Looking for opinions on custom shift boot...

[azn2nr]

try this. make a square out of a square or round balsa dowel that barely fits into the opening. put it in the inside of the boot and push it into the plastic piece. the leather pressed between the wooden frame and the plastic should make it praticly unmoveable.

[Legacy777]

That's what I was trying to do with the metal bar, but it didn't work so well.

The edges are where it will get tricky because they are rounded. You did give me an idea though. Get a hunk of balsa wood as big as the opening, and just do enough forming/sanding to get it to fit, and then cut out the middle.

That's a damn good idea. I get play with wood now instead of metal. I'll have to make a trip to the hobby store or something and play around with this. I'll probably have to buy a jig saw or one of those roto-zip attatchments for the dremel. Or darn more tools

Thanks for the idea Jason

[Legacy777]

I was thinking.....do you think the balsa wood would be sturdy enough, or should I look at using some soft pine or something like that?

[vrg3]

Balsa's pretty soft... I'd say to use something tougher so it can provide more preload. You might even consider using a polymer of some type... polyurethane maybe.

Or even a plastic kitchen cutting board.

[Legacy777]

Interesting.....I didn't think about the cutting board.....that would work. I need to get a grinder bit for my die grinder to chew away at stuff.....hahaha

[professor]

balsa would be way too breakable. For wood I'd go with a chunk of birch plywood, available at the Depot in small pieces. Without plywood the grain will kill you in one direction or another when so thin.

The cutting board would work. We use them for palm skid pads for downhill skateboardig gloves. It cuts very well with a hand jigsaw, and a belt sander works very well, as would a drum sander a round the inside. Just don't get it too hot. It is sometimes easier to work with if you freeze it first to prevent melting.

One big disadvantage to the plastic is that no glue sticks well. the wood would take glue great, which I think would secure things nicely between the boot and ring. In fact couldn't you glue the whole damn thing together and just remove by pulling the panel if necessary ?

[vrg3]

Oh yeah, cutting boards are great stock for making spacers and stuff like that.

I usually don't have good success grinding on plastic of that type, though... it just melts and burns and clog... Non-abrasive cutting seems to work better.

[mikec]

What about MDF? I see it mentioned alot when people have to make spacers for speaker installations. I've never worked with it myself, mind you.

[Legacy777]

professor,

Not sure I get what you mean about the grain, and plywood?

I'll have to check my clearances to see how thick of a piece of material I can use. Also, I'll need to check and see how wide it can be so the shifter doesn't hit it, etc. I would think a 1/4" x 1/4" piece would be ok. I might bump up the width if I can to make it more rigid.

I hadn't planned on gluing anything, so that shouldn't be an issue.

Yeah MDF is an option. I think I may have some too. I've worked with it pretty extensively for speaker box stuff. I've also used marine plywood for speaker spacers in my front doors. The plywood worked pretty damn well too.

I'll need to do some checking on materials and how much room I have.

[professor]

you will be making a wood ring if I understand correctly, which would be pretty weak where the wood grain goes across the thin section.

come to think of it, the easiest thing to use would be a fairly dense foam. super easy to carve and sand to exactly the shape you want, and it is pretty strong stuff. good art stores have it in blocks and sheets; it is often used to make architectural models.

here's a link to what I am talking about

http://www.generalplastics.com/products ... ba5d52b0c5

[professor]

I have a block of it sitting around, that may be big enough for you to use. What Length and width is that hole ? I'm pretty sure the piece I have is big enough, and its 2 inches thick, which I could rip down on the table saw to whatever thickness you want.

this foam is strong, you wouldn't want to get hit in the head with it, yet it saws easily and sands flawlessly.

[Legacy777]

Very interesting. How much give does it have in compression. That would be my main concern. I want it not to deflect/deform too much when I stuff it in the hole, so that it keeps pressure against the shift boot and trim piece.

What I may do is not cut out the back portion of the foam, since the trim piece extends further back then the shifter. That would help retain the rigidity.

I'll take some measurements this afternoon when I get home.

Thanks!

[Legacy777]

a 5"x8" sheet would be fine. I'm really not sure how thick I can go. Right where the shifter is, I might have to notch that area out so the shifter doesn't hit, but I would think 1" thick would probably be ok. I can always trim if need be.

[azn2nr]

MDF should work perfectly. i was thinking of glueing pices together but if you get a piece big enough to cut the center out thats good too.

the first time i mad a fill plate for my stero i tood a 3x12 piece of oak and cut a piece off just big enough and slowly sanded the edges down till a pice of fabic fit in around it and held the fabric taught.

eventualy i put a hole in it for my boost guage and painted it silver with heavy coats of high build primer

[professor]

I'll measure tonight to see if the chunk I have is 5x8, but I think so. If you want to give me exact exterior dimensions, I'll cut it to that size on the table saw. make sure it is truly rectangular if you want me to do that.

As for compression, you would not want to punch this block of foam. It would hurt you, and I don't even think you would make nuckle dents.

[Legacy777]

If you just cut a 5x8x1 chunk that'll be fine.

What do you want for the foam?

thanks again.

[professor]

nothing. I used it for prototyping some custom skateboard trucks, and haven't touched it in three years.

pm me the address and I'll send it tomorrow usps

[Legacy777]

pm sent