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  • #1

    club building bug.

    hi all, I have just had a great couple of days. I have been wanting to try some club repair for some time.I was an aircraft engineer for 20 years so I love solving problems and miss getting my hands dirty. I tend to check out garage sales and other second hand goods outlets. If you know what you are looking for you can pick up some real bargains. I found a Retco (Australian company once very popular) 3 wood with an oversize titanium alloy head and steel shaft. I also found a small headed powerbilt driver with a graphite shaft ,spec's 3.5 Dynasty Plus by UST. Their estimated age 15 years. So I thought..what the hell, got on the net checked out all I could about club building and got into it. Removed the steel shaft, removed the graphite shaft,mated the retco alloy head to the UST shaft and put a new grip on it. The next day out to the range, and mate, that mongrel club went toe to toe with the latest Fuji shafted Cleaveland launcher 3 wood and in some cases beat it for length and accuracy. Ya couldá knocked me down with a feather. Total cost $15.
    For further info I had no pullers vice adapters or special tools except a heat gun ,air compressor and info from the net (like never twist a graphite shaft out of the head no matter how loose it feels) I did a dry run on that one using a broken shaft and totally mangled it. Any way I had a great time and I urge any body to give it a shot on any clubs you think are useless or outdated, you may happen to build something special as I have.

    See you around the second hand shops !

    golfshooter
    Last edited by golfshooter; 10-31-2010, 10:18 PM.
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  • #2
    Re: club building bug.

    That air compressor will go a long, long way!

    A few "sage" pieces of advice:

    Invest in (or build yourself) a good puller. I started with a screw type, and moved to a hydraulic. Since going hydraulic, I've never looked back - and if for some reason it dies, I'll buy another hydraulic. For steel shafts, the puller is a luxury. For graphite shafts, it's a necessity to avoid torsional pressure on the shaft tip.

    Use epoxy for clubmaking. Unless you never want to take the head off again. Hardware store epoxy has very high breakdown temperatures. What this means to you is that you have to scorch heads and destroy paint jobs before the epoxy lets go. Clubmaking epoxy is designed to break down at relatively low temps (450 degrees or so).

    Finally, I just want to say "welcome to the darkside." The more you learn about how to do a quality club build, the more you spend on tools. You have been warned.

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    • #3
      Re: club building bug.

      LOL welcome to the dark side indeed, I am already looking critically at the grip on my putter! I think you are dead right about the puller, I got lucky there. And thanks for the other tips, read and understood. I have posted this here hoping it might reach people who would never normally look at the building forum.

      Best regards, golfshooter
      Last edited by golfshooter; 10-31-2010, 10:12 PM.

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