For some time I've been looking for a black thumb screw for my tripod mount straps at gordy's camera straps. I finally found a great solution: Shear-Loc knobs. They are pressed on to a socket head cap screw and make a strong, reasonable cost, effective thumb screw. The best way to press it on is with an arbor press.

I love the look of machine shop tools. I bought this one at Grizzly Industrial. It's a small 1/2 ton arbor press. It's designed to apply a stong force in one direction. I made the little plate with the hole in it to hold the socket head cap screw in the right place while pressing on the Shear-Loc knob. More pictures at Some assembly required.

The final product with the knob and socket head cap screw joined. This strap making business keeps getting bigger and more complicated. I've started training a friend to do straps so that I can offload some. Sales keep going up and I have to do something or you will never see me here again! Don't misunderstand me, this is a good problem to have. Most businesses I know of are not doing well while my strap business is booming. I still have three new product lines I'm developing. One should be going up next week. Stay tuned.