1. Turn a simple cylinder of dense wood 55 mm x 55 mm. The wood needs to be dense in order to cut a thread in it later on
2. Drill a 9 mm hole in the centre of a flat face about 40 mm deep.
3. Make a simple arbour from an old bolt filed down to just .5 mm over the hole size and mount in a Jacobs chuck in the headstock.
4. Undercut a small recess in the end about 40 mm across. This gives the resin something to grip as it doesn't stick to flat wooden surfaces very well and I have had it separate.
5. True up the outside diameter to centre the knob on the arbour.
6. Remove from the arbour.
7. Build up the side about 30 mm with masking tape to form a well for the resin.
8. Mix up a small amount of embedding polyester and some contrasting pigment eg. black. (For every 30 mls of resin use 3-4 drops of catalyst. This mixes enough for 4-5 knobs.)
9. Allow to set 24 hours and keep covered and clean
10. Place the item to be embedded on top. If it tends to float it will need sticking down first. Plants or items containing moisture don't work very well. Suggests include nuts, bolts, coins, stones, artificial flowers, shells and metal buttons. If it fails, the amount of resin is not great and the cost is small.
11. Mix up clear resin in a clean container such as a washed aluminium drink can and use clean "icypole"sticks. 30 ml resin to 4 drops of catalyst.
12. Stir very gently and try to avoid bubbles.
13. Pour the mixture into the well . With a clean toothpick work any bubbles to the side. You have lots of time if you use the proportions above.
14. Allow to set. It will go hard and slightly tacky on the outside.
15. Remove the masking tape and mount the block back on the arbour in the Jacobs chuck.
16. Start scraping the knob to shape, keeping in mind the position of the embedded material.
17. When you have the desired shape, sand thoroughly using 120 - 600 wet and dry paper. Use the sandpaper wet as it doesn't clog so much with plastics. It does get messy!
18. Polish with "Extra cut Auto Cream" and finish with "Brasso" or "Silvo". Finish the wood with wax/oil.
19. Measure the thread on the car gear stick and drill the knob out one size smaller and screw the knob onto the gear stick. You could drill and tap to the appropriate thread but this doesn't seem necessary. (Gear stick threads are not uniform)
