Newest knob style in cast pewter and cocobolo --- requires a 2 month lead time to avoid problems
two partially complete monogrammed knobs with long body -- in bocote and maple
Shift
Knobs
I've
been making shift knobs for over 15 years. Shift knobs began as a request from a family
member, then others in the family wanted them, and then friends wanted them, and their friends wanted
one. Customer demand is modest, but grew on its own. After a few dozen knobs, I have only
had one knob crack, and no returns. I don't use synthetic woods any more -- only real wood.
Why have
me make one for you?
Do an
internet search and you can find quite a few places that will sell you a plastic and/or synthetic wood knob.
It will be just like a few hundred, or thousand, other ones they've molded in a press, packaged and sold, and they will
charge you maybe one tenth what I charge to make it worth my while to custom make one for you. Anyone
satisfied with just plastic or synthetics is welcome to go find it elsewhere and I wish you happiness, as that is
not the product I offer. But if you are looking for real wood, something with character, and which is truly
unique (no two knobs I make will likely ever be identical), you just might have found the right place.
Shapes
What shapes are available? Most anything that
can be shaped on a lathe and mounted on your shift arm. A sample of shapes appears in the photos.
Woods
I've used walnut, cherry, hard maple, bocote and
cocobolo. If I can get some other wood you want and it is suitable, you have even more choices.
Whatever wood is used, it should be one of the hard species out there, as after a few thousand gearchanges a softwood knob
is going to show a lot of wear. Especially if you wear a heavy ring.
Finishes
I've used several different finishes before settling
on what I use now, seeking the best resistance to wear and the nicest 'feel' to the wood. I do not recommend
a knob without a finish of some kind. Wax will not last long under the oils of your skin. Danish oils will last
a little longer, but provide less protection than the finishes I am using. Even what I use tends to require some user
maintenance over time. I've never had a wooden knob that didn't, even those made by others.
Decoration
Quite a few of the knobs I've already made had a monogrammed
chrome disk on top. If I can source the monogrammed insert, then that's an available option, but sources are slowly
disappearing. I've also embedded crests in knobs (no pictures available at this time). A few years ago I started experimenting with pewter rings and figured pewter inlays (example
above right), but I wasn't ready to offer anything with pewter decoration until I had made a few examples that satisfied
my standards.
The pewter ring knob shown at upper right is #3
in the series, mounted in one of my own cars. That knob has survived two winters and 40,000+ miles of
use, and I'm comfortable offering this combination on a couple month delivery time. Cocobolo wood is from Central
America, and has a beautiful tone to it but shrinks after turning, probably because its natural oils tend to lock in moisture.
The pewter ring and cocobolo combination adds a month-long drying step after initial shaping of the knob that other
woods I've used have not needed. I didn't wait with the first one I made, and wound up with a loose pewter ring.
So, delivery time has to be at least two months for a cocobolo and pewter knob.
Now, if you don't have anything specific in
mind ....
The choice of wood and finish for all knobs made
in the past has been made to please the user and/or match the car interior. The style of knob is generally
dictated by either the car's shifter arm and/or the owner. But some were made as a surprise or a gift from someone else,
and I've had to make a shape I thought was suitable. No returns on those yet.
Replication / Restorations
A few have been made to replicate an original as much as
possible, and I'm willing to try those within the limits of what I can do. Now, making an identical knob for a restoration
project intended for a high end competitively judged automotive concours may be beyond the tooling I have available.
In this case, we should talk through your desires carefully to see if I can make what you need for that situation.
You need to be very clear on what you need to avoid losing points in that kind of competition.
Will this product work in your car?
Turned wooden knobs of the type I make are not suitable
for all manual transmission equipped cars, and generally cannot be fitted to automatic shifts with a reverse lock-out
mechanism. If your car's shifter arm can accept a knob generally shaped like any of those above, it can be
made provided certain measurements are known. For threaded shift knobs, a custom made threaded insert positions
the knob at the desired height (adjustable within limits). For those without threads, a reversible glue may
need to be used to attach the knob. If you ever need transmission repair, you'll find out why a reversible
glue is needed. I'll let you know what information I need, and you may have to do a little homework on your vehicle.
Prices
My price for my custom made shift knobs starts
at $80 (shipping included), and goes higher depending upon what wood, shape, embellishment and finish is requested.
Ordering
Email your particular request, and once we understand each
other on what you want and what I might be willing to do, I'll give you a fixed price and estimated time for delivery.
Every knob is custom made as time permits, so do not
assume that I have any pre-made 'stock' on hand to put in a box and send to you at a moment's notice.
That won't happen unless somebody has returned another one that matches what you want. Besides, if you are interested
in ordering from me, you really do want it made to your personal taste, don't you?
What I make will be unique ... you won't find my
work in any catalog that sells hundreds or thousands of anything per year!
I
started making shift knobs for others for fun. I really do enjoy making someone's eyes light up when I give them what
I've made for them. But I'm old enough and well off enough that I can pick and choose what I want to do, I've been
around long enough to have some people spoil the joy in doing things, and I'm cantankerous enough to insist upon only
doing things I enjoy in my free time. So I've had to adopt some terms of service for this business, as follows:
Terms
of service
I
don't work with exceedingly impatient or overly demanding people. Life is too short, especially at my stage of life,
to put up with that. If you know that describes you (and don't kid yourself, you already know and so do your friends),
save us both the trouble and point your web browser somewhere else. If you need this item yesterday, you are looking
in the wrong place.
This
is custom work and somewhat creative, and requires that I translate what you say you want into something physical. You
need to express yourself as clearly as possible up front if you do know what you want. Don't expect me to make
three versions and only charge you the normal price for the third one. If you decide to let me choose the shape, and
you don't like what you get, then see below.
If
you can be patient, and can work with me to define your wants despite (probably) being unable to talk
face-to-face, I will try to produce something very close to or even exactly what you want.
If
you don't like what I send you, you send it back, undamaged, within 15 days, I refund your purchase price
and shipping upon receipt, and we part company. The return policy is that simple, and that's the only service guarantee
I'll offer.
I get paid before I ship the item, or I don't ship it.
Period. No exceptions.
End of the unpleasant stuff for those inclined to keep a
lawyer in a side holster.
special order set for 'Cuda 340-6pack show car w ith AT
Hurst shifter pistol grips hand carved in walnut - polishing & finishing yet to be done
Shifter Grips
In the last several years, I've also made sets
of solid wood shifter grips specifically for a small segment of the collector car market -- Chrysler '68-'71 musclecars
with the Hurst pistol grip manual shifter option. These grips will also fit at least one aftermarket pistol grip
shifter for automatic transmission equipped cars, but that application almost certainly requires the customer
to send me their conversion shifter to get the grips fitted properly.
My brother started me on making these with a request
for a set for the '70 Challenger in his car collection. Chrysler's original plastic grip pieces age harden
and crack after their fake wood graining wears smooth, and he wanted something that looked good but was more durable.
We turned to a material man has used for 100,000 years -- wood. If nothing else, wood feels much better than plastic.
Other sources provide aftermarket plastic grips at much lower prices, but don't offer any custom services and the product
isn't likely to last much longer than the originals. An example of what I can do is shown above right -- this customer
requested a set dyed to match the custom purple paint on his show vehicle. These were carved to fit his hand
as an added bonus.
I offer these in black walnut with minimal color
to the finish, as this provides a relatively close color match to the original Chrysler wood grain interior panels.
Price in walnut with no special work is $200 plus shipping. Special orders with custom features
will be priced based upon what is wanted. I hand carve these sets one at a time and only to fill
an order.
_______________________________________
Replacement Dashboards for
the Sunbeam Tiger
We first built a prototype and test fit it
into a Tiger. Gauge, switch & light openings are cut out to match an original (upper)
The first three 'production' dashboards ...
Brother Dave and I have ventured into making
reproduction dashboards for the '65-'67 Sunbeam Tiger.
Not familiar with the Tiger? OK, this probably
isn't a product for you, but I'll explain anyway. There are fewer than two thousand of these cars left
in the world, and dedicated owners keep them running. You probably have heard of the AC-Shelby Cobra
-- the first Cobra. The Tiger is another Carroll Shelby creation in which he again used the Ford
small block 260/289 (later becoming the 302) V8 engine, this time putting it into the Sunbeam Alpine, a two-seat
British roadster produced by the Rootes Group. Shelby transformed the Alpine into a quick, fun sports car
(picture below). Although Chrysler bought up the Rootes Group 40 years ago, Sunbeam owners can't
buy restoration parts for their Tigers through any Chrysler dealer parts window. Many parts have to be re-made
or scavenged from other cars that had the same supplier.
Time and weather eventually take their toll on the
wooden dashboards of these cars. Usually the original plasticky Rootes dashboard finish develops major cracks as it
ages in the sun, then moisture gets underneath the finish, parts of it delaminate, the veneer deteriorates, and this
ultimately leaves a sad-looking dash. We're using 7 ply marine plywood of the type and thickness originally used by Rootes, the
finest walnut burl veneer available to match what was used in the factory dash, and a marine veneer
glue and finish that assures no problems with cracking or delamination even in damp or humid conditions.
The glovebox opening has been cut out in a way that will
allow using the cutout section as a fully-functional 'door' -- a feature that wasn't offered with the
original factory dash -- and the door panel is being finished along with each dashboard. For those examples
where the cutting and finishing process was successful and the buyer wants the door feature, the matching door will be
provided at extra cost. We've spent some time finding glovebox door hinges that serve the purpose rather nicely once
they are reworked for this application.
Brother Dave has put the prototype on display
at shows among the Tiger community and is installing one of the production dashboards in his latest restoration
project. That car should be complete this year, if not this summer. Some owners have already seen what we are
doing and comments have been favorable.
One done, one awaiting final finish & buffing ....
If you have looked closely at a bare Tiger dash, you
already know that these are very complicated pieces. Several different hole sizes, slots, and relief cutaways, with
a variety of relief depths and widths on the back of the holes to fit the various gauges, switches and indicators.
There are quite a few people who have made poorly done reproduction dashboards out there, and far fewer that have tried to
make near perfect copies of the originals. This work can be beautiful if done with attention to the details
and with the use of appropriate materials. We haven't seen anyone out there offering a higher quality replacement, and
Dave has been rebuilding, repairing, and buying / selling / trading parts for Tigers for 30 years and
is active in the Tiger community. Dave and I considered what was involved and figured that we could make
them to our satisfaction at a price a Tiger owner should find attractive. The alternative is
finding, repairing, and refinishing an original dash out of a Tiger, and good examples are getting very scarce.
The production process started in 2001 with a prototype. I then built jigs and produced a second and
then a third prototype. Replicating the factory switch lettering has turned out to be the most difficult aspect.
Two production dashboards have been completed and Dave
has one of them for sale. Prototype #3 was stripped back to the veneer and refinished to 'production' quality.
These pieces take much more time to make
than we expected, and the price shown below does not recover the value of my time, much less the materials and tooling,
so production was probably short-lived. We're just fine with that. If any more are made, it will only be
by special order, and the price will be higher to make it worth my effort. Most likely the next Tiger project
is re-rimming of original wooden (mahogany & ebony) rimmed steering wheels. In the meantime, two dashboards are
available:
Dashboard Availability & Prices
Prototype #3
Available with or without the glove box door
$550 with it / $500 without it
color: a warm, dark honey tone accents the burl
figure; a small detail shot is at the top of this webpage in the four-picture cluster, lower right hand corner.
Production Dash -- 1 available
This one has a glovebox door, and is priced at $600 with the door.
color: this dash was made a bit darker in color tone than the prototype dash described above. Better
described as a chestnut color, as seen in the photo immediately above, right side. This one should look quite nice in a car painted a dark color.
For further information contact Dave at drg121@aol.com, or email me.
1966 Sunbeam Tiger hot lapping at Watkins Glen
Only cottage industry makers now produce saws equal to the best sold in the19th & 20th century
_________________________________
Saw Sharpening
Handsaw sharpening became another sideline necessitated orginally by the
furniture work (see below and elsewhere).
We're talking Old Hand Saws here, generally pre-1960 ... not the new ones you
might buy at Home Depot, Lowes or the local hardware store. The new ones with the plastic handles probably have
induction hardened teeth and cannot be resharpened, as they were intended to be thrown away and you'd buy another
one, keeping the factory in production. So, yes, I'm actually talking about saws that are 40, 70, 100, 150,
maybe even 200 years old here, made for craftsmen who intended to use their tools to do fine work for decades.
Western style backsaws & miterbox saws, panel saws, rip saws, cross-cut saws.
American, English. Disston, Atkins, Simonds, Richardson, Peace, Spear & Jackson (and the newer ones from LN-Independence,
Adria, or Pax) along with a host of other brand names lost to eternity. These were made in a variety of sizes
and styles now prized by collectors, cabinetmakers and other craftsmen. Many of the old saws out there are
useful only as organ donors, but some are worth $200-$1000 each to people who understand what these saws
are and can do in the right hands. A few are worth over $3000 to saw collectors. So if this is all foreign to
you, please think twice about throwing one in the trash or painting a landscape on it.
If you can recognize the OldTools logo when you see it or know what MWTCA or EAIA
stand for, you likely already know what I'm writing about. If so, you may also be curious about or even studying that photo above
right, and if you are, maybe you can spot the saw that is 180-190 yrs old? (answer at bottom of page)
But if instead you are just a little puzzled, but curious, you can learn a little bit about what makes a good saw by spending a few minutes on the 'web. I suggest you start with two very good websites ... "The Disstonian Institute" - http://www.disstonianinstitute.com/ , and "Vintage Saws" - http://www.vintagesaws.com/. And, finally, if you're wondering just how people can actually get this serious about things
you thought were today only used as the background for 'primitive' landscape paintings with acrylics and small brush,
or for decorations in restaurants ... then I suggest you go here ... http://homepage.mac.com/galoot_9/saw_problem.html. Don't blame me if you get a cramp from laughing.
I do handsaws with professional sharpening shop equipment, primarily on a for-trade
basis, but I do have a price list if only for guidance (see below). I've never offered sharpening services
for circular saws, knives, scissors, hack saws, meat saws, pinking shears, mower blades or anything else but handsaws
for woodworking. And -- I no longer offer these services to the general public. Only to Galoots. If you
don't recognize the nickname, I probably don't recognize your name either, and you're still looking for someone to sharpen
your saw as it won't likely be done here.
If you are a Galoot and want some quiet assistance for trade, email me with what
you've got and what you think you want done. If I can do the job, we'll arrange shipping and compensation or trade.
This is never going to be a big business for me if only because what the market will bear for these services is at or
below minimum wage when you work out the time involved, net of supplies, and a recent conversation with Tom Law (another
name you'll recognize) confirmed that there's not enough money to be made in this to keep doing it for money.
Since the price the market will bear is a whole lot less than what I earn doing other things, I'll
do this for fellow Galoots and a limited number of others to the degree that it doesn't interfere with other activities.
Guidelines on "prices":
Retoothing: $5, if I can do what you want
Setting: $3 for < 11
tpi, $4 for 11 tpi and higher
Filing: $4
for for < 11 tpi rip
$5
for rips 11 tpi and higher or
cross-cuts < 11 tpi
$6 for cross-cuts 11 tpi and above
Shipping is on the owner. If I know you and deem it OK, I'll ship at lowest
reasonable cost to me, you send me a suitable (preferably pre-agreed) trade or check that covers the entire value of
services and shipping on receipt. All others pay up before shipment.
"Cost" per saw depends upon what you send, what you want, and what needs to be done
If you want a particular set to the teeth on a particular saw, just say so ahead of time
If you want a specific rake or fleam angle and the machines can do it, I'll do it for you
for a little extra
If the saw needs rust cleaning or straightening, I leave that to the owner as the
machinery can sharpen a gently bent or mildly rusty saw and that part of saw maintenance the owner should do; clean the
grunge off it before you send it -- please
If the saw has metallurgical problems that inhibit sharpening (i.e., brittle occlusions),
I'll suggest what I think is appropriate, but I may return it unfinished at no charge other than shipping unless
you specifically tell me to do whatever I have to do to try to sharpen it
Brittle or work hardened teeth can and do break off during efforts to
re-set them -- at a minimum, the saw needs retoothing to go any farther (and once retoothed, it will need to be set again;
figure charges accordingly)
If the saw has missing or broken saw screws, I'll provide a replacement if I have
one -- for extra 'cost' -- but my supply of those is very limited
If the saw has missing or uneven teeth, it will be retoothed
Handles must come off to put a some saws through these machines, particularly
with small backsaws, so no guarantees regarding breakage of sawscrews -- they sometimes do break despite me trying my best
to prevent that from happening; yes, I do understand how disappointing that can be as it has happened on my own saws
If the saw is damaged to the point where I doubt it will ever be useful as a saw, I will
suggest that I just send it back to you and you decide what to do with it
If you already want the saw retoothed, there is no additional charge for breasted vs.
straight teeth, but there is only one choice of arc radius with the breasted option -- choose wisely, as there is
no turning back
Foley-Belsaw #387 sawfiler and #385 retoother - of four machines, these are used most often
Broken off mahogany highboy leg in mid-repair
When I delivered it, the antique shop owner looked it over and said "Now, which one was it?"
______________________________________
Furniture Repair
Yes, I not only make and restore furniture for our home, I also occasionally
repair furniture for others. This has included paid assignments from a local antique furniture shop to repair damage
due to shipping carelessness or wear and tear, and repairs for others, sometimes after 'friends' tried
to help fix something and only made things worse.
This is custom work priced by the task, and of necessity done only for local customers. This
is enjoyable, challenging work, but I'm still learning the tricks of this trade ... I don't consider myself a professional
restorer -- not yet. But I enjoy this work and have been doing it occasionally for over a decade without any unhappy
'customers' yet.
If you came to this page directly because of the items farther up the page, and
are curious about my furniture work (on which I do spend more time on than these sidelines shown above), I suggest you
visit my "Charlie's Diversions" page -- http://home.mindspring.com/~cdinde/id1.html . There I provide a small glimpse of what
I do to satisfy my creative urges, relieve stress and clear the mind to freshly tackle other challenges. I
find this work very therapeutic!
Contact us by email at cdinde@verizon.net -- be sure to refer to this website in the message 'subject', or spamBlocker just might automatically
trash your message.
Charlie
C D & A Specialties
You were
visitor
This site last updated April 22, 2006
Oh, yes -- answer to the saw quiz: It's the saw at the
six o'clock position, with the very gray looking handle. That's an S. Pease saw, made in Sheffield, England between
1814-1825.
