# Knob-O-Matic



## DeepBlue (19 Feb 2009)

This week I've been building a new router table, but there's no way I'm paying 5 quid each for the knobs to hold the various bits and pieces together, so I came up with this jig:

It's all made from scraps of MDF and a few coach bolts, and all it does is to hold a piece of scrap securely while you route around a template

Start by drilling a 1/4" hold through the middle of the workpiece and clamping it between the two jaws using the bolts:






Next, make up a template and insert a 1/4 inch threaded rod or coach bolt:






The thread on the template goes through the hold drilled in the workpiece, through the bottom jaw of the jig and into a tee nut in the base






Now fit the router with a 1/4 inch bit and a 1/2 inch collar, set the depth of cut to just a smidge more than the thickness of your stock and route around the template. I'm using 3/4 inch stock here, so I took 3-4 passes to get all the way through.






Here is the result. Note that both the knob and the waste are both held securely, so you dont need to worry about anything moving and you can be quite economical with the number of knobs you can get from a single piece of scrap






Now unscrew the template, and you're left with a nice cheap knob:






You can turn them out in under a minute, here are the six I needed for my router table:






After this, I just rounded over each one using my router table and then inserted either a coach bolt or a tee nut depending on whether I needed a male or female knob.

Cheers
-Tom


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## OPJ (19 Feb 2009)

That's an interesting way to do it and, it'll save you a small fortune! :wink: 

Thanks for sharing, although I'd rather rough them out on a bandsaw/scroll saw and clean them up with a bobbin sander...


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## wizer (19 Feb 2009)

The quickest way is to use a hole cutter. You can have a knob any size you liked (actress bishop).


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## Woodmagnet (20 Feb 2009)

:wink:


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## Jake (20 Feb 2009)

DeepBlue":1nsgf2n3 said:


> After this, I just rounded over each one using my router table



How did you hold them while doing that?


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## DeepBlue (20 Feb 2009)

Jake":2tllhjqs said:


> DeepBlue":2tllhjqs said:
> 
> 
> > After this, I just rounded over each one using my router table
> ...



I've got a working pad I made using some sandpaper glued to a block of MDF, that seemed to hold it pretty well (I wasn't removing much material). I did think about leaving the bolt in and attaching it to another jig, but this wasn't necessary.


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