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Gear shift knob

S

Shelby Rainey

Joined
Feb 7, 2014
Messages
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Location
Coker, AL
I am new to wood turning and was thinking about trying to make a gear shift knob for my car. Is there a place to by hardware for this kind of project or do I need to make it also? I know there are a lot of pen kits I was wondering if there was anything like that for shifter knobs?
Thanks
 
Shelby, I'm not sure what you are planning on putting the shift knob on. I did one for a Triumph GT and an MG I just took a nut that fits the shifter and turned it round and then epoxied it into the blank and turned the knob, the emblem my bother-in-law ( who I was making it for ) got it from a online auto website. I used epoxy finish as it takes a lot of abuse with sweat and UV damage. Still looks good after 9 years.
 
Very Simple.

1. Find out the thread size of the gear shift lever.
2. Buy a threaded insert in the same size.
3. Drill a properly sized hole in your wood that will accept the threaded insert.
4. insert a rod to fit tightly into the hole (you can use a twist drill bit) and put that into your scroll check.
5. Bring up the tail stock an apply pressure on the wood.
6. Turn and sand your piece.
7. Remove from lathe and put in the insert.
8. Apply finish of your choice using a bolt threaded into the insert as a handle.
9. Hit the road in your woody!;)
 
Craft supplies used to sell inserts.

I turned a couple 15 years ago with little inserts of a different wood in the top that had chatter work on them.
Gave a nice look and feel.

I also did a 2 sided multi center cut to make the nob slightly oblong.
Once this is done need to screw the bolt insert on all the way and Mark it and the nob so the the glued in bOlt tightens with the nob as you want it.

Cars they went in are history.

Al
 
I have made a number of shifter knobs. I have turned some of my own inserts out of aluminum (used when I want a decorative end such as on a truck shifter. It machines easily on a wood lathe with HSS or carbide tools) and have also drilled and tapped the correct thread in a short section of 1/2-13" all-thread and threaded the knob to accept the insert. I currently forgo all of that and simply drill and tap the knob. I tend to use hard, tough wood such as ebony, mesquite, pink ivory, etc and have never had a thread strip or a knob break.
As a rule for a bit cleaner look the hole in the knob needs to be deep enough to allow it to extend below the threaded portion of the shift lever. That counter bored portion needs to fit over the unthreaded portion without interference lest you crack this thinnest portion of the knob. The threaded hole doesn't begin until some depth into the knob. On short shifter cars like my Mazda MX5 I prefer the knob to cover all of the exposed shift lever coming to rest on the very top of the boot.
I finish the knob by threading an appropriate bolt into the finished knob and dip in polyurethane, set it upright and let the excess drip off. The dried drips at the bottom are unseen when the knob is in place and can easily be sanded away.
Strength? I accidentally installed one of these with a bit of uncured finish in the threads and was unable to remove the knob. I resorted to a pair of Channellock pliers which ruined the finish and dug into the wood before the knob released- the threads were unharmed. I returned and refinished the knob and put it back on the shift lever.
As a custom touch (and premium price!) I have drilled the end of the knob blank and glued in colored dowels (with a contrasting color for reverse) to denote the shift pattern.
These are a fun project!
 
I recently did this for my granddaughter's first vehicle--a 20 year old pickup with a manual tranny. Surprisingly, there is not a standard threading for them, so you'll have to see what's on the vehicle. A bottle stopper mandrel, if you have one, would be one easy way to hold the wood while turning. Since the threading in the vehicle is almost certainly not the same as the mandrel, you'd have to redrill and thread or put in an insert. All in all, a fun little project. (Since my granddaughter is a rocker and an artist (and a terrific kid), I made a plain vanilla knob that she can decorate as she likes, then we'll apply some acrylic or poly.)
 
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