Building Clubs

[GunnerMan]

Well I had a friend make me some XPC woods 5-1, Rough Rider heads, XPC Bubble shaft, WINN Grips. I love them, they feel great, and I hit them well. Now the thing is he is very hard to get him to build clubs and I want a 7 and a 9 wood. So I want these clubs before the golfing season is over so I figured I would go to Golf Smith buy the parts and do it myself. One problem: Ive never done it before. Should I undergo the task and if so what will I need? I am guessing I would need some kind of hacksaw to cut the shaft to size and epoxy to glue the head on. How hard is it to find the proper shaft length and assemble a club? I figured both clubs would cost me 100$ USD to buy and ship.

Thanks a Bunch,
Gunner

[Slingblade61]

While you're there, shell out anothr $99 and get their starter clubmaking kit.

It has EVERYTHING you need.

Soft grip to wrap around the shaft for clamping in a vice.
Shaft Ruler
Swing weight scale
Epoxy
grip solvent
grip tape
sandpaper
Instruction booklet
and more.

It's worth ever single penny

I build 2 sets of irons this year using this kit....except I got some real good 5 minute epoxy instead of the shafting stuff that came with the kit.....I hate to wait.

[Farquod]

Originally Posted by GunnerMan

Well I had a friend make me some XPC woods 5-1, Rough Rider heads, XPC Bubble shaft, WINN Grips. I love them, they feel great, and I hit them well. Now the thing is he is very hard to get him to build clubs and I want a 7 and a 9 wood. So I want these clubs before the golfing season is over so I figured I would go to Golf Smith buy the parts and do it myself. One problem: Ive never done it before. Should I undergo the task and if so what will I need? I am guessing I would need some kind of hacksaw to cut the shaft to size and epoxy to glue the head on. How hard is it to find the proper shaft length and assemble a club? I figured both clubs would cost me 100$ USD to buy and ship.

Thanks a Bunch,
Gunner

Loop had a really good post on this, you should look it up.

Also, Golfsmith has a clubmaking book, "The Basics of Clubmaking" which you should order along with all the stuff. It has a pretty good step-by-step on how to proceed.

You will need some tools, tho, depending on what your workshop already has. A look around the Golfsmith website will also give you a good idea of what's necessary. For example, a standard pipe cutter works fine for cutting steel shafts, but is worthless for graphite. You'll need a grit-edge blade for your hacksaw for that. Glue, grip tape (3" is easiest), acetone nail polish remover, grip solvent, a rubber shaft-holder for your vise (vice?), some 200 and 600 grit sandpaper or emery, and it's usually a good idea to have something to rough up the inside of the club hosel; if you have a dremel tool, there're lots of sanding bits that do fine for this. A retractable measuring tape works great for measuring club/shaft length. If you're not buying a kit, don't forget to get ferrules!

It's really pretty easy if you are at all mechanically inclined. Just be sure to get that clubmaking guide.

Good luck and have fun.

[Slingblade61]

That is the book that is included in the kit I mentioned........I had forgotten about acetone. You need this like you need air to breath. Use it to clean up the excess epoxy from around the ferrule.

[GunnerMan]

Wow, seems theres a lot more to it then I thought. Maybe I will give it a try, would not be bad because then I could do my irons too. Thanks for the help and I will def get the kit and book if I do pursue this so I am not trying to run to the *shudder* Home Depot to get the stuff.

[bdcrowe]

Originally Posted by Slingblade61

That is the book that is included in the kit I mentioned........I had forgotten about acetone. You need this like you need air to breath. Use it to clean up the excess epoxy from around the ferrule.

You've been breathing acetone eh? Now things make sense...