1. I have a pile of squares of diamondwood that are predrilled to make shift
knobs - these are probably not right for you (think near spherical shift
knobs like on my 38 Plymouth or 36 Cadillac) but if anyone else would like
one or more, drop me a note - not free, but not too dear (get my email from
my web page at www.wbnoble.com)

2. I think to make a truly spiral pattern I would not do it via glue up -
for several reasons, one is that it won't look right, but an even better
reason is that a car is a really really tough environment on wood and it is
very likely to come apart. So, here are some other ideas

1. you can turn aluminum like wood, so make the shape out of aluminum (turn
a little slower than wood), polish it, and then use "standard techniques" to
cut a spiral groove into the AL and press a strip of wood into the groove -
glue it in with epoxy

2. you can still buy bakelite if you wanted an original handle - it turns
like a really hard brittle wood - dust, not shavings, but it can be turned
on a wood lathe (as can FRP and Phenolic and nylon)

3. do as in #1, but make the handle out of one piece of hard maple, then do
the grooving.

4. cut a maple dowel so it is 3/8 at one end, 1" at the other end. Steam
1/4 inch square strips (e.g. 1/4 X 1/4 X 24 inches) of your selected woods
for a while, until they are soft and wrap them around the shaped dowel and
glue in place - use clamps to hold the whole thing tight while the glue
hardens - you can make a shallow spiral or a really twisty one like threads,
your choice - the shallow spiral will be easier and use shorter strips of
wood-

5. use veneer laid onto the shaped dowel

6. for something completely different, make up a shaped dowel exactly as you
want the outside and use that to make a mold using silicone mold compound -
then fill the mold with interesting stuff like bugs, or flowers, or chips of
wood and broken screws and then pour in casting resin - after it hardens,
polish on the lathe and drill/tap as required.



"Ivan Vegvary" wrote in message
...
Wishing to turn a gear shift knob for my 1948 Pontiac. Automatic
transmission with lever on the steering column. Original was some kind of
plastic/Bakelite that has broken to pieces.

Final product would be about 3 inches long and vary in diameter from about
5/8 inches to 1-1/4 inches. Would like to glue-up some light and dark
woods
for the turning, BUT, wish for the alternate colored woods in the finished
product to look more like a spiral.

Do I simply glue up a block, say W/D/W/D/W (W=white, D=dark) and saw it on
a
diagonal before turning? I can't quite picture how to make the blank
prior
to turning.

All help, advice etc. appreciated.

Ivan Vegvary