On-the-Tree Shift Knob Ideas – Got Any?

I took the handle from a chrome fire place poker.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/STUNNING-ART-DE...ryZ69471QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

This would be cool if it was cheaper and did not have a lighter sticking out of the top of it and.......
Anyway, love your car!

 

that is actually cool, even with the lighter. Too bad it's so expensive and I don't smoke. Ha.

 

hey check out Dichrome.com, they might have just what youre looking for.

 

Bunch of neat shit on there but I would have to sell my car to buy a shift knob and then I would not have a car to install it in.

 

I have a Moon Eyes Tiki Head on my 50 Chevy

 

Mooneyes.co.jp ..... make sure u choose English

If u need one let me know and I'll just pop over there one Sunday!!!!

or this one for 100 bucks http://www.mooneyes.co.jp/english/shopping/Auto/ptcruz/blsc2503.html

I couldnt find the right one, but I'll take a pic next time I'm there if you're not in too much hurry!

 

here's mine. Basically a light bulb, resin, dye and glitter. This one is a little "off" so I'm going to recast it and I have chrome end cap for it now. I'm also working on casting one with a bird skull in it

 

I've got one that I'm going to be using on my 57 Chevy oneday. It's an old furniture foot in the shape of an eagle claw holding a glass ball. Pretty hard to find one the proper size, some are too small(7/8" ball), and some are way too big(3" ball). The ones that I found are about 2 1/4". Sorry about the blurry pic...

 

HellFish, now THAT is cool. Gotta love the Chrome Czars! I'd like one of those. Willing to make another? That's just astro enough for my concept especially if you add the chrome piece like you suggested.

 

^ That will look cool. Good idea, I went to the antique store last weekend looking for stuff like that but came out empty handed. There is about twenty damn antique stores in this burg so I am sure there is some cool stuff out there!

 

i used to have big chunks of layered paint broken off the body paint rack at the local ford assembly plant .. it was 5-6 inchs thiclk hundreds of layers all for colors .. looked like sedimentary stone ...was fun to cut and polished up cool wish i saved some..

 

Do a search on EBAY for door knobs, bunch off cool shit and some you may like.

 

Thanks! I just realized how old that pic is. I changed the gauges and the horn ring an customized it. I'll have to take another pic. FYI, the chrome ring I used was a bezel from an 59-60 chevy car radio

 

Haven't done it since high school, but kids pool (billiard) sets have slightly smaller and lighter balls so it won't throw you out of gear.
Again, not the 8. The 8 ball actually will destroy your throwout bearing the minute you mount it.

 

I guess I'm going to buy some resin and give it a shot. So how do I build a form? Is it made of clay or some wet sand or what? If I fill a small cool shape bottle and crack the glass when it's hardened, will that work?

 

yes and no. I cut off the end of a lightbulb, filled it with resin, then tried to crack off the glass. MOST of it came off, but some stuck... which is why I need to redo the knob

There's lots of info online about making forms, but most of them talk about making a 2-part mold which means you'll have a seam. Since you're only making one, make a mold that you can remove the original from without destroying the mold. I did this once by using a light bulb in a rubber mold compound. Once it set up, I broke the glass nad dumped out the shards. Voila! a cavity ready for resin. Of course, you can't do this if you're casting something non-breakable or a complex shape.

Resin likes to form bubbles. I read somewhere that you can set a palm sander on the table while the stuff is curing to help the bubbles vibrate to the surface. I'm going to try that next time.

oh yeah, Smooth-On resin is WAY better that the other stuff I tried. It's basically a 50/50 mix. The other stuff is a more complex mixture

 

Great information, thanks Hellfish.

And yes, metalflake IS the new flat black!

 

There are different types of resin as well. I think it's called Cast and Craft resin, and you can buy it at art supply stores. It has a much slower cure time, but you can pour it into plastic. If you use a mold release, it will just pop right out. There are a bunch of dyes available to color it anyway you want as well. You can also make the mold a little bigger than it needs to be and cut it down and shape it when you're done, wet sand and buff and there you are. The cast and craft stuff I could drop and it won't even chip.

 

You'll probably find the inside of the bottle is quite different to the outside, although that might give the shape you want. If you like the bottle shape, just fill it with resin and use it as it is?

 

Yeah, that's made by Smooth-On. Good stuff! Get the "Crystal Clear" kind then you can add dyes (sold in the same section), glitter, etc. BTW, I DO mean glitter, not metal flake. It looks just the same, costs a LOT less, and comes in more colors. You can also get it in white and dye that.

I always let the resin set up a little before pouring. Otherwise all the flake sinks to the bottom.

Get more material than you need. I made 7-10 knobs before I got one to turn out right, but I'm passing on a lot of what I learned.

Oh yeah, I used spray silicone as a mold release. It doesn't work. Get the actual mold release they sell in the section with all the mold-making stuff.

 

I did it in layers. Let the first layer solidify, but remain still slightly tacky (usually this layer is colored). Then add the glitter. I actually put the glitter on one piece at a time with tweezers to avoid clumpy areas. Then another clear layer, let it solidify, add more glitter, repeat.

On my first attempt I had all the glitter sink and clump.
Good call on buying more than you need

 

Hellfish, do you just drill and tap the resin or do you put some sort of insert in during the cast process?

 

Brass Knuckles

 

I inserted a dowel or straw or something into the resin as it was setting up, but it wasn't big enough. When I drilled into it, the resin expanded and cracked all the glass... which got rid of half the glass. A drill works pretty well... if you can get it to go in straight

 

Cool, thanks!

 

Buddy gave me some parts he got off some lamps and thought would look cool as column shift knobs for my falcon so I thought I would share.

 

those are great!!! but what lamp parts are they?!

 

look at these I just found, $100/ea. He does custom orders as well.

http://motors.search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZkonjQ5fvQ5fpaljto

 

How about a grip off an old bike, like a schwinn sting ray metal flake type.

These grips are neat, look kind of like a dagger handle or something.

http://cgi.ebay.com/BICYCLE-GRIPS-O...goryZ420QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem