Making a Wooden Shift Knob

[grannyknot]

Captain, nicely done! When do you go into production? I'd buy one just the way it is right now with no map, looks fantastic.

[Mikes Z car]

Captain Obvious that looks terrific! What did you use to make the insert out of?

Geezer, this should be the shift knob you mentioned:

[geezer]

...Geezer, this should be the shift knob you mentioned:

Yep thats it Mike. I have a link to the Ebay auction in my last post if anyone else wants to attempt making a new map button from one of these. I might even be able to make an insert from it as well. If I screw it up its only a $8.99 loss. Cutting the two circles will be the difficult part. Without having it in hand yet to measure it is a bit of a guessing game. If the shift map is close enough to my original in font size and the two circles can be cut into it after rounding out the top some, it just might work out OK.

[Diseazd]

Nice woodwork....everyone does realize that Nissan still sells the original shift knobs for $48.00. I just bought one last week. So if you don't own a lathe, just call your local dealer.

[Captain Obvious]

Geezer, Cutting the shift map out of that ebay knob sounds interesting. Be warned though... I don't think it's aluminum. I think it's chromed plastic.

I might be wrong, but looking at this picture, it's got that tell-tale hue showing through of copper plating they use to get the chrome to stick to the plastic:

Not a huge deal, but would certainly make powder coating an impossibility. Would make cutting the shift map out easier though.

For nine bucks shipped, you can hardly go wrong for a delicate knob made with shiny finish, and shaped with smart look. Strict and solid fitment, supplies you better performance in comfortable grasp, can help to enhance the spirits of safe driving meanwhile raise the status of your car. :classic:

[Captain Obvious]

Captain, nicely done! When do you go into production? I'd buy one just the way it is right now with no map, looks fantastic.

Thanks!! I'm not so sure about production though... And this is why:

everyone does realize that Nissan still sells the original shift knobs for $48.00.

I couldn't make them for that. With alternatives out there, I don't think I could possibly charge what this knob cost me. Of course, mine is way better, but probably not better enough.

Diseazd, is the knob you just bought proportioned the same as the original knob? The reason I ask is that there were some of the highly knowledgeable owners discussing knobs in this two year old thread http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/thread37451.html, and the opinion was that Nissan's new offering as a replacement wasn't quite the right shape when compared to the original.

I didn't do any more digging than that, but it seems suspect that so many of the forum's heavy hitters unsuccessfully spent so much time trying to find the perfect knob only to find that Nissan has them for less than fifty bucks? :bulb:

[geezer]

In the description it says...Material: aluminium alloy. I'll let you know for sure when it gets here. I don't have a lathe, so I think I'll farm this out to a machinist friend.

Guy - There are a few threads explaining why one would go to these extremes to create a knob to replace their stock one. I have several knobs including the one sold as OEM today. They are much larger in diameter and just don't fit the hand as well as an original. Price an OEM with a 5 speed map today. You won't get one at the dealer for $48.00 and the dimensions as well as the shift map are different. Besides that, its fun!

[Captain Obvious]

Mikes Z car, If you're asking about the threaded metal base insert, I used aluminum.

I was considering stainless but it would have been much more difficult to work with, especially with how much hand shaping I needed to do. The biggest thing I was worried about with the aluminum was how good of a finish I could get, and I'm happy with the results.

[Captain Obvious]

In the description it says...Material: aluminium alloy. I'll let you know for sure when it gets here.

geezer, Yup, so it does! I didn't read the directions, I just looked at the pretty pictures. Man... can you imagine grabbing a handful of that sucker on a cold Canadian morning?

I was going to ask if you had a lathe, but figured that even if you didn't you could come up with an alternative. Send me a PM.

[Captain Obvious]

Sorry for so many replies... Forgot something.

I don't have an original in hand, but I did cut and paste pics side by side. Still need to do something with a color finish:

[geezer]

Its your thread, reply as much as you want. That side by side pic really shows that you aced it. One thing I know about maple is, it is really difficult for stain to penetrate into it being such a hard wood. Could take several applications to achieve the color you want. I wouldn't hesitate using a darker stain or at least experiment with different ones on your bowling pin first.

[ninjazombiemaster]

Tomorrow I'm going to work on the metal base.

ninjazombiemaster, Yeah I remember that thread with the discussion about the shift map. I was looking at yours while it was here and I was considering trying to cast something with it, but I have no idea what I'm doing with that and didn't want to mess anything up.

You know most of this is your fault, right? I was perfectly happy with my black plastic knob until I started messing with yours.

Haha, I know, I know. If it makes you feel any better, now I'm wishing I'd just asked you make a full metal base like that for mine rather than going through all that trouble with the existing bottom and threading. That looks absolutely fantastic.