Art & Inspiration How about a shift knob thread?

And then there's this

 

For bang shifting.

 

this one was made from a bakerlite frypan handle and a commemorative ANZAC coin and a bit of aluminium round stock

 

I did say "glass" but that's just because I was not really sure what the material is. Looking online it appears to be porcelain. Mine also has a brass(?) insert which was soft enough to allow me to just cut the threads when I screwed it onto the stick. If I remember correctly, I drilled a hole (the original opening was square) and just screwed it on using a lubricant.
Here you can see the remaining corners of the square opening after the threads were cut. Sorry for the crappy phone pictures...

 

My collection is a lot bigger than I thought. I started digging through my boxes and once I got everything together and took some pictures I was surprised at how much junk I've accumulated. Now most of it isn't the really cool vintage stuff like many of you have, but I thought I'd share. This first batch of pictures is the stuff I keep boxed up in my basement.



I've always liked dice shift knobs. I think this came from seeing all the dice shift knobs on trash trucks at my Dad's job when I was a kid. The striped knobs were very popular in the late 90s and used to be everywhere. I still buy them up when I find them cheap. Seems like green and yellow were the least popular as these are the main colors I find. There are also a few leftovers from my VW days.



The teardrop knobs I bought from a shop that was closing. I make a lot of my own, but I can never pass 'em up when they are cheap. I use them for spotlight handles too. I have a pair of gray ones on the spotlight handles on my retired police car daily driver. The red one was an Ebay find. The other little ones are vintage Hollywood accessory knobs. The pool balls I bought from a guy on Ebay who lives in England. They were machined out and threaded to work on the trigger handle Hurst VW shifters. A little more leftover VW stuff.



These are the only original shift knobs I have left in the original packages. I used to have quite a few more of these, but when times got lean a number of years ago I sold most of them.



These critter knobs (as I like to call them) were another bargain from a going out of business sale. The beetles in the yellow and blue knobs are almost as wide as the palm of my hand. The tiger wasp in the red knob is about the same length as my pinky! I'm glad that insects don't get this big in the States for the most part!



The next pictures are from the shift knobs I have on display in my garage. I took some bolts with matching threads and drilled holes in spoon display cases to mount them. I vowed to stop buying the knobs once the cases were full. I've been kinda good, but from the first pictures you can see I've found other places to stash knobs (lol)!



These are mostly trucker style knobs. Being the son of a truck driver, I've always been fond of them. I had many more metalflake ones with truck logos like Peterbilt, Mack and others cast in them, but like the original Cal Custom stuff I had, I sold most of them off when money got lean.



The top row in this picture is almost all original Cal Custom glitter shift knobs that I've managed to hold on to. I don't plan on ever parting with these.
The orange Autocar knob on the next row (as well as the purple Autocar knob in the center of the above picture) were my Dad's. One knob was on the truck's shifter, and the other was on his winch control handle in his roll off truck. When his company switched from A-cars to Whites he was very disappointed. He refused to put the Autocar knobs on a White, so he put the knobs in an old junk drawer. When he passed away my Mom gave them to me. Someday when I get a cool old truck, one of these will go on the top of the shifter.
After the Autocar knob my Ebay collection started in earnest. I started buying these from a guy on Ebay a number of years back. He used to make them himself and the workmanship was impressive. I've also used these knobs to decorate the end of Wink mirrors and color bars in a few un-HAMB friendly cars I've had. They are a great size. They were really cheap so I guess I got carried away buying them. I rarely see them for sale on Feebay anymore.



These next pictures are mostly the knobs from the Ebay guy. There are a few other stray Ebay acquisitions thrown in. Like I said, way more knobs than I thought I had. I guess admitting you have a problem is the first step to recovery, huh? E

 

My Grandads' Knob went with him from a 37 chevy coupe to a pickup and the last one it was on was a 56 Ford Pickup , I found it while cleaning out a shed on the property for my grandma , so now it's on my 29 Business coupe

 

My first custom shift nob pick, in 1959 was a Regal beer tap about 3 in. tall,it was a local Miami Florida brewery that used some cool art work.They were sold in the 70s,to Falstaff Beer< that stuff was awful,Miami lost a good beer.
In 1960 my buddy Rob Bean found a big cool looking Schlitz beer handle,tryed to use it on his 57 Chevy 3 on the tree,but it was too big an too heavy. He had to hold it all the time in R an second gear. He liked my Regal on my floor shift and I liked his Schlitz,so we made a trade.
I still have my high school hot rod an the shifter,but Rob didn't keep his 57.
Rob told me once,he wished he did.
So too rub it in,"What are buddy's for after all ?", I told him,"You know that Regal beer tap shift nob you had,that got sold with your 57 Chevy ? Well that beer nob is now going for $500+ and the Schlitz you gave me for it,is only about $20 now,you owe me a lot of money!!! LOL.

 

Beer tap and P51 Mustang stick.

Sent from my LG-H700 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Formerly: Movie prop
Presently: Shift Knob

 

More comfortable in the hand than it looks AND real convenient for hiding '60's paraphernalia!

 

4.99 at Skyline caverns gift store.


Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.

 

I went to my Speed Cabinet so I can share my small collection. Although I do not have too many, I have more shift knobs than what I thought.

This is the McPhail shift knob in my car...


I also have the McPhail skull top hat...


I am a Stewart Warner buff, so I was happy to find a few bakelite shift knobs...



I found a few old Sanitarium Coins from 1926 and had them mounted in bakelite knobs. Put an insane shift knob in your insane hot rod




Home For The Incurables


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I thought this was pretty cool and funny, so I brought it home.



This is my Max Grundy Gas Mask shift knob I painted...




I bought this for my dad as he has a Mercury Comet. He has this on display in his garage. He has since painted this knob.


I am happy to have a few of these knobs....can't have enough vintage Stewart Warner...

 

When I was in 5th grade, John Paul Jones brought on of those to school. It had the "guts" missing out of it. It was his granddad's. We thought were so cool, having a hand grenade in our hands. Some one turned him in and he got suspended for 3 days. Now days he would probably end up with a criminal charge against him.

 

How about shift patterns? Not knobs but closely related.

 

Hi. What you need is a thread adapter. I have a few around here but not one in the size you need. Usually they are made from round stock that has been drilled and tapped on a lathe to get correct tap hole and OD leaving a slight flange at the top.
Sources could be places like a machine shop, machinery parts supplier, etc. Archery suppliers have them in both 3/8" & 1/2" OD with 5/16" fine threads as well as 1/4" OD with 10/24 threads. Some upscale hardware stores may carry something like this.
Or do a google search for thread adapters & you should find what you need or it is no big deal to make if you have access to a small lathe.
Jimmie

 

Carved, shaped, painted knobs from last winters activities.

 

Here are a few that I have laying around:

 

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View attachment 4875265 I’ve got a swirly agate slag glass marble kinda one, not sure where I found it but it looks cool

 

Looks like it might of fell off the Brass Monkey on the front porch!

 

Our youngest daughter gave me this one for Fathers day one year...