MALE/FEMALE THREADED KNOBS

On the net there are several models of homemade knobs; construction techniques are essentially the same in all of them. Here I show some I did, taking ideas from here and there.
They are made with leftover MDF 1/2"; measure 2" in diameter and have six points:

Cutting valleys with 5/8" Forstner bit.
Attachment 4269

Cutting the knobs with crown bit 2"; on paper you can see a pattern with radius every 60 degrees.
Attachment 4270

Rounding out the ridges at the lathe. It could also be done at the drill press.
Attachment 4271

Rounding out the valleys with Dremel mounted in router-table accessory.
Attachment 4272

Elements ready for assembly. The small discs were cut with crown bit 1" in diameter.
Attachment 4273

For female knobs, the "T" nut is embedded in the small disk on the side to be glued to the star-shaped disk; for male knobs, "T" nut will overlaid on the free side of the small disk, the screw is tightened before gluing the elements, and the screw head fits in a recess created in the star-shaped disc. I used two components epoxy glue.

Finishing; with application of sealant,
Attachment 4274

and black enamel.
Attachment 4275

This is the final result.
Attachment 4276

Regards.

Very neat! I have needed knobs like those more than a few times for car roof racks to lawn mower handles. Good approach for the curved sections of the knobs. If i even thought of making knobs, I would have spent all day trying to router out the whole shape and hand sand.

Thanks morsa! I've added your Threaded Knobs to our Woodworking category, as well as to your builder page: morsa's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

<div id="blocks"> <div class="block b1 pngfix"> <div class="bimg"> <div> <a href="http://www.homemadetools.net/threaded-knobs"><img src="http://www.homemadetools.net/uploads/126302/threaded-knobs.jpeg" /></a></div> </div> <div class="head pngfix"></div> <div class="left pngfix"></div> <div class="right pngfix"></div> <div class="blockover b1 pngfix"> <div class="title"> <a href="http://www.homemadetools.net/threaded-knobs">Threaded Knobs</a> <span> by <a href="/builder/morsa">morsa</a></span> </div> <div class="tags">tags: <a href="http://www.homemadetools.net/tag/lathe">lathe</a>, <a href="http://www.homemadetools.net/tag/controls">controls</a>, <a href="http://www.homemadetools.net/tag/router-table">router table</a></div> </div> </div> </div>

Very Clever Morsa. If I was making them I would have set up a dividing head and cut them out of aluminum round stock, Never thought about doing them in wood.
You do very nice work, keep it up

Doug

Thanks jere. In the same way you could also make knobs with three, five, seven points, etc. The advantage of making a pattern is that you draw it just once and then transfer into material n-times as you want. The rounded edges of the knobs are optional, but it will give a better look.

Thanks kbalch. I appreciate it.
morsa

Thanks Doug. On the contrary, I never thought that they could be made out of aluminum (and do not know how it could be machined).

morsa

Nice looking set of knobs!, I like the way you did the layout.

Thanks Al8236. Layout on paper is useful for marking with an awl the six points for the 5/8" Fortsner bit, and the center of the circle that will guide the 2” crown bit.
You could also do other knobs with different measures of screws/”T” nuts.

Is a hole saw similar to a Crown bit?

I like the design and intend to make some for a future project.

Thanks for posting it.

Thanks Nadogail.
Yes, it's the same; the common name in México is "broca de corona" (https://www.google.com.mx/search?q=b...FQqLDQod7HYNfQ), so I'm afraid I translated it literally.

Here I show a set of knobs turned in oak, with insert nuts type D (female knobs).

Attachment 4323

morsa

I may give this a try using baltic birch plywood. I have some off cuts of that material in my scrap box. That material is readily available in my area. It's used to make steel rule dies for gaskets and other sheet cutting processes. That's a testament to its toughness. I wonder if it will withstand the oven curing heat of the powder coating process.

Thanks for comment, Ed Weldon. Another material that is worth trying are plastics: nylon, polyethylene, corian, etc.; they are easy to machine.

That's a great idea and some really good work.

You had me up until the black enamel. They looked spectacular in the photo with a natural finish. Jeesh, you could just buy black ones.

Thanks, Paul Alciatore. I use a natural finish whenever I do some work in wood. Although mdf looks acceptable with a transparent finish, I prefer painting it.

I thought it was black Delrin when I first looked at them. That's another choice in material and is really nice to work with!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bobs409

I thought it was black Delrin when I first looked at them. That's another choice in material and is really nice to work with!

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I agree that plastics are an excellent choice for these items, as they are easy to machine and have several advantages over wood. I have worked with polyethylene (1 y 2) , bakelite (3) and corian (4),
Attachment 23356
but I have not had the opportunity to work with Delrin.
An easily available plastic is the high density polyethylene of the cutting boards. There is also the option, easily available today, to make them through 3-D printing.

More on artistic tool handles. Take some notes from the folks who turn various laminations of interesting wood from pens all the way up to big bowls. Special boxes. tool blocks, drill/tap indexes, sandpaper and stone holders, tabletop machine bases,chip shields, parts of lamps, and fixtures for light machining work lend themselves to construction from strong layered composites of hardwoods. This is great stuff for the time in the shop when you just want to "warm up" a bit.

I love what you did! In my business, I purchase hundreds of these "star knobs" from Zoro a month. I am thinking about making a heated/Pressure plastic molding machine. These knobs could be made from recycled milk bottles! If I can make at least 10 an hour, it may be economically feasible to make them instead of purchasing them. I already manufacture heat presses, I just need to get the mold machined. https://youtu.be/g4Bn63HNNyk

Thanks for comment, Ed Weldon. Indeed, by laminating several layers of solid wood you can obtain a block of the desired dimensions. In addition, it is one of the techniques for bending wood, like this hold down clamp:

Attachment 23361

Thank you, Camstand.
For those of us who do not have a heat press like that, one way to recycle HDPE, is to melt it in a convection oven and make blanks, from which you can make these knobs or many other of objects.

How to Recycle HDPE Plastic the Easy Way (with Pictures)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qa3n5pO4Jog

Quote:

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Originally Posted by morsa

.... There is also the option, easily available today, to make them through 3-D printing.

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These are some examples of 3D printed knobs:

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:904784
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1051825
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2451628
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2352177
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2121898
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tz7YgfFLuwQ