As a maker, I was confronted several times that I had to be able to temporarily fix movable pieces in certain circumstances.

I could use bolts and nuts but a better solution to this was by using knobs.

When I looked at what some knobs you can buy look like, I had the idea to make them myself out of wood.

I first tried to make the wooden knobs by hand, but soon found out that no 2 wooden knobs were the same.

So I had to find a way to make every knob look exactly the same.

That solution was to make a woodworking jig for making knobs.

How to make a wooden knob jig

A while ago I made a video where I showed how to make a wooden knob jig.
It is a jig with which you can quickly and easily make star knobs.

These can be used for larger applications.

As I keep making finer projects, where these knobs are too big in proportion to the rest of the project, I was looking for a way on how to make smaller wooden knobs.

These small wooden knobs can be made in a quick and easy way thanks to this woodworking jig, of which you can download free plans in this blog.

I will explain step by step how you can build this woodworking jig.
Soon you will be able to make these nice-looking small wooden knobs yourself.

Watch the video here

Building this jig step by step

Now that we have gone through the list of what we all need for this project, I will explain step by step how to make this wooden knob jig.

Let’s go!

Step 1 | Preparation

To start this project you can use free plans that you can download in this blog.

Stick this template on a piece of wood that is slightly larger than the lines on this template.

To firmly attach the template to the wood I used spray glue, very convenient to use, and also easy to remove once the project is finished.

Step 2 | Drilling the holes

Once the glue has dried out after a few minutes, you can drill out the holes.

The single circles can be drilled out with a drill with a diameter of 8 mm.
The double circles are where the stainless steel sleeves are inserted and these should be drilled out with a 10 mm drill bit.

Make sure the holes are drilled perpendicular.
Preferably use a drill press for this.

Step 3 | Cut out the woodworking jig

After drilling the holes you can cut the jig along the lines of the template.

I used my jig saw for this.

Step 4 | Sanding the jig

After sawing out the jig, you can refine the cuts by sanding.

I did this with my homemade drum sander.

Do you want to make this drum sander too? Then you can watch the video here where I show you how I made it.

Step 5 | Make the stainless steel sleeves

To prevent the drill holes of this jig from wearing out due to frequent use, it is best to use stainless steel sleeves.

These guide the drill as you make the wooden knobs and protect the jig.

The insides of the sleeves have to have a diameter of 8 mm as that is the size of the drill you will use when making the wooden knobs with this woodworking jig.

Measure the width of your jig and mark where you can cut the sleeves.
I made the sleeves 2 mm longer than the thickness of the wood.
By making them flush with the wood in one of the following steps, you get a nice and clean result.

To cut these I used my angle grinder with an adapted cutting disk.

In total you will need 7 sleeves for this jig.

Step 6 | Place the stainless steel sleeves

Before starting this step, ask yourself whether even the difference between the outside of the sleeves and the drill hole is not too great.

There should be a slight difference so that the sleeves are properly secured in the jig, but if the difference is too big the jig will split when you push the sleeves into it.

Before pressing the sleeves, hammer them lightly into the drill hole so that they assume the correct position.

After that, you can squeeze the sleeve into the jig.

For this, I used my vise.

Do not force the pressing and let the sleeve slide gently into the wood.

Periodically check that the sleeve is still perpendicular to the jig.

Step 7 | Align the stainless steel sleeves

By making the sleeves longer in the previous step you can now bring them back until they are flush with the wood.

For this I used my angle grinder with sanding disc, followed by sanding with my random orbit sander and P80 followed by P150 and P220.

Step 8| Finishing

All you need to do now to finish this woodworking jig is to insert the dowels into the 8 mm holes.

I finished the jig with linseed oil to protect the jig.

I always use the stain pad wood stain applicator to apply this oil.
A very handy wood stain applicator that distributes the oil evenly without dripping. I was surprised to find that this stain pad was so much more pleasant to work with than the regular cloth I used for it.

Highly recommended!

How to make wooden knobs quick and easy

This jig to make your own wooden knobs is very easy to operate.

Start by drilling an 8 mm hole into the wood.
This is your first center hole for your first wooden knob.

Once the first center hole is made, insert the center dowel of the jig into this drilled hole.

Now make a second center hole through the hole of the jig like you can see in the picture below.

Now move the jig so that all two dowels fit into the previously created holes. The jig locks itself in this way.

If you want to make even more wooden knobs, you can make a new center hole for each extra knob. In this way, you can move further and further.

Drill all the holes in the middle circle. These will be the edge of the wooden knobs and give you a better grip on the wooden knobs once they are finished.

If you want to make a knob of the first center hole, turn the jig 180 degrees and drill the holes that indicate the circumference of the knob.

Change the 8 mm drill bit with the 32 mm hole saw and drill out all the wooden knobs.

By putting a bolt through the wooden knobs and locking it with a nut, I was able to insert the knob into my drill press.

By turning the knob I could sand it smoothly in a very simple way by pushing the sandpaper against it.

Afterward, a little sanding by hand, and the wooden knobs are ready for use.

Making these wooden knobs without a center hole.

Would you rather make these wooden knobs without a center hole?
That’s possible!

In the first step where you drill a center hole, set the depth control of the drill press so that the drill does not go all the way through the wood.

To work quickly and easily, you can first drill all the center holes for the wooden knobs you need.

Once all the center holes have been drilled, you can reset the depth control so that the drill goes all the way back through the wood when you make the holes for the edge of the wooden knobs.

Also, don’t forget to remove the center drill bit in the hole saw when you drill the knobs.