Custom handle knob for my Tank

[Bryan Young]

Amazing!!!

[Alto Mare]

Karl, thanks to you now I can't stop , as I didn't have enough to do already .



I actually like mine better than penn's, the black rubber knob is from penn.



Heating the Corian   to 350 degree makes it flexible, I was able to shape it a little



Not bad, I really like it. Daron ( Shark Hunter ) mentioned that you could melt it into liquid to shape it, I'm not sure about Avonite, but you won't be able to do it with Corian .
Sal 

[Mandelstam]

Sal, excellent work! You are always an inspiration! Question: How is the knob attached to the shaft? I'm considering different ways of doing the spindle and would be glad for some input.

I've ditched the ball bearing thing. I want a more simple and robust attachment but that will let it turn freely and smoothly. Right now I'm looking into bronze bushings.
Drawing below. The diameter of the bushing of the right length I could find determined everything else basically. I just need to find a machinist wanting to make a few bucks...

[Shark Hunter]

Not bad, I really like it. Daron ( Shark Hunter ) mentioned that you could melt it into liquid to shape it, I'm not sure about Avonite, but you won't be able to do it with Corian .
Sal 

Sal, I didn't mean melt it to shape. Since I work where this is manufactured. We pour it into a casting machine as liquid and it comes out solid. So, it could be poured into a mold in liquid form before it hardens. Albert wants some samples to mess with. I figured I could glue to pieces together, then turn a knob on a lathe.

[Alto Mare]

My misunderstanding Daron, that makes sense.

Karl, to me what you're showing above would be the best option, no bearings.
I was looking here for some stuff:
http://www.mcmaster.com/#spacers/=oceec7
Basically, the spacer would be glued to the knob and would slide over the barrel, anchored with a screw on top and bottom.
Alan has some of the best handle posts design that I've ever seen, I'm not sure if he could get you some, I'm sure they're not cheap .
The one I'm showing is pretty simple. all I did was to remove the knob from one of penn's handle and replaced it with mine.

[Mandelstam]

Do you mean to make the spacer act as a bushing? I was thinking the same way as you I think but instead of just a spacer I'll press fit (or glue) a bronze bushing in the knob. Just plain bronze with some oil/grease pockets.

Yea, Alans design looks great, I have spent quite some time just looking at pictures and trying to figure out how they work. No luck. I want to keep it as simple as possible and also possible to easily disassemble to clean/grease and to keep the amount of machining required to a minimum.

I was going to 3d-print a couple of prototypes today but the printer decided it didn't wanna play along. It's my first time working with a 3d-printer so I'll get it to work eventually. Amazing machine really. And quite simple. It's basically a hot glue gun mounted on a small CNC 3 axle table. Instead of cutting it extrudes molten plastic through a nozzle. Down to 0.1mm resolution. But today the nozzles got clogged and it started printing air instead of plastic. Didn't have the tools to clean it at work...

[Alto Mare]

Here are a couple of shots of Alan's design, again, this is the best I've seen so far

I tried to shape the handle a little and realized that the material isn't easy to work with, I don't know how they get it that smooth, they probably use a lathe . Mine looked great when I was shaping it, it had a two tone finish, but when the oil hit it, everything turned black . I still like it though.
here is a close up shot of the post

The longer part is welded to the knob


I will also take this opportunity to show others how the penn knob is put together, just in case they wanted to replace the knob with another of their choice

Try not to use the handle similar to the one on the right, use the one with the torpedo knob
The stock knob that I'm showing on the right is made of hard plastic with a soft rubber skin

Sal

[Mandelstam]

Here are a couple of shots of Alan's design, again, this is the best I've seen so far

Sal

That knob looks really great! You are a true artist, Sal. And thanks for showing! The original looks lathed, you can see the toolmarks on the top and the tapered part. I've never held one but it looks a little like Delrin, if Delrin comes in black. But I can't wrap my head around how that thing is constructed... I guess I have to order one just to be able to tinker with it...

[Alto Mare]

Ok Karl, I'll try again

here is the handle with the screws, ready to be mounted

here I'm showing the shaft coming out of the sleeve, note the tip, it's recessed to go into the arm, I don't believe the smaller knobs come with it...very clever

The sleeve is glued to the handle and it spins on the shaft

This knob is very smooth, I did notice some marks, I believe it was shaped on a lathe.
Hope this helps.

Sal

[Bryan Young]

I tried to shape the handle a little and realized that the material isn't easy to work with, I don't know how they get it that smooth, they probably use a lathe . Mine looked great when I was shaping it, it had a two tone finish, but when the oil hit it, everything turned black . I still like it though.
here is a close up shot of the post

Sal, you crack me up.  always looking for perfection in everything.  But that handle looks very naturalistic, and quite possibly very comfortable, even more than one with smooth edges because it resembles holding a natural stick.

[Alto Mare]

No, not perfection, mine just needed to be a little different .

[Bunnlevel Sharker]

If you can get it spinning on something, take a pice of sandpaper and wrap it around halfway, so you have a piece in each hand. Slowly and smoothly slide it back and forth and it will get it smoothed down

[Alto Mare]

No Sharker, no sandpaper. It wasn't easy getting it to where I wanted to, I'll try to show it but the pictures don't give it justice, due to the black:



This handle looks sweet .
Sal

[Mandelstam]

Ok Karl, I'll try again
This knob is very smooth, I did notice some marks, I believe it was shaped on a lathe.
Hope this helps.

Sal

Yeay! Finally! Hehe, I think I got it. Simple and beautiful. Thanks, Sal!

[Alto Mare]

Not a problem Karl, I'm glad I could be of some help.
Besides, I really like your design and I'm hoping that it will happen.
I keep going back at those green ones you've put up earlier and every time I do so, the second from left, with the soft lines and the fifth are still my favorite.

Since I've been showing Alan's handles, I just want to mention that you won't find a better handle. Those are nicely put together and I'm pretty confident they won't fail you.
This isn't about improving Alan's design, that would be very hard to do.
Sal