Just Dip It.

Last year I purchased replacement knobs for my Excalibur and DeWalt scroll saws. I have never liked the thumbscrews that come with those saws. I have tried several different options, some with better results than others. I thought I would like these round knobs that I purchased from Seyco.com. They are fairly expensive and to be honest they were not comfortable at all. I never ended up using them.

I decided to try to make them better. I think I did. Here is how I improved them.

Plastic Dip made by Performix is a product used to dip tool handles in. It comes in dip and spray forms. I bought some of both. You can also choose the color you want. For this project I will use the dip.

I covered the the threads with blue painters tape. Leave a little extra tape on the end.

I used a 10 inch piece of wire and pushed it through the extra tape at the end of the threads.

Now I had a nice handle to use to dip the knob. The Plastic Dip is thick enough that I was able to dip the knob just deep enough to cover the outside and not fill the inside of the knob with plastic.

Let the Plastic Dip dry 1/2 hour between dips. I dipped mine four times to build up the thickness I wanted. When you pull the knob out of the can it tends to leave a nipple. I didn't want this so I would turn it over for a few seconds to let it flow even. After 3 hours it had cured enough that I gave it a try.

I cut a complete project using the improved knob. Not only did it feel great it looks like the durability is going to be fine. It now has a nice rubber feel and improves the grip. If you have trouble with sore fingers from arthritis or other issues this might help. I'll let you know in a few weeks how well the plastic holds up. I'm not sure it matters too much because it will be easy to re-dip if it wears out.  

These knobs work on both my Excalibur and DeWalt saw. These knobs are available from Seyco.com for $29.95.  I purchased the Plastic Dip from Amazon.com for $8.