Padding for plane knobs?

[Leuf]

With my new bench finally going operational I've kind of over done it the last two days with the planes. My hands are now not looking or feeling so good. Part of the problem is that these are old planes and while I've put the knobs and totes that were in the best shape on the ones I was using, the knobs especially are in rough shape. Completely peppered with toolbox dings. Another part is that while I've experimented with different grips on the knob I tend to favor having my palm down on the top of it, and the head of the screw is doing a number on me.

Will a new smooth replacement knob take care of it? I was thinking that perhaps adding some padding under a leather cover on the knob might be a good idea, but I see nothing about doing it in a google search so either a) it won't be a problem with a new knob b) I have soft girly hands and need to suck it up c) everyone has blisters but won't admit it.

-Leuf

[Lobby Dosser]

How about gloves with padded palm and no fingers? I've got a pair of them kicking around somewhere that I use now and then. You wouldn't have to mess with every plane and you don't need to worry about them getting caught in machinery :o).

[woodworker88]

My Stanley bench plane has plastic handles, so I don't have the ding problem. However, I can see that the screw could be a problem for some people. My solution requires a bit of work, but it should fix the problem. First, take a piece of threaded rod from the hardware store and cut off a piece about 1/2 to 3/4 inches long depending on the size of you knob. Then you'll need one of the t-nuts or threaded inserts which look like small nuts with spikes sticking out. You'll need to unscrew the knob and hammer this nut into the wood in the bottom of the knob until it is flush. Then simply screw the threaded rod into the plane casting until it bottoms out, then screw on the knob. The t-nut or threaded insert will act as a nut imbedded in the wood. You can then just fill the hole in the top of the knob or ignore it. It sounds complicated, but it really isn't. The one caveat is that you need to make sure that when you buy the threaded rod and t-nut, it is the same thread that is in the casting. This should do it, and I also recommend the gloves in the previous post. I use them for chiseling and hammering.

[Leuf]

I thought about that, and I may try that. I just think it may get uncomfortable in the summer, which is why I thought put the glove on the knob rather than on me. I've been freezing down in the shop, it's about 8-10 degrees colder down there than our old house. 50 degrees is just about perfect for a long planing session though :)

I thought I had an old baseball glove somewhere that could donate the material to try it out, but it seems to have vanished.

-Leuf

[Leuf]

Good idea, but Stanley starting making them before thread sizes got standardized, it's a weird #12-20. I have an idea for a different tote design that I want to try out that I need a short bolt for, I think I'm going to have to use a frog bolt for it. I knew there was a reason I got two #4s...

-Leuf

[Lobby Dosser]

It'll reappear when you no longer have a use for it!

[Ba r r y]

These gloves are even available with super comfortable, sweat absorbing fabrics and gel filled palms at bicycle shops everywhere.

Barry

[Patriarch]

Leuf wrote in news: [e-mail]:

The local Target or Wally World sells inexpensive golf gloves. Buy one for the hand that gets the blisters, and trim the fingers near the knuckle. I don't think you can spend more than $12, probably less.

The traditional finish for plane wood is some sort of varnish. However, a simple linseed oil finish, with or without a topcoating of shellac, is very skin friendly. Avoid plastic plane handles if at all possible.

There is a whole school of thought on plane wood amongst the cognesceti in the archives of the hand tool forum of Woodcentral.com, should you ever go searching for way more than you wanted to know of the matter.

Patriarch

[Lobby Dosser]

If you really don't want to go the glove route, here's a few other ideas:

1. Auto shift knob cover.
2. Steering wheel cover.
3. Bicycle handle bar cover.
4. Turn your own new knobs. This has the advantage of buying some new tools, if you don't own a lathe.
5. Buy some Steve Knight planes - obvious advantage.
6. Sharpen the blades. :o)

[John DeBoo]

How about a pair of weightlifting or bicycle riding gloves? Padded centers yet the fingers are open. John

[J. Clarke]

Drill the hole bigger, tap it for an insert, put in the insert, and you're back down to something close to the original diameter with a more available thread.

[woodworker88]

Maybe you just need to get friendly with someone who has a metalworking lathe and could cut a weird thread for you. Or just drill and tap the hole bigger, if your comfortable with doing that. Try 5/16-18 or the

5/16 or 3/8 NC tap size. You'll need a bottoming tap though.

[Leuf]

My intent is to not doing anything irreversable. Granted it's worth less than what a machine shop would probably charge to do it, but I'd still rather leave it the way I got it. For the knob it looks like the consensus is to get a smooth knob on there and if that isn't enough wear a glove. And for my idea for the tote, the frog screw is just about the right length. Eventually I may even get around to doing it...

-Leuf

[Norman D. Crow]

I *think* the whole problem is needing to fix the knob & screw, Someone suggested turning a new knob. How about just sanding some of the dings out of the old one? If the screw head is rough, take it out and file it smooth. Other than that, get some gloves or grow some calluses(Yes, everyone gets blisters but won't admit it).

[Leuf]

Oh no, that's one slippery slope I'm not stepping down any time soon. And I'll be lucky if a can afford the gloves at this point, much less an endless assortment of pointy bits of metal. The new table saw has pretty much quelched the tool lust for the time being.

Well I was using a #5 as a scrub on two large panels. It was sharp, it just took a darn long time to get through the failed veneer and layer of poplar under it. But I have a nice pile of wormy chestnut now :)

-Leuf

[Leuf]

The dings are pretty deep. I haven't got enough just dinged up knobs to go around anyway so I'm going to have to come up with something else eventually. I may try making one even without a lathe. Should be able to get a lot of the material out on the table saw and band saw. I think I'd like to try making one a bit larger, more doorknob shaped.

-Leuf

[woodworker88]

You would be refering to a piece of metal that looks like a nut with the outside threaded as well as the inside. I never thought of that, only the threaded inserts for wood with nut insides and woodscrew outsides. Do you know where to get them, or do you have to make it yourself?

[Dave W]

Let me see if I understand this ......your plane knob is bothering your hands? If the knob is rough, smooth it! If your hands are soft, use them and they will be ok after a while. I once read that when someone says he is building a boat, you need only shake hands with him to determind if he is having the boat built or is actually doing the work.

[fredfighter]

A good hardware store will have them. The better ones will have them in brass and steel. I don't remember what they are called. There are also Tee-nuts, but those have a flange that attaches to the surface. Good for some applications, especially plywood, not for attaching knobs to planes though.

[Juergen Hannappel]

They are branded "Helicoil"