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I am by no means a highly experienced clubmaker, but I am well read, and like to experiment and try new things.
I just thought I'd share a few things I've learned on my short journey thus far.
Regripping clubs with solvent and tape is like shovelling the driveway with a kids shovel. You can do it, but it's a lot of work. Using an air compressor (1/3 HP, 2 gallon tank) is like using a snowblower. Fast, clean, and almost fun. It's a little noisy though (while the tank recharges). Far and away the better method - well worth the investment in a compressor. Plus, no more airing up at the gas station.
A chop saw or wet tile saw is far superior to a hacksaw or pipe cutter. Sure, the hacksaw and pipe cutter are cheaper, but if you're doing a set of irons, it can start to get tiresome. When I get tired, I get sloppy. That's not so bad when it's your own sticks, but other people tend to mind when all their clubs end up the same length
There's a ton of science that can go into building a set of clubs. Swingweight or MOI matched sets play much nicer than those that aren't. Just ask Bobby Jones. His gear was run through modern tests as they became available. All his irons were within one point of the same swingweight, except his 8 iron. Bobby hated his 8 iron.
Spining and FLOing is the real deal. I'm finding that more shafts don't have a spine (or a very small one), but I get different stiffness readings based on spine position on a club. So it goes to reason that spine position heavily influences feel and will most likely influence performance.
If I was just going to 'throw a club together', I'd make a putter. Blade style, straight shaft. It would be tough to mess up a putter.
Building clubs to a set of numbers is a tough way to do it. Even in a basic shop, a lie board is indispensable.
One of those rulers with the hinged feet make cutting clubs to length a snap. It took me a while to clue in that lie angle will change club length. Arbitrarily cutting length from the club may work, but you're just as likely to have a ton of clubs close to the same length.
I just thought I'd share a few things I've learned on my short journey thus far.
Regripping clubs with solvent and tape is like shovelling the driveway with a kids shovel. You can do it, but it's a lot of work. Using an air compressor (1/3 HP, 2 gallon tank) is like using a snowblower. Fast, clean, and almost fun. It's a little noisy though (while the tank recharges). Far and away the better method - well worth the investment in a compressor. Plus, no more airing up at the gas station.
A chop saw or wet tile saw is far superior to a hacksaw or pipe cutter. Sure, the hacksaw and pipe cutter are cheaper, but if you're doing a set of irons, it can start to get tiresome. When I get tired, I get sloppy. That's not so bad when it's your own sticks, but other people tend to mind when all their clubs end up the same length
There's a ton of science that can go into building a set of clubs. Swingweight or MOI matched sets play much nicer than those that aren't. Just ask Bobby Jones. His gear was run through modern tests as they became available. All his irons were within one point of the same swingweight, except his 8 iron. Bobby hated his 8 iron.
Spining and FLOing is the real deal. I'm finding that more shafts don't have a spine (or a very small one), but I get different stiffness readings based on spine position on a club. So it goes to reason that spine position heavily influences feel and will most likely influence performance.
If I was just going to 'throw a club together', I'd make a putter. Blade style, straight shaft. It would be tough to mess up a putter.
Building clubs to a set of numbers is a tough way to do it. Even in a basic shop, a lie board is indispensable.
One of those rulers with the hinged feet make cutting clubs to length a snap. It took me a while to clue in that lie angle will change club length. Arbitrarily cutting length from the club may work, but you're just as likely to have a ton of clubs close to the same length.