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Old 05-24-2012, 01:12 AM   #1
jiggerjosh
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Default Any interest in Bamboo Shift Knobs & e-brake handles (pictures inside)

I posted this over one bimmerforums earlier, mostly due to it being a larger forum. Hoping from some more probably in depth feedback on this forum. Since I have a 318ti when and if I make these I'll see what I can do about a group buy. Thanks for looking/commenting:

Hey everyone, I just wanted to see what everyone thought of this idea. I have been working on this project the last couple of days and was wondering if there was any interest in it. The best part is all the knobs will be made from "eco-freindly" bamboo which is a very renewable resource and makes it quite reasonably priced. I have some connections in the bamboo industry and I thought this would be a neat place to start. Both the shifter knob and e-brake boot will be direct fit meaning no set screw or adapters. They will be made specifically for each vehicle. The ones below are for e36 fitment, but should fit some other models. Price should be somewhere around $35-40 for the knob and $30.00 for the handle. This is just an educated guess though. There darker ones are Tigris bamboo which have a very nice weight to them, about as much as steel. Here are the renderings, please let me know what you think. If you have any requests let me know!













The more positive feedback i receive the sooner i can get the ball rolling
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Old 05-24-2012, 02:26 AM   #2
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Pretty cool for sure. If they have a similar weight to the ZHP knob I'd be interested.
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Old 05-24-2012, 02:34 AM   #3
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yeah, those are pretty nice, I'm in the need for an upgrade soon, my shift knob pulls off easy. pretty attractive price also ;-)
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Old 05-24-2012, 04:07 AM   #4
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Might as well make hvac knobs while you're at it
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Old 05-24-2012, 05:08 AM   #5
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I'm not really a fan of wood stuff, but I can see how a lot of people might like these. Interesting idea!
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Old 05-24-2012, 05:49 AM   #6
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When I saw the title of the thread I was not too excited. But after seeing these....They are pretty nice!..What might be cool is to recess the top to fit an established emblem which you could link to/or distribute. I don't know if the trademark issue would come up, but very cool. JMHO....
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Old 05-24-2012, 09:15 PM   #7
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Beautiful craftsmanship.
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Old 05-24-2012, 09:22 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GrandpaTuner View Post
When I saw the title of the thread I was not too excited. But after seeing these....They are pretty nice!..What might be cool is to recess the top to fit an established emblem which you could link to/or distribute. I don't know if the trademark issue would come up, but very cool. JMHO....
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Old 05-26-2012, 04:47 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by spidertri View Post
Pretty cool for sure. If they have a similar weight to the ZHP knob I'd be interested.
The bottom two are very dense and should weigh approx. the same, the other two are going to be lighter weight

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Originally Posted by Mr.Squeelerz View Post
Might as well make hvac knobs while you're at it
That is not a bad idea!

Quote:
Originally Posted by GrandpaTuner View Post
When I saw the title of the thread I was not too excited. But after seeing these....They are pretty nice!..What might be cool is to recess the top to fit an established emblem which you could link to/or distribute. I don't know if the trademark issue would come up, but very cool. JMHO....
Thank you, I was actually going to render one of those later, instead of having a metal emblem on top, I was thinking laser engraving a BMW logo.

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Beautiful craftsmanship.
They are computer generated model, but represent closely what the real thing will look like. I guess I'm doing something right then.

Thank you everyone else for your comments. Here is a couple more I did as per requests. More soon to come.



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Old 05-26-2012, 07:22 AM   #10
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more:



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Old 05-26-2012, 12:22 PM   #11
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So far the black with bamboo is one of my favs. Have you considered doing stereo surrounds as well?
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Old 05-26-2012, 05:46 PM   #12
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Can you do anything for us autotragic guys. I do like the black with bamboo
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Old 05-26-2012, 06:11 PM   #13
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+1 for automatics, and +1 on the black bamboo.
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Old 05-27-2012, 12:11 AM   #14
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I really like the bottom two-tone bamboo from your first post, sounds perfect if it is weighty too.
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Old 05-27-2012, 02:14 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bobtail_Bimmer View Post
So far the black with bamboo is one of my favs. Have you considered doing stereo surrounds as well?
Do you mean the part the part that goes around the Havac controls also? I would really only be able to do some kind of cover plate as the oem plastic has clips on the back, which would break if they were made of bamboo.

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Can you do anything for us autotragic guys. I do like the black with bamboo
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+1 for automatics, and +1 on the black bamboo.
So I did some research on my own vehicles and it seems that I will be able to make some for you guys. The only thing is there will be no button to push in when you go from park to reverse/drive. You still have to push the brake pedal in to move it out of park like normal. In essence any of the knobs you see here, I will be able to make it fit the auto trans. The difference is the length of the selector rod. The auto trans rod is much shorter than the manual. Since The inserts that hold the shifter in place are going to be made out of plastic i can make them any length I want. I will run a small batch from a rapid protype machine to get fitment proper. So you guys are interested in the black?

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I really like the bottom two-tone bamboo from your first post, sounds perfect if it is weighty too.
Yes, that is actually called Tigris bamboo, because the grain represents the fur of a tiger. It is quite new to the market, well at least in the states. They do all sorts of stuff with it in China. It is very heavy for what it is. I will get some exact weights once i get some samples.
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