Feeler: Custom aluminum shift knobs.

[So Live]

Hey guys.

I was bored today in Mechanical engineering lab so i decided to make a shift knob.

Me and a friend of mine are probably going to split another aluminum bar and hes going to make a few VW knobs and im gonna make a few bmw ones.

Heres what the "prototype" looks like. Its not done yet.



I can do basically anything thats round easily haha. If we had smaller stock we could bang em out in about an hour.

Ill get pics of it finished up and in the car this weekend.

If we do end up making a bunch of these theyd probably be like $30-40 depending on what they look like and how much material is used and how long they end up taking to make.

They are going to attach with a set screw cause im not sure how to make the bmw style internal clip thing.

Thanks!

[red87bimmer]

you knowwww im down!!!

[e30pwr]

Dear lord. WAYYY better than the POS I have for a shifter right now. How rough are those edges?

[So Live]

Haha, the edges arent too bad. They will get cleaner for sure by the time im done. im thinking about sanding the whole thing down to get rid of the small grooves and making it look like brushed aluminum and clearing it.

Its only the first one, they will only get better.

Ill keep you guys updated.

[e30pwr]

IDK if you know much about the aluminum finishing but some custom annodised ones would be SUPER cool.

[golde30]

there was a member making custom knobs a while back, they were pretty damn nice, but only half the people who paid got theirs. they way he did the inside was just to make it as close to the shift lever size as possible, then it pushed on tite and had a set screw. i can take some pics of mine if you want.

[KenC]

there was a member making custom knobs a while back, they were pretty damn nice, but only half the people who paid got theirs. they way he did the inside was just to make it as close to the shift lever size as possible, then it pushed on tite and had a set screw. i can take some pics of mine if you want.

Word. I had one of those. The anodized black one was pretty sick. Really nice quality.

[tonytony]

i would be down for a shift knob/shaft type thing, be kool to raise the lever height a bit

[So Live]

Turns out anodizing this stuff isnt that difficult. Clear is super easy and aparently color isnt that bad either. i just read that its the same as clear but you dye the water...

Ill probably play with anodizing em. Im gonna make two more this week then i think i might have to start buying my own material. Ill probably try to anodize all of them despite how they look just to practice.

Gold thatd be great! Do you think you could measure the height of the shift lever too (where the knob goes)? I need to get that number too. It sucks not having my car at school....

Thanks guys!

[madjurgen]

Think you could make a perfect sphere?

[el_gringo]

my .02.. if you can engrave the bmw shifter up top, it would be bad... like this:


the r-1-2-3-4-5 part... no m badge... just engraved in the metal. i would diff buy one. i say 30 bucks if its blank, 40-45 for the engraving... just my .02:-D

[Jean]

I'll buy one if it's just plain anodized w/o any logos on it.

[So Live]

Mad, probably pretty close. Its something to play with...

Gringo, Were actually talking about it and well see what we can come up with. We probably have the tooling but neither of us know how to use it yet :) someone here does!!!!

Jean, thats right up our alley right at the moment!

ive been looking into anodizing and it looks totally doable for these things. im going to bring some scrap aluminum home and play with it maybe this weekend if i have time (no guarantees) maybe we can get a little aparatus hooked up at school. We'll see.

The first one is going to be a paperweight or maybe an anodizing test part. Im going to the lab tomorow (well today i guess) and im gonna try to bang one out. I have dimensions for the hole so i should be able to get it pretty close with out my car here.

Gringo, Im also thinking about milling the hole in the top of the knob to fit the little inlay sticker thing.

As far as pricing goes, were still looking into material pricing and how long its actually going to take to make these things and have them look and feel right. We also have to get into anodizing them. Clear coat isnt good enough for me and i want cool anodized colors.

Ill post pics of the process and if i get anything substantial done tomorow.

Thanks again guys! This is pretty cool for us two.

[Jall]

I'd be interested, how heavy do you think you can make them?

[KenC]

I'd be interested, how heavy do you think you can make them?

Aluminum? Not very.