Over-hosel putter shaft?

[David Hillman]

Working a new project... I realized recently that with the sentimental value of my 3rd-generation-in-the-family 50-odd-year-old putter, there's no way I would ever trust it to an airline baggage handler. Everything else in my bag is replacable, but not the putter. So I needed a traveling putter, since we are probably going to fly-and-golf somewhere this year.

Some of you may have heard this story before, because I posted it previously, but the old putter has no identifying marks and I have no idea who made it. That made finding a second head even harder than it otherwise would've been with a 50-year-old club. So I picked this up for real cheap, it's not a match, but it's similar, and actually quite nice. The face has milling that doesn't show in the pictures.

vintage Old School 8802 style putter head - eBay (item 150319793933 end time Jan-09-09 19:34:26 PST)

It's an over-hosel design, and now I need to find a shaft. I have a half-dozen Rifle iron shafts (.370 and .355 ) laying around, but they don't fit it. The OD of the hosel tip is .365.

The shafts I have are 42" long. I'll be trimming ~10" off them eventually, so can I take all that off the bottom, and get to a point that's large enough to fit over the hosel tip? Basically, how high up do I have to trim to get to a ~.370 ID on a .370 OD shaft?

Or if that's not going to work, what do I need, a flared tip shaft like this?

True Temper Golf Shafts: Flared Bell Tip Putter Shaft

If so, is there such a thing as a stepless flared tip shaft?

Thanks.

 

[David Hillman]

Answering my own question, since no one else seemed to know, and maybe this will turn up in someone's search results someday...

Even if you tip a 42" .370 shaft 10+ inches, like I just did, to make a 34" putter, you won't get to a point where the ID approaches the necessary size to fit over a .365 OD hosel.

However, if you take a grinding wheel to that hosel for a minute, and shave it down a bit, the trimmed shaft will slide over. That's what I did, and it's curing now. If you don't already have a shaft laying around, like I did, it's certainly easier just to buy the right shaft.

 

[Rockford35]

David,

Sorry i missed this thread. I would have advised you to ream the hosel as you have done. :thumbs up:

Cheers,

R35

 

[David Hillman]

Thanks Rock.

It's finished. I'm not sure exactly what I was thinking when I bought the grip, it's actually shinier in-person than the photos show. Oh yeah, it was $7 for a pair on eBay, that's what I was thinking. No idea what I'll do with the other one.

I apparently have a thing for shiny chromed-out clubs... this is the second in a row I've built.