie. Looks much better. http://i512.photobucket.com/albums/t324/polarisman14/StarQuest/0411111940a.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hachi_destroyer Posted May 23, 2011 Report Share Posted May 23, 2011 well done sir Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polarisman14 Posted May 25, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 25, 2011 ^^Thanks. Since then I fixed the auto-feed with the lathe so I re-machined this knob down and all the tooling marks now match. I made better o-ring grooves and went back to those which looks much better even than the sharpie. I've also since made 2 more knobs, one of which I like even more than this one. This will be for sale soon, I think. Just need to see it on the car before I make any decisions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Posted May 30, 2011 Report Share Posted May 30, 2011 Piiiiiiiiiics.Sorry for the thread digging. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Burgandy Posted May 30, 2011 Report Share Posted May 30, 2011 now what about the diy guy that doesnt have a lathe laying around? haha and it looks really good man! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
REDi Posted May 31, 2011 Report Share Posted May 31, 2011 So, how deep are the threads for the stick? Thread pattern? Knob overall length and width? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polarisman14 Posted June 1, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 1, 2011 (edited) The depth of the threads depends entirely on user preference. Both of the ones I made had threads about an inch and a half deep and the threads are stock thread size for our cars--10x1.25mm metric. Here's some new pictures, of all 3 of the shift knobs I made. The brass one (as you can see by the measuring tape) is on the small side but I was experimenting with using a pipe on the outside epoxied to the aluminum on the interior. It gives a neat two-tone appearance, machines very well (brass just makes small "chips" instead of "strings" when machining), and it keeps costs way down (brass is about 4x more expensive than aluminum). Enough talk, here you go: http://i512.photobucket.com/albums/t324/polarisman14/StarQuest/image002-4.jpg http://i512.photobucket.com/albums/t324/polarisman14/StarQuest/image003-3.jpg http://i512.photobucket.com/albums/t324/polarisman14/StarQuest/image004-4.jpg http://i512.photobucket.com/albums/t324/polarisman14/StarQuest/image005-3.jpg http://i512.photobucket.com/albums/t324/polarisman14/StarQuest/image001-4.jpg http://i512.photobucket.com/albums/t324/polarisman14/StarQuest/image006-4.jpg Edited June 1, 2011 by polarisman14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Posted June 1, 2011 Report Share Posted June 1, 2011 No link/pics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polarisman14 Posted June 1, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 1, 2011 (edited) now what about the diy guy that doesnt have a lathe laying around? haha and it looks really good man! Thanks man, lol. Just do what I did, find a guy who's got one and teach yourself how to use it And 87, check again. Took me a while to post the pics because my computer decided to shart in the middle of uploading. Edited June 1, 2011 by polarisman14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Posted June 1, 2011 Report Share Posted June 1, 2011 Polaris, those look excellent, man. I like the orginal one you did, myself, but they are all pretty schweet lookin. Good job! You should start making and selling custom ones, man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polarisman14 Posted June 1, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 1, 2011 Yeah, the original one is actually the one on the left with the O-rings. I just machined it down a touch to use the micro-feed and perfect the tooling marks, then polished it and put some thinner o-rings in it. It can always have the grooves painted. And yeah I would love to sell them, I just need to see how they look on the car and pick one to keep first . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fuze Posted June 3, 2011 Report Share Posted June 3, 2011 I like the taller one on the right, very cool. Ever try machining Delrin or Acrylic? You could get some cool results with those designs. Maybe dip one of them in a rubber coating, another cool possibility. One type of material that's popular in Japan for racing is Urethane, not sure if that can be machined though but the rubber coating would create a similar effect. You should sell some! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polarisman14 Posted June 3, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 3, 2011 I need to see if I can grind a tool differently to use as a boring bar rather than to machine the outer surface. The issue I have is that the stock shift knob has about 2 inches of recess before the threaded section starts so it sits much lower than any of the 3 knobs. I will more than likely be cutting the shifter itself down and cutting some fresh threads into it to run the knob lower but I know that isn't an option for everyone. I can machine anything that I can clamp in there although I'm not sure how softer things will look after machining. The other thing that I like about these is the weight--the one with the O-rings feels upwards of a pound and really makes shifting through the gates nice. I've decided to keep the one on the end, though--I think the squarish look goes well with the rest of the car. I really appreciate the feedback and compliments, if anyone wants a custom knob they can PM me otherwise I'll just be making and selling random designs on the for sale forums every once in a while. I don't always have free time to make them and I have a day job so setting up a vendor account or anything like that doesn't really make sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earl Posted June 4, 2011 Report Share Posted June 4, 2011 (edited) I made this at work. I used black PVC and used a boring bar to bore out the inside, then I machined a brass plug the exact same size as the hole and pressed it in with a vice. Then I faced the whole thing and rounded the edge. I used a boring bar to start the threads too and then I just slowly hand threaded it onto my shifter and it cut perfect threads=) The PVC has to be machined very very slow because it's very stringy. It'll leave some gross strings and ridges if you do it too fast. Its counter weighted pretty good though. http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz230/earlcharlesmeyeriii/IMAG0003.jpg Edited June 4, 2011 by Earl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Posted June 4, 2011 Report Share Posted June 4, 2011 Polaris has been talked into attempting an 83 style knob. By me. This should be COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polarisman14 Posted June 4, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 4, 2011 Yeah I'll post up my results in here when it comes out. Nice work, Earl--I experimented with inserts with the brass one in the middle in the last photos I posted. That was actually a large hose barb with NPT threads on one side that I lathed down and then glued the piece of aluminum in the middle. It is very small but I just wanted to show that I could do it, in the future I would be sourcing larger diameter stuff and hopefully doing what you did with a bushing press to interference-fit the stuff together should anyone want a two-tone knob. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polarisman14 Posted June 18, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 18, 2011 All done with the knob for 87Blue finally. Had a hell of a time because of its size and the lack of strength on the lathe's part but it's all done. Some decorative grooves make it ribbed for her pleasure but do help to make it look a little less phallic. I'll be polishing it up before I send it to him as well. http://i512.photobucket.com/albums/t324/polarisman14/StarQuest/0618111031.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hachi_destroyer Posted June 18, 2011 Report Share Posted June 18, 2011 whats that thing weigh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polarisman14 Posted June 18, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 18, 2011 Around a pound. It's solid aluminum but in order to make room for the 1/2"+ diameter shifter stalk I had to use a uni-bit to drill out the inside of the shift knob. Having an inch of threads one inch from the surface is fine but not if you can't reach them with the threaded part of the shifter, lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Posted June 19, 2011 Report Share Posted June 19, 2011 I can't wait to have it in mah car. Another reason for the girls to want a ride. :lol: Looks damn good though, and to be honest, better than I saw in my head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lance_S Posted June 23, 2011 Report Share Posted June 23, 2011 I dig the first one you made. My problem with my current one is that I am using an "8" ball. It's a little bit too large in diameter. The other issue is that it only screws down a little bit of the way into the ball. Ultimately it sits high on my Mookeeh shifter. This raises my shifter height and actually makes my shift throws longer. I would be interested in seeing if you could build one that is like the first one and run the threads all the way up to the top of the shifter, just shy of going through. That way I could screw that baby all the way down to the top of the shifter threads and shorten my throw. What do you think? L Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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