DIY Potentiometer Knob - Build

[bijinmb]

Hi Folks,

Just thought of sharing my Potentiometer Knob build using solid aluminum.

The knobs are CNC machined to get decent precision and finish.

After machining, the knobs are done with the following anodized finish.

• Black
• Gold
• Silver

Dimension:

Flange diameter: 38mm
Top diameter: 28mm
Height: 25mm
Shaft hole diameter: 6.4mm

This knobs can be very well used for Volume Control and Source Selection applications.

Sharing few images of the knobs below.

CAD Drawings:




Finished Knobs:













Lemme know your thoughts.

 

[denom]

:thumbsup: Bijin

Stellar work as usual :clapping:

Just 1 query, would the shaft dia be uniform for these knobs to be a universal fit???

 

[bijinmb]

:thumbsup: Bijin

Stellar work as usual :clapping:

Just 1 query, would the shaft dia be uniform for these knobs to be a universal fit???

The dia is uniform for all the knobs.

Bascally there are two dia for the shafts coming in the market and some other dia are also there. The standard values are below.

1. 6mm
2. 6.4mm

The present knob will be perfect for the shafts having 6.4mm dia.

 

[denom]

Thanks for the info Bijin

 

[gcr]

congrats bijin,
good job

regards
girish

 

[saheb11123]

Wow!!

What is the cost price per knob?

 

[gcr]

Wow!!

What is the cost price per knob?

hi saheb,
When i checked their site, its listed there
Knobs
Hope bijin wont mind. (and also not against the rules)

regards
girish

 

[saheb11123]

hi saheb,
When i checked their site, its listed there
Knobs
Hope bijin wont mind. (and also not against the rules)

regards
girish

Thank you for pointing that out.
I forgot to check the site out.


They look excellent from the pricing point too.

 

[somakmaitra]

Hi Bijin
Awesome !!:clapping:
Are you going to make smaller ones for bass,treble and balance and some selector switches to make the set complete ?
Regards
Somak

 

[bijinmb]

Hi Bijin
Awesome !!:clapping:
Are you going to make smaller ones for bass,treble and balance and some selector switches to make the set complete ?
Regards
Somak

Hi Somak,

Yes it's in pipeline. The plan is to do a prototype, may be 19mm dia and 25mm height. then after finalizing that and correcting minor errors, will do the final build.

I will share its images once its done.

Thanks,
Bijin

 

[tcpip]

These posts sure do bring back memories! Lovely looking aluminium knobs and another thread related to it.

That being said, I feel bijin's knobs are really superb in quality, going by the description and pictures. I wish there were a few more designs. One really badly needs some large round ones for volume control and input selection, and some smaller ones for tone controls, balance, etc. The knob whose photos are there in the first thread above on diyaudio was really an incredibly beautiful knob -- it's hard to describe how lovely it was unless you actually held it in your hand. It had a height greater than its diameter, and a lovely, very gentle organic taper to it. It had two defects: no recess to accommodate the potentiometer nut and no notch or mark to indicate position -- you never knew whether the knob had been set to min or max or whatever. But bijin can fix those if he copies the design.

Some more designs below, which I like a lot:

If you compare the Hong Kong eBay prices with Bijin's price, you will see how much cheaper they are from Bijin. Maybe he can make 20 pieces of each of a dozen different designs and keep them on offer, and they will sell over time...?

Another thing which is simply not available in good-looking versions for the DIY builder is switches. I used to love long-flat-lever toggle switches, but they are almost extinct.

 

[GeorgeO]

Hi Tarun
I picked up a few of those knobs and still have them in my inventory.

 

[apk]

Just came across this thread....congratulations Bijin! the knobs look fantastic. Though I am usually not a fan of the golden color, the knob in golden color looks quite good.

Best,
APK

 

[gvenu]

Bi**n,

You brothers are rocking!!!
venu

 

[sarith]

Photo of a few metal knobs. More than a dozen types of Volume, tone, push switch and tape mechanism knobs made of metal (few dozens of them). Good work both of you.

 

[bijinmb]

Photo of a few metal knobs. More than a dozen types of Volume, tone, push switch and tape mechanism knobs made of metal (few dozens of them). Good work both of you.

Those knobs looks really nice sarith. BTW can you please post image of its side view. I just want to check whether that marking is coming down or they have made on the top only.

 

[captrajesh]

Superb looking knobs. IMO the title needs to be changed; they look more like regular production pieces rather than DIY knobs.

 

[Fantastic]

Those knobs looks really nice sarith. BTW can you please post image of its side view. I just want to check whether that marking is coming down or they have made on the top only.

Bijin , If you look carefully those markings don't go down all the way on the side on most knobs. A couple are so black you can't make out.They are just on the front surface and go down just a bit on the side of some.

Note that this is mostly required as viewed from the front. So it doesn't need to extend down the side. Only if there is a scale or markers on the front panel , someone might need a marker that extends right to the base of the knob OR just on the 'flange' of the knob.
Cheers.

 

[sarith]

Those knobs looks really nice sarith. BTW can you please post image of its side view. I just want to check whether that marking is coming down or they have made on the top only.

They do look good. I don't know if they can be called vintage yet (Probably from the 90's). Bought the lot from a 'dying' (dead) electronics shop some time back.

The biggest knob in the picture (2nd row 2nd from left) has the cut mark (slit?) to the side till I have marked in the pic. Pretty solid knobs, if not that heavy for it's size.

 

[bijinmb]

I am actually thinking of doing that mark on my second batch of knob build (for tone controls) and that too in a automated way with CNC Lathe.

Seems its tough, even marking a spot over the knob also seems to be tough with CNC Lathe.

The present CNC lathe have not got that feature where its chuck can remain static and the bit can spin and can move around the object. With such lathe its easy to put marking accurately.

Any alternate idea to make the marking easy without compromising on accuracy, so can avoid human labour in the build and can make haste.