Interior/Exterior DIY Wooden shift knob
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2nd Gear
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 89
Likes: 0
From: Apex, NC
DIY Wooden shift ****
My mini has the wood trim inside. The shift **** did have the same trim along the bottom (which turned out to be real wood) but the chrome was chipping off the plastic piece on top. I looked online for custom wood shift ***** and it was crazy expensive.
Im not a woodworker or anything, but I stopped by a store that sells woodworking stuff, and bought a 2"x2"x8" piece of macacauba wood because I thought it looked cool.
I disassembled (broke) the shift **** from the mini, and removed everything that was not part of how it attached to the shift assembly. There is a heavy weighted metal core thats glued into place around a plastic cylinder. I saved the plastic and ditched the rest.
This plastic core is 1" in diameter at its widest, so I drilled a 1" diameter hole into the block of wood I bought to the appropriate depth. I then used a coping saw to rough out the main shape, and then used some carving and cutting attachments on my dremel tool to smooth it out. Finally I used my orbital sander with 80 grit, and then 150 grit pads to smooth it out. I smoothed it further by hand with 600 grit paper.
To finish it, I used a non waxed shellac (3 coats, sanded with 600 grit in between) to seal in the oily wood, and then used a clear gloss rub on polyurethane finish (3 coats, wet sanded with 1500 grit in between).
I used hot glue to attach the plastic piece in the hole and fill the gap. It took about a week, but that was mostly waiting for finish coats to cure. Pretty easy, and I think it turned out alright.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/11785637005/http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/11786047014/http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/11786405336/http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/11785644535/
Im not a woodworker or anything, but I stopped by a store that sells woodworking stuff, and bought a 2"x2"x8" piece of macacauba wood because I thought it looked cool.
I disassembled (broke) the shift **** from the mini, and removed everything that was not part of how it attached to the shift assembly. There is a heavy weighted metal core thats glued into place around a plastic cylinder. I saved the plastic and ditched the rest.
This plastic core is 1" in diameter at its widest, so I drilled a 1" diameter hole into the block of wood I bought to the appropriate depth. I then used a coping saw to rough out the main shape, and then used some carving and cutting attachments on my dremel tool to smooth it out. Finally I used my orbital sander with 80 grit, and then 150 grit pads to smooth it out. I smoothed it further by hand with 600 grit paper.
To finish it, I used a non waxed shellac (3 coats, sanded with 600 grit in between) to seal in the oily wood, and then used a clear gloss rub on polyurethane finish (3 coats, wet sanded with 1500 grit in between).
I used hot glue to attach the plastic piece in the hole and fill the gap. It took about a week, but that was mostly waiting for finish coats to cure. Pretty easy, and I think it turned out alright.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/11785637005/http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/11786047014/http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/11786405336/http://www.flickr.com/photos/jprime84/11785644535/
4th Gear
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 512
Likes: 3
From: New Orleans, LA
Cool! I'm glad you put up that pic. I've been wondering if wood trim, wheel and shifter would look good in my car, but couldn't find any pics WITH the creme trim pieces. Helps me make up my mind! =D
Thread Starter
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2nd Gear
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 89
Likes: 0
From: Apex, NC
yeah i got mine used and it was wood and creme. even the door pulls are wood. I suspected it of being fake but when i took apart the **** it was indeed real wood.
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