T2 knob turning

[cobra_kai]

since i've already done a titanium one, and a 18k gold one.

one of these days .9999 fine platinum.

You just blew my mind

[ujamerstand]

pix plz. kthxbye.

[Maxvla]

Great knobs, KG. I like the ebony one best (partially because I work with it daily). I'm sure (hope) you are wearing a mask for these, especially ebony. That stuff is worse than smoking. Never comes out of your lungs.

Do you plan to leave them all bare as you did the ebony, or varnish them? Finger oil will darken them over time if bare.

Another wood I'd suggest is Pernambuco (see my avatar). Hard to get good stuff though since it's endangered.

Edited February 16, 2012 by Maxvla

[kevin gilmore]

The 18k gold one is on the dynahi. Pictures many moons ago, will see if i can find it.

Definitely leaving all the woods bare. I think they look better that way.

here we go 121.6 grams

http://gilmore.chem....du/dynaknob.jpg

http://gilmore.chem....u/dynaknob2.jpg

http://gilmore.chem....u/dynaknob3.jpg

http://gilmore.chem....u/dynaknobj.jpg

somewhere i have pictures of the 24k knob, its 151 grams, and

i never mounted it on anything.

This is years ago when gold was relatively cheap.

Edited February 16, 2012 by kevin gilmore

[chinsettawong]

With today's gold price, a piece like that will surely cost a lot more than a T2. You are really crazy.

Wachara C.

[nattonrice]

Reading pages 5 and 6 consecutively I thought you'd turned a knob from some bullion stock =S

Insanity at its best!

[kevin gilmore]

I cast them. Learning as i go. The 3rd one came out perfect.

The bubbles on the first one really look neat.

I have enough material now to spin cast a couple into a mold.

Figuring on about 250 grams each before final machining.

Power hit trashed one of my two aluminum mounting spindles this morning.

No power == no brake. with the feed on, took .125 down to .060 in 3 seconds

Edited February 16, 2012 by kevin gilmore

[ujamerstand]

echoing others sentiment. THAT IS INSANE.

[wink]

That is innovative and delightfully excessive....

[kevin gilmore]

Rumor has it a crazy monk is getting the next knob

[wink]

It's Rasputin, and it's made of pure U238.......

I'm waiting for the unobtanium one, but I'm sure I can't get it.....

[kevin gilmore]

Actually our friendly monk is getting 2 knobs.

And they are done too.

I have enough depleted uranium to make a knob.

And the appropriate carbide bits...

Maybe the diamond tools would work better.

Going to have to try it sometime.

I would probably have to cast a lead container

if i wanted to ship it... I can just imagine what would

happen if the radiation detectors went off on fedex

or UPS. The USPS people are probably too ignorant

to notice.

Edited February 17, 2012 by kevin gilmore

[kevin gilmore]

http://gilmore.chem.northwestern.edu/andyknobs.jpg

[morphsci]

^^ Those are nice knobs!

[wink]

Works of art.

[kevin gilmore]

What i need now is a better lens for taking pictures like this. The various lens distortions

really show up, because i can assure you that things are absolutely 90 degrees and

flat to less than .0001 inch.

Really want a 300mm macro lens that focuses 1:1 at 2 feet or more from the front

of the lens. As far as i know, no such item exists. Sure wish nikon would release

a new version of the 200mm macro, i don't want to buy a 15 year old lens design.

The reason for the longer lens is that it makes it easier to light things.

Bocote next week. But i need to find something to coat it with to keep its yellow

color, because as it sits in air, it continues to get darker and darker.

Edited February 18, 2012 by kevin gilmore

[swt61]

Lacquer.

[Maxvla]

What's the minimum size blank you need to turn a decent knob?

[swt61]

Well that depends on a few factors, but in general I'd say you want a 2" x 2" piece, and for comfort sake probably 6" long. this is assuming you'll be using a standard wood lathe. Kevin can probably comfortably turn shorter pieces on his equipment.

[Maxvla]

Well damn, was all set to buy a nice stick of pernambuco to send to Kevin to make knobs for anyone who wants one, but one of the few places that has pieces big enough to turn requires minimum $100 order.

Also sorta coincidence, the company selling the blanks is named Gilmer... so close...

The middle left one, kinda orange reddish.

Edited February 18, 2012 by Maxvla

[kevin gilmore]

2 x 2 x 1.5 is the absolute minimum. Which is why i'm having trouble finding snakewood that is

big enough in the "desired" direction.

I do this on a monarch engine lathe with very sharp carbide tool bits.

Step 1, use a bandsaw to make a roughly round blank.

Step 2 use a pressure plate and a live center, and make the blank completely round.

(pick from standard size that will fit perfectly into a collet)

Step 3 insert round blank in collet, drill the hole for the shaft piece and use a boring bar

to make the mounting area.

Step 4,5,6 make the shaft piece which takes 3 steps on the lathe

and then 3 more steps on a vertical mill. (center drill, drill, flip and countersink)

drill holes thru the shaft piece into the wood and attach the wood screws.

insert back into the lathe, and machine to proper dimensions

insert into the NC lathe and do precision micro machining on the front and side.

The knobs come out that shiny without any oil, varnish, or any finish of any kind.

Takes about 3.5 hours per knob.

Eventually i will make the shaft pieces completely NC and that will shorten

stuff about 1 hour. There is no way to NC the prep work.

The harder and more dense the wood is, the easier this is to do.

Edited February 18, 2012 by kevin gilmore

[Craig Sawyers]

Lacquer.

By laquer, do you mean shellac (ie crushed beetle gum +alcohol) or synthetic?

[deepak]

Kevin are you able to do silver? I have no clue about the properties of the metal and whether or not it's feasible.

Just looked at latest trading prices, gold has exceeded the price of platinum

(since the Indian currency is more or less worthless when compared to any modern foreign standard like the Euro or USD; ie you can not convert Rupee to USD, but you can do it the other way around, my parents/relatives usually purchased gold ingot and deposited them safe boxes rather than investing in the Indian stock market)

[swt61]

Well damn, was all set to buy a nice stick of pernambuco to send to Kevin to make knobs for anyone who wants one, but one of the few places that has pieces big enough to turn requires minimum $100 order.

Also sorta coincidence, the company selling the blanks is named Gilmer... so close...

The middle left one, kinda orange reddish.

Actually the third one down on the right looks like Pernambuco. the middle left one is almost certainly Purple Heart.

By laquer, do you mean shellac (ie crushed beetle gum +alcohol) or synthetic?

Different products. Shellac is made from the excrement of the Lac beetle and denatured alcohol, and cures from the evaporation of the solvents. Whereas Catalyzed Lacquer (what I use) is made up of nitrocellulose resins and urea resins. It's a hybrid reactive finish that cures chemically, not from the evaporation of the solvents. Or at least not solely from evaporation.

[Craig Sawyers]

Different products. Shellac is made from the excrement of the Lac beetle and denatured alcohol, and cures from the evaporation of the solvents. Whereas Catalyzed Lacquer (what I use) is made up of nitrocellulose resins and urea resins. It's a hybrid reactive finish that cures chemically, not from the evaporation of the solvents. Or at least not solely from evaporation.

Understood. Just wanted to make sure that there wasn't different terminology across the pond. In this case there isn't

Oh -wait. Denatured alcohol - in UK-speak that is Methylated Spirits, or "Meths" (which has a light blue colour) or pure (colourless) methanol. Most cabinet makers just use Meths.

Edited February 18, 2012 by Craig Sawyers