Would people buy these shift knobs?

good to know!

are there many guys around with that setup?

 

planning on it!!

 

I'm a machinist/CNC Programmer. I used to, way too often, get caught up in making things myself, that really weren't that expensive. If it's something special that can't be bought, or decorative, sure. But sometimes it's not cost/time effective to do it yourself when some factory is cranking out threaded inserts on a screw machine by the thousands. For instace, these inserts can be had for $8 for 25 at a glance. Probably even cheaper elsewhere. Not knocking ya, just a thought man. Nice woodwork, btw!! I can make some cool shit out of metal....never messed with wood though.

 

thanks! id like to learn machining soon, ive done some handmade metal work and its a blast.

I do think that it would be cheaper to buy things from the factory, but considering how much hand made work goes into each knob, i feel like having my friend make the inserts will be worth it, even if it costs me a couple bucks extra.

well see!

 

I realized after posting that I was implying cutting your friend out, hope it didn't offend, wasn't meant to. That being said, not that your friend's machine skills aren't valuable, it's really just the shift knob here that sells the item as handmade. Your friend might get tired of setting to turn just a few of these out at a time.

My $.02, you need to get that down to an hour tops to make this worthwhile. And that's meant as a compliment to you and your skills. After your time and paying your friend for his what are you making, minimum wage? Skilled machinists don't work for that. If you just want to do it as a hobby and money isn't a concern, do a batch, post what's available, sell and repeat. Too many members here have put out great products as a side hobby and jammed themselves up when things took off and they couldn't keep up.

 

You could always tap the hole to size, no need for an insert.

 

Yup, deep enough to cover the threads is key.

Nothing like the feel of wood in your hand. Well, you know what I mean.

 

I would be interested in one of these, and 49 bucks is right around my price range too... let me know when I can order one and what the final price is!

 

If you want to speed up production time, drill a hole in the wood 1st and install the threaded insert. Then put a bolt in the 3 jaw chunk and screw the knob on. Then you can turn the knob, start to finish and then just unscrew it off the bolt and start another one.

Beware though, if you get too aggressive with the cutting, it could fail catastrophically and send wood chunks flying in all directions.

 

no offense taken! good idea- maybe i will make a bunch and then post them up. i think that may be a better way to start out, just so i dont get jammed up with orders. im in school (online) as well right now so i cant give up all of my time.

 

i thought of that, but its not too hard to make the insert and that way its more durable.

 

yup thats similar to my process. i drill and put in insert, and then have that end on the tailstock while i do most of the work, and then for final finishing on the top ill spin it around and put a bolt in the chuck.

i dont like working all jammed up next to the chuck, so my method allows me to have plenty of space.

 

hahaha good one

 

Those look really good!

@RyanL might know where to find you a boat load of cocobolo wood if you wanted to try a different flavor

 

I applaud your efforts. Looks great! Two questions: Could these knobs be made to fit a 3rd Gen? and what is the weight? I would like a bit more weight than the stock 5 speed shifter. I certainly wish you luck. If you believe it would work for my application sign me up. Thanks

 

cocobolo would be really cool......

 

i would be able to make them for any gen basically. eventually ill need people to send me measurements of each shifter depth so i can make it the right size.

weight is tricky. a bigger knob will definitely be heavier, but if its drilled deeper its going to be lighter because thats all mass youre taking out. theyre the weight of the wood + insert (it would be difficult to add weight, unless i could make an insert heavier).

since theyre handmade its also hard to control exact weights and not have any variation.

im starting to think im going to make a batch of various thread sizes and weigh each one and list them individually with their weights.

 

Thank you. I can take measurements for you tomorrow. I see your points on weight and inserts. Good luck with the first batch as I think thats the safest way for you to proceed and realize your cost/profit and time margins.

 

that would be awesome! thread depth, and shifter depth (from top of shifter to top of boot) would be great!

if you could take photos of the tape next to it that would be helpful, i have a very visual-oriented mind

pm me so it doesnt slip by!

much appreciated

 

@RyanL I charge a 50% cost commission.