Thats the gear shifter. I cut a 3 speed handle with a ball knob down to use in place of the "skull thing", but haven't finished it yet.
I guess I could have made a wooden buck by hand, went to the foundry and had one cast, but I figure if you have the tools use them.
I would polish the snot out of that thing...either way thats nice handy work! Some guys will beat you up for the billet and the fiberglass but I'd be proud of it!
noah.. what model cnc router? how long did this job take? and.. if you wanted a "sandcast" look.. sandblast it!
I'm in the sign business, we use routers made by Gerber, we've had them since the mid 80's. They are really old but still work great. It probably took 3-4 hours to make from start to finish (making the file, loading the material, routing, etc.). I was just saying I could have gone with a more "traditional approach" and sandcast it, but why would I go to the extra expense if i could make it myself.
Guys, I don't personally consider something you design yourself and cut using the tools you have available as "Billet"...not in the bad way anyway. Besides....if you go online and buy one of those umpdeen million cast dash inserts...is that really different than buying something "Billet" just because someone sandcast it for resale!?!? The guy had the artistic ability to design it, the means to cut it out, and now has a one of a kind part that he made himself...FOR himself. As for a fiberglass T bucket...OLD ARGUMENT...they were in production well before the 1964 cut off date the HAMB prefers so who cares anymore? If your gonna get your back up about a glass T you'll also need to include the STEEL repros of the later cars too! Repros are repros!!!! Now theres a can of worms!!! LoL I agree that the HAMB needs to tighten up a bit...but this here seems a little excessive.
I used to be in the sign biz myself, I didn't know (remember?) Gerber made CNC routers. Machine tools have been around for a hundred + years. I also agree, what would be really cool is routing wood patterns and using them for sand casting, I have thought about it many times myself. Cast parts just have something about them.
Very very nice! Makes me want to re-make mine since yours looks so good! I polished it for 7 hours straight when I made it... still isn't anywhere near shiny enough, but at least it's home/garage made! =)
Its nice to be able to make your own stuff, especially on a tight budget..You bringing it out this weekend ?
The Jalopy Journal
