On Sun, 03 Jul 2005 05:58:27 -0500, Prometheus
wrote:

On Sun, 03 Jul 2005 01:58:11 GMT, "Leo Lichtman"
wrote:
^^^^^^^^^^^
My solution will also require you to wait 'til the stores open after the
holiday. That's OK--enjoy the holiday. Loc-tite and Permatex both sell kits
for repairing stripped threads. It's a two-part epoxy system, with a
special release agent that you spray on the threads. You apply the mixed
resin in the hole and on the threads, and then just shove it together.
After it is cured, just unscrew it. In your case, you wouldn't even have to
do that until you are ready to sell the car and want to keep the knob.

Sounds a lot like the stuff I used to replace the handle on my
splitting maul. To follow up, I did get the knob turned- though I
used a bit of an oak burl cap rather than the cherry I had in mind.
Sanded it until it was very shiny (1500 grit, and then burnished with
the back of some sandpaper), wrapped it in a bit of clean cloth, then
drilled a hole the same size as the small dimention of the threads to
the proper depth with a forsner bit on the drill press. Left the
cloth wrapped around the knob, and mounted it in the chuck again to
hollow out the bit that the sliding handle you use to put the car into
reverse slides into, using a bow caliper to get the correct ID. Then
I threaded the knob onto the shaft of the shifter directly, and it
seems to have taken the impressions of the threads very well. I was
able to turn the knob about three turns at a time, and then back the
piece completely off to clear the sawdust. Once it was fully on, it
worked like a charm, and was nice and tight, but I was still able to
put it on and take it off several times without stripping the threads
I had got in there.

The burl I used had been soaking in LDD for about three weeks, so I'm
hoping that will keep it from cracking or deforming as it dries, and
the project is currently fully submerged in tung oil. I could have
just finished it as normal, but this particular hunk of burl gave me a
bit of trouble (deforming) with the bowl I turned out of it when I
first cut it (no LDD soak with that one), so I figured getting that
oil really deeply into the wood wasn't a bad idea. Finish coat will
be spar polyurethane- I would have preferred shellac, but on
reflection I decided that I didn't want to risk ruining it if I got
into the car in the rain, and shifted with wet hands!

You may be pioneering into a new way to make money as a turner--get a booth
at a car show and sell custom knobs.

There may be some money in that- If it turns out really well, I
already work as a fabricator for a place that makes custom trailer
hitches for cars, so I might show it to the boss, and see if they're
willing to display a few in the booths they've already got. But I'll
have to think about that- I'd hate to get locked into doing nothing
but turning little knobs in my spare time! Of course, if anyone else
cares to do it, have at it. As I was putting on the shifter knob, I
had the thought that I may do the same with the window crank handles,
just to have a matching set, so there's another product to go with it.


I'll toss up a picture of the end result on ABPW once I've got it
finished and installed, probably on Tuesday.

check out the pen turners sites and look at CA finishing. super hard
finish and can be finnish sanded with micro mesk down to 12000 grit
for a real good shine. CA isnot afected by bodily fluids much and will
hold up much longer the poly.

skeez