Marble'd Acrylic knobs MORE ADDITIONS

[STRIPER LOU]

CHECK PAGE 2 FOR MORE INFO

Dave Hall had asked about the Acrylic knobs. He was kind enough to turn me on to Ryan for material. Since then I have found another vendor and this guys colors are spectacular!

One color in particular is a blend of silver pearl, black, blue, purple, and green. This stuff is not cheap and runs about $75.00 for an approximate 2" dia x 10" length and also has a fairly stout minimum as its made to order! The pictures do it no justice whatsoever. The horizontal and vertical marks that show in the pictures, I can assure you, are light reflections. Each one gets 1 1/2 to 2 hours of hand polishing alone and are like a mirror.

The spinner tube is .058 wall 316l SS. The part that presses into the knob receives a straight knurl. The addition of  a 2 part epoxy is further used to secure the knob. The straight knurl will skive the plastic as it pressed in and along with the epoxy it should be bulletproof and never move! The inner shaft itself is usually made of 316 also. Its approximately .003 to .004 smaller in diameter than the inner tube and about .015 longer. This allows for grease and NO bearing used to fail. Screw size is 10-32 on both ends.

The material does have some drawbacks. It doesn't do well in the sun and weather. I'm talking several years of constant exposure it can be prone to embrittlement.  Daron, (Mr. Shark) works where they make this in sheet form and filled me in.
In speaking to the supplier he assured me that because their product is made in very small batches the quality is superior to product that is mass produced. He said he personally had bottle stoppers that were over 5 years old, constantly in and out of the fridge with no problems at all.

I'm finishing up about a dozen monofils and all will have these knobs and shafts. I'll post them up when they're finished.
.......................Lou

[steelhead_killer]

purdy! 

[handi2]

That is super cool..!!

[Alto Mare]

You're an artist Lou...

Sal

[Shark Hunter]

I would say those will last a lot longer than acrylic in sheet form Lou.
All our testing is done to sheets.

[alantani]

ok, now THIS is going to be interesting!!!!   

[Big Tim]

Nice Lou! I would think the round stock would be a lot more durable that the OL' glue together sheets. We have Precision Plastics here in Fresno/Clovis and they advertise they can do this. I'm sure the price is RITE high. I like the fact that there is no bearing, pressed in & glued knurled shaft (very strong connection). We used some pretty cool plastics and knurled connecting shafts on some of our steam valve seats for our Submarines. Others were ceramic glued with high heat and extreme pressure to complete the adhering process. I can't wait to see your art on a reel. 

BT

[David Hall]

Drooling while I check my bank balance, I got enough for that little round red beauty and the project reel to put it on!
Pm sent

[cbar45]

Beautiful work Lou,

Have you ever tried turning knobs from the stabilized wood used in reel seat and rod handle construction?

Example: http://reelseatblanks.com

Chad

[Three se7ens]

Beautiful work Lou!

[STRIPER LOU]

Chad, that wood looks great! I really like the Box Elder Burl - Blue. I can turn it without any problem. The only thing that would scare me is burly grained woods are not usually know for their strength. If it were to be a cabinet queen, then, no problem.
have a great evening,  ..  Lou

[Maxed Out]

Wow, now we finally know your real name... LOU-inardo De Vince' 

[swill88]

Lou... Beautiful!

Can you share your finishing/polishing steps to get them so nice?

Steve

[cbar45]

Chad, that wood looks great! I really like the Box Elder Burl - Blue. I can turn it without any problem. The only thing that would scare me is burly grained woods are not usually know for their strength. If it were to be a cabinet queen, then, no problem.
All have a great evening,  ..  Lou

That's a bummer Lou, I was hoping the stabilization process would toughen up the burl enough to use as a knob.

Not to take anything away from acrylic, but those woods would look great on an old Penn or Ocean City..

Chad

[Bryan Young]

Lou, they are beautiful. I especially love the black and turquoise handle. Stunning.