Balsa is way too soft. I question what the metal insert will do to the wood during hard shifting over a short period of time. It will eventually come loose. Maple is a much better choice, even southern yellow pine is ok. Plus, Maple and Mohagany are much more stable. The color will match. That pic is a laminated knob for sure.

You can't dip it in epoxy then turn it on the lathe. the piece of wood will not soak the epoxy that deep into the center. Dip it into a marine grade epoxy after the knob is made is a much better chioce. The epoxy will harden and will take more abuse then any other wood finish. If you really want the trick look, oil it and let dry for a week or two. The oil will give it the aged look. Then epoxy it.

During the laminating process, do not use white or yellow carpenter's glue. They will get soft under heat. If you leave the car under say a nice sunny Southern Cal. summer, it will soften and laminated parts will creep. Some of our custom cabinet work had come apart that way. We get em' out as soon as we can. Gorilla Glue is the glue of choice for us. It's great stuff. Nothing comes close. I built a huge curve hand railing for my deck 5 years ago and no creep. None. Very Stable. Home Depot has it. Good luck, Momo. If you plan to do this and run into a jam, pm me. I am close by. 10 min. outside of Pasadena.

Jeff

You might also consider a soak in Minwax wood hardener as a finish.

Porschekid. If you need exotic wood try Arroyo hardwood. A bit pricy. I refuse to pay retail. If you are not looking for a lot, I have some exotic African and Asian stuff and lots and lots maple and mohagany, that i'm not using, so pm me. You can have some. you too Momo. Don't partice w / a different material. You can have the real thing. Next time I'm up that way I 'll drop em off at your place. I live right off the Pas fwy.

Porschekid, why resin and not epoxy? Epoxy that 's use on wooden boat decks. Not the same stuff you glue with. resin goes on thick and it feels and looks real pasticish. Jeff

Randy, I'm going to start calling you Cliff Claven. :) Where do you come up with this stuff?

I am one course shy of being a certified cabinet maker at teh local Comm. College!! I'm gonna frame that sucka and put it on the wall of my office downtown. Everybody will think it's a law degree diploma.... (I'm an attorney and a scientist for a nonprofit group of scientists).
[On a related note, I warmed a burrito on my engine tin at a concours.]

Who's Cliff Claven?

Cocobolo is may bother your eyes and throat, but I don't know if it is toxic. God know I have some in me. the glue and the partical board and other resin is, I think, worst for you. It is release into the air during cutting and sanding. Colobolo dust is not worst then breathing the puff of smoke during start up in the morning. Anyone thinking about using Cocobolo on their car? It is beautiful stuff. Turns great due to its hardness and close grain nature. I made some handplane handles during college with this wood. Please do not use a top coat, such as lacuqer or resin, w / this wood. Use oil and wax. It polishes beautifully. Coloboco is a natural oily wood. If you need to glue it to maple or another pieces, sand the surface and wipe it down w/ lacquer then use something like Gorilla Glue.

Randy, we go after custom cabinet and construction work. Was an engineer for 3 months after college. sitting behind a desk nearly killed me. Now I have lots of fun beating on thing on my job site so I can release stress. It's better then going home kicking the dog and beating the wife. Actually, I get beaten all the time in that battle. The best stress relief is driving the 911.

Do you do anymore working? Jeff

For many people it is. It is a beautiful wood however.

Ha- I'm not gonna ask if it was the dog or the wife that bested you -- many engineers have moved to more relaxing pursuits.

A guy at Intel quit years ago and started a coffee shop -- he was too good at it tho and it expanded all over northern Oregon (Coffee People) - he got out from under that by selling (to Seattle's Best I think).

Randy, I do not have a dog!!! Real man don't win. I relalized that after just a little over 2 years of putting that hand cuff on that one finger on my left hand. Well, lets not get into that. We get Seattle's best down here in LA. Very far and few in between. Jeff

Randy, Cliff Claven was the mailman from "Cheers" that knew factoids on every obscure topic.

We used to make the shift knobs for race cars out of Phenolic, it is a laminated wood product, very light and durable. It is also used for Carb spacers or heat soaks.
It is very tough and will not require a threaded insert you can tap and turn it to any shape you want. Also it comes in many grades.

Best regards

Haha - yeh, that's me.

Cliffy

Hi Mark I would be interested in buying one of your shift knobs when you start your run. On a side note, anybody make their own pistol grips? Some of the exotic woods used for grips are really beautiful.

76911S-

Any progress on these knobs? You can put me on the list for one.

SmileWavy

Does anyone still make these 917 shift knobs?

Rory, I have one that I would sell. It is too small for my (large) hands. Email me by clicking on my user handle (prefer not to PM).

thanks!... but another guy already hooked me up.. thanks much though

No. He was not making enough $$ on them & some people who had said they'd buy them instead pulled out, leaving him with a bit of a headache.