Old gear knob

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John b
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Joined: Tue May 19, 2020 8:40 pm

Old gear knob

Post by John b »

Thought i'd try reviving a scabby old gear knob. Spun it on the lathe (pillar drill will work) and started with 120 grit sandpaper, working through finer sandpaper and finishing with wet and dry. Then let it soak in clean oil for a couple of days, dried it off and its looks good, certainly better than a shiny plastic reproduction one. Only time will tell how long it stays looking like that though!
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My biggest fear is that when i die my wife will sell my tractors for what i told her they cost

Billy26F5
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Re: Old gear knob

Post by Billy26F5 »

Looking great John, if you get it in to work it will polish up pretty well (here's Billy's one).
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Sandy
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shepp
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Location: Lancashire

Re: Old gear knob

Post by shepp »

Does look good, presumably this is an original Bakelite knob?
1946 E27N, 1952 Major Diesel, 1959 Power Major, 1962 Dexta, 1962 Super Dexta, 1963 Super Dexta NP, 1964 Super Major NP, 1965 Super Dexta 3000, 1966 Major 4000, 1967 3000 PF, 1994 5640,plus Basildon built NH.

John b
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Re: Old gear knob

Post by John b »

It is, it was on a tractor that hadn't been used in probably 20 years and sat outside. I wasn't sure how degraded the bakelite was but luckily the outer crust sanded off and there are no cracks in it, and as Sandy says, it should get a polished surface with some use
My biggest fear is that when i die my wife will sell my tractors for what i told her they cost

mathias1
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Re: Old gear knob

Post by mathias1 »

you are lucky, most of the time the break in 2 pieces.
Fordson Super Major New Performance
County Super 4 built on the Fordson Super Major
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John b
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Joined: Tue May 19, 2020 8:40 pm

Re: Old gear knob

Post by John b »

To be honest i was expecting that to happen. Glad it worked though, it's nice to keep as many original bits as possible. I had to wrap it in a rag and use stilsons to remove it, and even managed to sand the marks out of it
My biggest fear is that when i die my wife will sell my tractors for what i told her they cost

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