Thread: Front knob handles - is there a reason not to...

Hi CG. The knobs could work but might be a bit low. Have you seen Paul Sellers latest video? Hope the below link works

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sour...B-IqGKtUlIBXQ3

As an option you could use a drill press.

Here is a video by Chris Becksvoort making draw pulls with a drill press. I'm sure you could do the same with a front knob.

How to Turn Pulls Without a Lathe - YouTube

I have a few spares , PM for details.

While I'm here I chasing a standard Stanley chipbreaker-blade screw.

handles.jpeg

Hi Mountain,

Yes I did see that and also a James Wright video on making without a lathe but frankly it just seemed a huge time investment, particularly when it would only seem to take a relatively small time on a lathe. My experience has been that what Paul Sellers can do in 30 minutes will take me 2 hours - and that video takes an hour (albeit with finishing)!

Chris

Thanks Lance - I made a little jig of a threaded rod with two nuts and wingnut bolts to tighten, which I used to jam a knob in my drill press. I use that to knock the old finish and lacquer off and sand back just enough to get through the upper layer of grease and paint etc. I have had good results (for me) sanding to 3000 grit then applying Shellawax - you can really take a knob from horribly abused to quite posh in about 5-10 minutes once you have all your supplies set up.

I do not have the space for a permanent drill press and make do with a Bosch that sits in a cupboard and lifts out into the bench (I have made a little cleat attachment so can fit into the vice to keep it still).

What I have been concerned about is I assume they're not really made for hard, lateral pressure and I don't want to damage it. The video of Chris Becksvoort looks like he has a big beefy drill press that could handle a fair bit! Maybe I am a bit nervous.

Still - I will take one for the team and have ordered a few handles (a few Jarrah and some Blackwood) and will post my results in due course!

Originally Posted by Cgcc

Hi Mountain,

Yes I did see that and also a James Wright video on making without a lathe but frankly it just seemed a huge time investment, particularly when it would only seem to take a relatively small time on a lathe. My experience has been that what Paul Sellers can do in 30 minutes will take me 2 hours - and that video takes an hour (albeit with finishing)!

Chris

Hi Chris, that is very true. The only reason I watched the whole video was that I was folding washing at the time. Normally my attention span isn't that long. I did also see the Wood by Wright video. I like his approach too

Originally Posted by BobL

I have a few spares , PM for details.

While I'm here I'm chasing a standard Stanley chipbreaker-blade screw.

Decided to make my own. Took a while - Short screws are fiddly.

The one I used as a model and mine below the
IMG_4522.jpg

Chipbreakernladescrew.jpg

Looks great Bob - and superior to the standard ones given it looks like you can get a much better grip on yours!

Originally Posted by Cgcc

Looks great Bob - and superior to the standard ones given it looks like you can get a much better grip on yours!

I agree with Chris. Very clever Bob. How do you create the knurling? And is the thread cut on a lathe?

Originally Posted by BobL

Decided to make my own. Took a while - Short screws are fiddly.

The one I used as a model and mine below the

Bob

That came up well. For fiddly little screws don't you just make a longer one and cut it to the desired length after threading? Or was getting thread right up to the head the issue?

Regards
Paul

Originally Posted by Bushmiller

Bob

That came up well.

Thanks

For fiddly little screws don't you just make a longer one and cut it to the desired length after threading? Or was getting thread right up to the head the issue?

Yep that was one problem. I could have used the lathe to cut the thread but years ago I bought a cheap set of dies and basically ground away a couple of mm of the flat side of the dies so that the cutting threads reaches right up to the outside. I then start the thread with the side of the die with the tapered thread and once I've gone as far as I can I flip the die and use the other side.

Holding the short screw while cutting the slot with a slitting saw was also a bit tricky. I screwed the screw into a suitable sizds nut and held that in the mill vice but he cutting action generates enough vibe to loosen the screw. Longer screws can be held using two nuts but this one was too short.

Like a lot of MW and the larger forces generated it's 90% about secure holding while working. I ended up Loctiting the screw into the nut and then once teh dust was made heating it up to loosen the Loctite.

The other thing with short stuff is order of process.

This one started put with about a 50 mm length of 16mm diameter steel, with about 25mm protruding from the lathe chuck.
Turn down the screw end (5/16" diam x about 5 mm long) and then thread.
Knurl the next 10 mm or so of teh remaining 16 mm shoulder and then part off.

Originally Posted by BobL

....The other thing with short stuff is order of process.....

I reckon it's everything when making fiddly bits, Bob! However, I decided some time ago that brass has some advantages over steel (the main one being it's a heck of a lot nicer to work with!) so I've been making brass screws this past couple of years, otherwise the method I evolved is the same as yours. I just thread as far as the die can manage (one side of most of my dies has a bit less taper, so I always finish with he least-tapered side. I ran into a bit of bother making a replacement screw for an old Stanley blade/chipbreaker combo - the very thin blade needed a more complete thread, so I had to carefully extend the thread half a turn with a needle file - I was thankful it was brass. 12 cap iron double bend.jpg

The thicker modern blades that I use when making my own planes cause no bother, the die cuts close enough to the shoulder that the screw doesn't run out of thread before it tightens.

I have a slitting saw & arbor that I use in the DP for slotting saw-spines, but no suitable setup for slitting screw heads, so I just face the head off very lightly, to get an accurate centre-mark, then carefully hacksaw the slot. A small warding file that matches the width of a typical screw slot is used to carefully bring the slot to size.

Yes, they are fiddly things to make!

Cheers,

Ian and Bob

Just out of interest and because it is related to the original post (I am hesitant to mention the "H" or "D" words) there was a time when you could get special hacksaw blades for slotting the heads of screws. From the Simonds 1919 catalogue:

P1060355 (3).JPG

You could once buy them by the dozen or by the gross! I don't think they are still available.

Regards
Paul

Hmmm, yep, I'll have a set of those please, if you ever stumble on a gross of NOS!

I've never seen anything like them, even in my youth - wonder when they disappeared? As the catalogue says, handy gadgets around the workshop- those square teeth would have cut a cleaner slot than a regular hacksaw blade.

Cheers,