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Core Tools for Getting Started in Clubmaking


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Guys,

 

I'm thinking about getting into clubmaking. From assembling clubs, regripping, reshafting, adjusting lie and loft. The works. I really enjoy making things by hand and I take pride in doing it. What clubmaking specific tools should be on my short list to get up and running quickly?

 

Also, where do you get your club heads? I've looked at GolfWorks and think its a good place to start, but do you have any others?

 

All help is appreciated.

dmarshal17

 

09 TaylorMade Burner Driver 9.5 deg

Adams RPM 3 Wood

09 TaylorMade Rescue #3 19 deg

Callaway X22 irons (3-PW)

Callaway X12 Sand Wedge

Titelist Vokey Wedge (58 deg)

Odyssey White Hot XG#5 Center Shafted

 

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Golfsmith and golfworks both have all the stuff to get started. Golfsmith friends and family sale that they have twice yearly is a good time to pick up items for significantly cheaper. Getting started will depend on what your budget is. Below is a link to some of the starter kits. You can see the items you will need. Some are definitely needed and others make things much more simpler.

 

http://www.golfworks.com/category.asp_Q_pc_E_4_A_c_E_47_A_c2c_E_ln

 

http://www.golfsmith.com/products/RTK08/Golfsmith/Reshafting_Tool_Kit

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The starter kits are a solid idea, but for an absolute beginer I'd say start with a good vise. As you get a little deeper into you it, think about a shaft puller,and some sort of benchmount belt sander. If you get really serious about clubmaking you'll be looking to add things like bending machines, and flex/frequency analyzers. The line between club repair and clubmaking is not a fine one. Building a near perfect set of clubs is infinitely more complex that a head, a shaft, a grip, and a little epoxy. It takes years to learn and a lifetime to master.

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The starter kits are a solid idea, but for an absolute beginer I'd say start with a good vice. As you get a little deeper into you it, think about a shaft puller,and some sort of benchmount belt sander. If you get really serious about clubmaking you'll be looking to add things like bending machines, and flex/frequency analyzers. The line between club repair and clubmaking is not a fine one. Building a near perfect set of clubs is infinitely more complex that a head, a shaft, a grip, and a little epoxy. It takes years to learn and a lifetime to master.

A good start is taking a class at golfsmith... ore one of the oder schools nears by ...

greetings

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One thought would be an air compressor w/grip tool. I've been doing my own grips for a few years and am really tired of peeling grip tape and splashing grip fluid everywhere, so I'm switching to blowing grips on and off. I'll update this when I get the tool in and give it a run through with my start of season regripping.

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I certainly want to go to several classes, for sure. I also have a few older clubs laying around I can "practice" with, so that's not a problem.

 

As for NEW items (club heads, etc), I've looked at GolfSmith and GolfWorks, but are there any other OEMs out there to look at?

dmarshal17

 

09 TaylorMade Burner Driver 9.5 deg

Adams RPM 3 Wood

09 TaylorMade Rescue #3 19 deg

Callaway X22 irons (3-PW)

Callaway X12 Sand Wedge

Titelist Vokey Wedge (58 deg)

Odyssey White Hot XG#5 Center Shafted

 

Hey, I'm on Twitter!

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Depends on what your goals are.

 

If you just want a very small business, then you are better off getting less expensive equipment and tools.

 

If you want to be a top notch fitter/clubmaker and operate the business yourself, then you will need to find equipment that is very precise and allows you to do things quicker and more efficiently.

 

I've been thinking about this as well for my possible future. I would start off with a good lie/loft bending machine, a vice, a heat gun, a shaft puller, and a swingweight scale.

 

One thing I'm particular about is shaft frequency. I'm not sure what you can do about a shaft that is nowhere near the frequency it's supposed to be, but I like to know what all of the specs are.

 

 

 

 

3JACK

Author of Pro Golf Synopsis. The Moneyball approach to golf strategy and analysis.Driver: Wishon 919THI, 10° loft, UST Mamiya VTS Red 7x, 44-3/8” long, 2,825 kg/cm^2 MOIGONZO WOOD: confidential2-Hybrid: Mizuno Fli-HiCLK, 17° loft, 40-7/8" KBS Tour Hybrid shaft (stiff)3-Hybrid: Mizuno Fli-HiCLK, 20° loft, 40" KBS Tour Hybrid shaft (stiff)4-6 iron: Wishon 575MMC (CB)7-PW: Wishon 575MMC (MB)SW: Edel Golf driver grind, 52° loft, 16° bounce, Nippon WV 125 shaft.LW: Edel Golf Digger Grind, 60° loft, 27° bounce, Nippon WV 125 ShaftPutter: Edel Golf Columbia Custom Made, 35" long, 72° lie angle, 3° loft. Ball: Titleist Pro V1xGrips: PURE Grips P2 Wrap (red)Shoes: FootJoy Dry-Joy (black, size 14)3Jack's Golf Blog - http://3jack.blogspot.com

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Golfsmith and golfworks both have all the stuff to get started. Golfsmith friends and family sale that they have twice yearly is a good time to pick up items for significantly cheaper. Getting started will depend on what your budget is. Below is a link to some of the starter kits. You can see the items you will need. Some are definitely needed and others make things much more simpler.

 

http://www.golfworks.com/category.asp_Q_pc_E_4_A_c_E_47_A_c2c_E_ln

 

http://www.golfsmith.com/products/RTK08/Golfsmith/Reshafting_Tool_Kit

 

Im trying to remember... when are their Friends and Family sales?

Callaway FT-9 Driver 10.5* Grafalloy Prolaunch Axis Blue

Callaway FT-9 Driver 9.0* Grafalloy Prolaunch Platinum

Cobra Baffler Rail F Fairway 15.5* Fujikura Motore

Wilson FYbrid 19* UST Proforce AXIV Core

Cobra Baffler Rail H Hybrid 22* Fujikura Motore

Ping I15 Irons 5-UW AWT

Ping Tour-W 56*,60* DG Spinner

Ping Redwood ZB Putter, WRX Starshot, 35"

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The starter kits are a solid idea, but for an absolute beginer I'd say start with a good vice. As you get a little deeper into you it, think about a shaft puller,and some sort of benchmount belt sander. If you get really serious about clubmaking you'll be looking to add things like bending machines, and flex/frequency analyzers. The line between club repair and clubmaking is not a fine one. Building a near perfect set of clubs is infinitely more complex that a head, a shaft, a grip, and a little epoxy. It takes years to learn and a lifetime to master.

 

Is there a particular vice or type of vice you'd recommend?

Callaway FT-9 Driver 10.5* Grafalloy Prolaunch Axis Blue

Callaway FT-9 Driver 9.0* Grafalloy Prolaunch Platinum

Cobra Baffler Rail F Fairway 15.5* Fujikura Motore

Wilson FYbrid 19* UST Proforce AXIV Core

Cobra Baffler Rail H Hybrid 22* Fujikura Motore

Ping I15 Irons 5-UW AWT

Ping Tour-W 56*,60* DG Spinner

Ping Redwood ZB Putter, WRX Starshot, 35"

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Is there a particular vice or type of vice you'd recommend?

 

Just your average run of the mill benchtop vise from Sears or Home Depot should work fine. When you mount it, make sure you leave yourself enough room to work from multiple angles. A regripping set will come with a shaft clamp for use in a vise. Many fullblown regripping stations, as well as other tools (spinefinders, measuring tools, etc.) are also designed for use in a benchtop vise.

 

As you progress a bit more and find yourself doing things like pulling broken shafts, or drilling stubborn epoxy out of a clubhead, the vise will prove itself as a remarkably versatile (and necessary tool).

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Im trying to remember... when are their Friends and Family sales?

June-ish and a second in the winter. No sale this winter yet as far as I know though...

Volvo Intorqueo

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What equipment you get will depend on how involved you intend to get and what your budget is. I've built up to what is pretty much a full service shop in garage. If you are going to get real involved and do high quality work you will need to get a good loft/lie machine (I have a true blue unit), frequency machine, and 42 inch belt sander just to name a few. If you want to do a little work here and there on your own clubs you can get by with much less. I would recommend getting some of the basics and start trying things out to see if it is really something you want to get involved with.

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I posed this question to our resident clubbuilder/repair specialist, and his recommendation was

1. Bench Vise

2. Box Knife

3. Swing Weight Scale

4. Yard Stick

5. Saw

Driver - Ping G430 Max 9° | Ventus Blue TR 
Hybrid - :srixon-small: ZX 16° & 18° | GD Tour IZ S

2 Iron - :srixon-small: ZU65 17° | AeroTech SteelFiber 110icw S

Irons -  :srixon-small: ZX7 MKII  4-Pw | TTDGTI S400, std length  1° flat
Wedges - :cleveland-small: RTX 6 Tour Rack 50° 54° 58° | TTDGTI S400, std length 1° flat

Putter -  L.A.B. Golf Link.1 | LA Golf P135 shaft | Garsen Quad Tour grip
 

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Guys,

 

I'm thinking about getting into clubmaking. From assembling clubs, regripping, reshafting, adjusting lie and loft. The works. I really enjoy making things by hand and I take pride in doing it. What clubmaking specific tools should be on my short list to get up and running quickly?

 

Also, where do you get your club heads? I've looked at GolfWorks and think its a good place to start, but do you have any others?

 

All help is appreciated.

 

If you want to get the basic tools to get you started, and want to keep the budget ultra low, then I recommend the following...many of these items you may have around the house:

 

Vise

Vise clamp

club making epoxy

sandpaper/emery board

Tape measure

masking tape

Lamp oil

pipe cutter

granulated sugar

rubber mallet

lint free cloth (like gun cleaning cloths)

WD-40 (or similar silicone spray)

 

If you want to spend a bit more and make your experiment a bit easier, then buy:

 

Dremel tool

chop saw

gram scale

 

Bear in mind with these "tools" it will provide you all the shop tools you'll need to get started to do a few clubs at a time....nothing special...but will be a low cost way for you to decide if you want to move on or not.

 

 

Good luck!

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Just your average run of the mill benchtop vise from Sears or Home Depot should work fine. When you mount it, make sure you leave yourself enough room to work from multiple angles. A regripping set will come with a shaft clamp for use in a vise. Many fullblown regripping stations, as well as other tools (spinefinders, measuring tools, etc.) are also designed for use in a benchtop vise.

 

As you progress a bit more and find yourself doing things like pulling broken shafts, or drilling stubborn epoxy out of a clubhead, the vise will prove itself as a remarkably versatile (and necessary tool).

 

Thanks for the reply. That was very helpful.

Callaway FT-9 Driver 10.5* Grafalloy Prolaunch Axis Blue

Callaway FT-9 Driver 9.0* Grafalloy Prolaunch Platinum

Cobra Baffler Rail F Fairway 15.5* Fujikura Motore

Wilson FYbrid 19* UST Proforce AXIV Core

Cobra Baffler Rail H Hybrid 22* Fujikura Motore

Ping I15 Irons 5-UW AWT

Ping Tour-W 56*,60* DG Spinner

Ping Redwood ZB Putter, WRX Starshot, 35"

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If you want to get the basic tools to get you started, and want to keep the budget ultra low, then I recommend the following...many of these items you may have around the house:

 

Vise

Vise clamp

club making epoxy

sandpaper/emery board

Tape measure

masking tape

Lamp oil

pipe cutter

granulated sugar

rubber mallet

lint free cloth (like gun cleaning cloths)

WD-40 (or similar silicone spray)

 

If you want to spend a bit more and make your experiment a bit easier, then buy:

 

Dremel tool

chop saw

gram scale

 

Bear in mind with these "tools" it will provide you all the shop tools you'll need to get started to do a few clubs at a time....nothing special...but will be a low cost way for you to decide if you want to move on or not.

 

 

Good luck!

 

Ok, you've got to explain what the lamp oil and sugar are used for. I'm pretty ignorant when it comes to this stuff, but I recognized the utility for everything on that list except for those two. LOL.

Callaway FT-9 Driver 10.5* Grafalloy Prolaunch Axis Blue

Callaway FT-9 Driver 9.0* Grafalloy Prolaunch Platinum

Cobra Baffler Rail F Fairway 15.5* Fujikura Motore

Wilson FYbrid 19* UST Proforce AXIV Core

Cobra Baffler Rail H Hybrid 22* Fujikura Motore

Ping I15 Irons 5-UW AWT

Ping Tour-W 56*,60* DG Spinner

Ping Redwood ZB Putter, WRX Starshot, 35"

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Ok, you've got to explain what the lamp oil and sugar are used for. I'm pretty ignorant when it comes to this stuff, but I recognized the utility for everything on that list except for those two. LOL.

Please tell me what the sugar is for... I'm guessing shaft centering...

Driver - Ping G430 Max 9° | Ventus Blue TR 
Hybrid - :srixon-small: ZX 16° & 18° | GD Tour IZ S

2 Iron - :srixon-small: ZU65 17° | AeroTech SteelFiber 110icw S

Irons -  :srixon-small: ZX7 MKII  4-Pw | TTDGTI S400, std length  1° flat
Wedges - :cleveland-small: RTX 6 Tour Rack 50° 54° 58° | TTDGTI S400, std length 1° flat

Putter -  L.A.B. Golf Link.1 | LA Golf P135 shaft | Garsen Quad Tour grip
 

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I think Indacup has left us. I will try to do some research on it and report back.

Callaway FT-9 Driver 10.5* Grafalloy Prolaunch Axis Blue

Callaway FT-9 Driver 9.0* Grafalloy Prolaunch Platinum

Cobra Baffler Rail F Fairway 15.5* Fujikura Motore

Wilson FYbrid 19* UST Proforce AXIV Core

Cobra Baffler Rail H Hybrid 22* Fujikura Motore

Ping I15 Irons 5-UW AWT

Ping Tour-W 56*,60* DG Spinner

Ping Redwood ZB Putter, WRX Starshot, 35"

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If I were in a hurry and needed to fit a .335 shaft into a .350 hosel I might actually raid the kitchen for the granulated sugar and mix it with the epoxy. :lol: ;) However, I think talcum powder makes for a better filler. I'd be afraid the sugar would melt away in the next rainy day golf session. :lol:

 

 

Shambles

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  • 1 month later...

I certainly want to go to several classes, for sure. I also have a few older clubs laying around I can "practice" with, so that's not a problem.

 

As for NEW items (club heads, etc), I've looked at GolfSmith and GolfWorks, but are there any other OEMs out there to look at?

 

 

The only other component brand I trust* other than those you mentioned is Hireko. They're prices are a little lower and they have a better lefty selection. Their Dynacraft slot-back blades got high reviews from this website. I personally game their Acer XK line: driver, 3 wood and hybrid; XK Standard 4 and 5 irons; XK Pro 6-PW and XB wedges. I really like them.

 

* Tom Wishon Technologies makes components, but you have to "join the club" to be able to receive catalogs or order from them. If you're super-serious (or just curious), you could check these guys out. However, you can build some high-quality, well-performing clubs from Golfworks, Golfsmith and Hireko.

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I'm lucky enough to have a big lockable shed that my wife isn't interested going in. I am purely a hobbist and this is what i have so far.

 

5m x 5m Lockable shed with concrete slab and appropriate lighting and Power - effectively the MAN SHED

Compressor and regripping attachment

Shaft trimming and assembly equipment

Shaft puller, similar to the JB puller

Swing Weight Scale

Frequency machine including tipweight with built in laser (for FLOing)

Spining Tool

Shaft gauge

Club length ruler

Heat Gun

Bench Grinder

Good cordless drill (pref 18V) + good drill bits in correct sizes

Vice

Shaft clamp

Peg Board

 

Still a couple of things in the list I'd like to pickup including a L/L machine but they will come in time.

 

Chappy

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Find a good vice with a nice anvil section, you'll thank me later for that when you start stamping. Get a good set of jaw pads for it.

 

Another essential, if you plan on doing tape and solvent grips, is a grip station.

 

Want quality? Get yourself a Mitchell catalog and go nuts. Want cheaper stuff, golfsmith is your way to go. Golfworks is between the two, and sell Mitchell equipment as well, just cheaper to order from the manufacturer.

 

I'd also recommend, if you plan on doing sole grinds, etc, buying a JET grinder. You'll save money in the long run because you'll find that the cheaper rock grinders are a waste of time and money. Get the JET with the polishing wheel on one side and the grinding belt on the other. It's around $350 and worth every penny.

 

Those were the first items I bought for my home equipment station.

In The Bag
Driver: TaylorMade M2 (2017) w/ Project X T1100 HZRDUS Handcrafted 65x 
Strong 3 wood: Taylormade M1 15* w/ ProjectX T1100 HZRDUS handcrafted 75x
3 Hybrid: Adams PRO 18* w/ KBS Tour Hybrid S flex tipped 1/2"
4 Hybrid: Adams PRO 20* (bent to 21*) w/ KBS Tour Hybrid S flex tipped 1/2"
4-AW: TaylorMade P770 w/ Dynamic Gold Tour Issue Black Onyx S400

SW: 56* Scratch Tour Dept(CC grooves) w/ Dynamic Gold Spinner
LW: 60* Scratch Tour Department (CC grooves) w/ Dynamic Gold Spinner
XW: 64* Cally XForged Vintage w/ DG X100 8 iron tiger stepped
Putter: Nike Method Prototype 006 at 34"

Have a ton of back-ups in all categories, but there are always 14 clubs in the bag that differ depending on the course and set-up. Bomb and gouge. Yes, I'm a club gigolo.

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I'm lucky enough to have a big lockable shed that my wife isn't interested going in. I am purely a hobbist and this is what i have so far.

 

 

Shaft puller, similar to the JB puller

 

 

Ahh... the "Fortress of Solitude"... If I were to put a TV in mine, I might never come out! :lol:

 

 

What type of puller did you get, Chappy? I'm in the market for one, and you've piqued my curiosity.

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