I made a little progress at work on the shift knob today. I'm calling the latest one "Charlie" instead of V3 because of the way my CAD program works. Every time you save it calls the file V(n+1) so i had like "Shift knob V3 v2" saved and it was confusing me. So we're going phonetic alphabet now.
Anyways, I 3D printed Charlie at work today and it feels perfect. I'm a big fan of the flat topped egg shaped knob. It feels so natural.
I began making the actual knob out of aluminum. I love the light knob feel. I know that probably sounds weird but dont knock it till you try it. Aluminum is also easier to machine. I've also reduced the design to just 2 pieces instead of 3! and no welding required.
The hard part is making nice curves on the manual lathe. We dont have a CNC lathe at work. Theres methods to do this but I havent decided on a method yet.