Projects Who Sells Acrylic Teardrop Stlye Dash Knobs??

You also have to purchase a lathe and a milling machine lol

 

Yeah, you are correct. I was researching acrylic resin. Hoping to add the flake in but it may disappear in the color.

 

I have bought some of this and it's pretty cool. Haven't had a chance to make anything with it yet.
https://www.jpplus.com/rowmark-colorhues-glitter-cast-acrylic

 

I follow him on IG. I’ll check. Thanks.

 

@numnob on instagram. Jason makes great looking custom knobs.

 

I sent him a DM. Thanks

 

Back when I was in high school the crafts shop teacher taught the kids how to make them in one of his cl***es. Several of the guys made full sets of them. He was the same teacher I bought my 51 Merc from when I was 16 but he never made a set for it and I never had him for cl***. He had moved to a different school district by the time i took wood shop when was a SR, He had them doing a process like Moriarity showed but it was pretty all done by hand or on a wood lathe.

 

'I remember back in the day' getting light globes in the size required, carefully removing the metal end and pouring coloured resin into the gl***. When set just gently break the gl*** and you have your knob.

 

Color matching to the style of the hot rod or custom car for shows or just a wide array of colors and designs for just about any application in the hot rod world.

Hello,

My wife and I are road warriors. We have been traveling together since our days as a 20 something couple of college kids our to have some fun. From all over So Cal to Baja, Mexico to past San Francisco on the coast and far inland in California’s dry areas, it was fun, fun, fun. As the years rolled by, the road trips included photo shoots and information gathering on hot rods and motorcycles. Plus, we got to see a lot of car shows, rock concerts and plenty of custom hot rods and very nice motorcycles along the way.

So, we have been traveling together for 57 years. There were some jet travels in between, but our USA tour and those early California tours were something for a couple of young “kids.” We have continued those road trips throughout our son’s college days in Santa Barbara and have made that area, our home away from home. From surf trips in 1960/63 to the 90’s to the couples road trips with our little dog took up a week plus for each trip. Santa Barbara was a good base and we took advantage of the location.

In 2017, we took a grand tour of the Central Coastline up to Big Sur and Monterrey Bay for a memory trip similar to one we took in 1967. Back then, it was not as crowded and we missed the big time concert at Monterrey during those times. It was just too crowded to push our way into the area, so then, we byp***ed the area and continued up to San Francisco, plus the north coastal hazards.

When we got back to Santa Barbara, we were eating dinner on the main drag of the city. State Street. The street has plenty of outstanding dinner places and they have outdoor seating. It is/was the perfect place to sit, eat and enjoy the cruising being done by various local and traveling folks.

We saw this green “woody” wagon cruising by our ring side seats. It was a cool Mercury Comet Wagon. It moved down into the main center of downtown and we lost sight of it for that night, when we were walking down the popular street looking at all of the wares.

Jnaki

So, we went back to our find of a resort hotel and time marches onward. Then the next morning, my wife comes up to me and says “…there is a nice looking, old station wagon sitting in the parking lot.” Since I had to take our little dog for a walk, indeed, a nice looking station wagon was in the parking lot. I was totally surprised when it was in the same station wagon.

I am sorry I did not get to meet the owner and his family. We were upstairs on the second floor...I think they were down by the pool level. When my wife says she likes a station wagon, it is very cool. Those knobs were pretty cool in themselves, but to be on the Comet Wagon was just a big plus.”

“The Kimpton Goodland Resort is a cl***ic place. It is done in a early 1960 style with the beach as a theme. The Ford Woody in the drive way and the Airstream Trailer situated right behind the woody, is to be used for people staying at the resort, shows the character of the place.”

We were up there visiting relatives during the Thanksgiving week. We decided to do some relaxing things we used to do back in the 60s and updated 90s, in and around the Santa Barbara/Goleta area. (Old hotel, pier, State Street, UCSB, surf spots, coastal cruise, restaurants, etc.)

The colors of his products are pretty nice. As shown at the top of the post…
https://www.facebook.com/numnobs/



It had a ton of nice features and looked to be a daily driver. Some of the custom touches were the machined, Lexan type colored shift knob and door locks, the rear ¼ Venetian blinds, the aluminum rain/wind deflector wings and taillights. One item that hasn't been seen since the 60's...shiny
curb feelers !

The period correct S/S wheels and whitewalls made it look like a wagon cruising in the mid 60’s. The Comet Wagon fit right into the “theme” of the recently remodeled, Kimpton Goodland Resort Hotel’s surfer style fixtures. One of the most unusual items was the outside fender mirror that had a front facing spotlight. Without being too nosy in a public parking lot, (peeking into the driver’s compartment,) there had to be a remote control of some kind to make it work. It was just too far forward for a long twist lever back to the driver.

Maybe, it is used as an extra high beam for those dark, deserted, Highway 395, So Cal to Nor Cal cruises.

These mid-size wagons were deemed, “perfect” for the small family. They were not too big and not too compact. But to paraphrase Goldilocks: "Ahhh, this… Wagon… is just right."

 

I glued some acrylic to a piece of aluminum and had a Friend turn it round for me . Then I put it in my lathe and turned one knob out . When I started on the second knob the acrylic split off the aluminum. I roughed up the aluminum with some course emery cloth , cleaned everything and reglued it . It popped off again while I turned it . So I’ve put it up for now . I’ve thought about hooking the welder leads to the aluminum and turning on the welder to warm up the aluminum. Maybe the acrylic would melt to it and bond ?
I was trying to make knobs shaped similar to the stock ones . Colors matching the 57 Fairlane. Black , Yellow , aluminum ( to match the silver in the dash )

 

When I was in high school back in the 60's we made dash knobs in machine shop. Glued up the colors we needed or used colored glue between the pieces of clear plastic. Cut them out to shape with a hack saw and a bench grinder, sanded with finer and finer grits, then buffed.

 

How many plastic chips do you end up drinking in your coffee? Or does it add flavor?

 

Here’s what I turned out . I have a 3 jaw Chuck on my lathe . The shop where my Friend works at the lathes has 4 jaw chucks . He was able to turn the flat glued together piece I gave him round . So I could put it into my lathe . Stock

 

Why buy them? they are pretty easy to make yourself, bonus you can get something no one else got
I dont used any fancy tools, used a drilling machine with a sandingbelt wheel.
first get the kolors you desire, glue them together, grind the shape, then nicer and nicer sandingpaper, finish with some wetsanding 1200 paper, then polish them up with some polish wax

 

Anyone ever done a steering wheel to match? Asking for a friend.

 

https://houstonacrylic.com/collections/glitter-acrylic

 

I would try it. Cut some rings of colored sheet, use an old chrome spoke wood steering wheel with the wood removed and use glue and these little guys to hold it together. You’d probably have to shape and polish at least part of it by hand.

 

For many of us they were a high school shop project.

 

I bought some acrylic to practice on. We will see how that goes.

I found some Pearl acrylic sheets, pretty close to the colors we are painting the upcoming projects.

 

Good point. I just thought it would be *****in to have a steering wheel, shift knob and matching dash knobs.
I'm more of an artist than an engineer.

 

That’s who I ordered my Pearl acrylic from. Great minds think alike.

 

So, can you put threaded inserts in the knobs? I figure with a headlight knob etc. it would need a way to thread on. I am curious if you can tap the acrylic with any success?

 

The best way to get cool knobs is to make your own from colors you pick out, and in the shape you like.
Acrylic can be found on eBay or local sources in many colors and thicknesses. The process is pretty simple, using tools you may already have. C-clamps to hold layers together as you glue them; a jig saw or band saw to cut the rough shapes; a belt sander, hand file, or wood lathe to smooth it into a finer shape; sand paper and gritty polishes to finish it; drills to cut holes and taps to thread them.

 

Drill bits ordered.

 

I am curious how in the world you made a round ball knob?

 

Made a batch of normal knobs last fall. Tapped the holes for the light switches, drilled tight holes and tapped for set screws to match the flat sides on the fan and wiper switches, and used JB weld for headlight and signal switch along with the shift knob.

 

Cheap Harbor Freight mini wood lathe. Wood lathe cutting tools can handle the semi-soft laminated plastic. They can be sanded and polished while still on the lathe.