Handmade Putter - My first attempt

[finchi5]

Decided to have a go at making my own putter on my mini mill. Its been quite time consuming as I can only take very fine cuts on each pass and its a manual mill but here it is so far. I have started with a billet of mild steel that I cut in half so I can have a go at two putters.

 

Going for a simple anser style, managed to get hold of a stainless steel plumbers neck from diamond golf uk that should do the job.

The neck is a bit crude but I will square everything off and mill any sides that need it.

 

Eventually, I will take more material off the heel and toe sections as they are currently too long. Face, sole and pocket need to me milled as well.

 

Finish will be satin hot black oxide to contrast with the stainless plumbers neck.

 

Don't know how long this will take me but Ive enjoyed doing it so far....fingers crossed it will roll ok. Not worked things out on CAD its just simply measuring with calipers, and shaping by eye to see what suits.

 

Wish me luck!!!

[tommyrobson]

good start!!

[dale4ace]

looks awesome! definitely gonna be following this thread for sure

[rvgolfer]

All that really counts is that you are enjoying making the putter.

[golfluvzme]

Looks good, Finchi. I can totally relate to what you went through on that mini mill, LOL. The fun part will be when you DO have access to a Bridgeport or equivalent and you get to see just how much metal you can move with the big boy mills. I was blown away when that happened for me. Being a carpenter for 26 years, I had no idea what to expect. When I started working on the full size mill and took my first cut of 0.100" across a slab of 1018, I was as nervous as could be. Now, I still catch myself being timid and the owner of the shop just laughs. In fact, I had to ask today about milling some aluminum bronze and what he thought I could cut, per pass. I was cutting about 1/2 what he said was easily possible and at a much slower feed than what he set when he stopped and checked it out.
No matter how long we do this crazy stuff, we NEVER stop learning and we NEVER reach the "I know all there is", point.
Enjoy the journey and keep the pictures coming.
LaMont in AZ

[Stu-Co]

Very nice! What kind of mini mill are you using?

[CarlSpackler910D3]

In for more pictures...looks good so far

[finchi5]

[quote name='golfluvzme' timestamp='1349395074' post='5752159']
Looks good, Finchi. I can totally relate to what you went through on that mini mill, LOL. The fun part will be when you DO have access to a Bridgeport or equivalent and you get to see just how much metal you can move with the big boy mills. I was blown away when that happened for me. Being a carpenter for 26 years, I had no idea what to expect. When I started working on the full size mill and took my first cut of 0.100" across a slab of 1018, I was as nervous as could be. Now, I still catch myself being timid and the owner of the shop just laughs. In fact, I had to ask today about milling some aluminum bronze and what he thought I could cut, per pass. I was cutting about 1/2 what he said was easily possible and at a much slower feed than what he set when he stopped and checked it out.
No matter how long we do this crazy stuff, we NEVER stop learning and we NEVER reach the "I know all there is", point.
Enjoy the journey and keep the pictures coming.
LaMont in AZ
[/quote]

Thanks LaMont,
Its always good to hear from you, after all you are my Obi Wan!! My mill is a Modified Seig X1L....The previous owner converted it to belt drive as the cheap plastic gearing is shocking in these and lasts about 5 minutes!! The mill only cost me £150 plus I would say another £100 for tacho, a few guages and parallels, end mills, and indexable cutter.
Usually use it for face milling and only taking fine cuts. Would love a bridgeport or similar but would have to raise the roof on my garage for one of those to fit!! Plus I would have to reinforce the floor!! Maybe one day though when i've got a couple of grand going spare.

Just started to mark it out and plan where the next cuts are going to be. I will keep you posted with pics as I go along though I promise

Still got aboout 6 bullseyes to work on at the mo, so time is gonna have to be split for this

[alogozzo]

nice start

[smellysell]

Interested to see the progress on this!

[bouche03]

Any updates on this yet?

[finchi5]

Been a little busy with work..prepping for Christmas rush or the silly season as we call it. Hopefully I will be in the workshop on saturday and I promise to take some pics.

[lunny]

Looks great keep the pics coming!

[Kadin 25]

Very cool!

[finchi5]

This is still very very rough, and I broke a few end mills in the process!! I need a longer end mill to get in and make the pocket neat. The toe end needs a bit grinding off and then it will be grinding to shape the head as desired. Still going to take a bit of time to complete I think

[tommyrobson]

looking really good...

[golfluvzme]

Finchi,
I can tell, did you give the bottom any contour, yet? If you can fire a pic of the putter's sole, that would be the cat's pajamas.
LaMont in AZ

[finchi5]

Hi LaMont,
Not done the sole yet, but I was going to get the pocket section right first. I will probably do the sole last, with some kind of relief section so the trailing edge doesnt catch the ground. Also, I like some of the shape of the old ansers with a slightly curved/rocker sole so that is also an option.
Hopefully, I will get some more done on Thursday.
Cheers
Chris

[TripleGrindSole]

Chris,


Very nice. I love to see guys doing this kind of stuff. I hope to get a mill of my own one day and try this out. Please keep us updated on the process

[Hstead]

Man would I love to try this. lol. This is the kind of project that would take some time, thinking, trial and error, and be rewarding when finished. Great job. I am jealous.

[finchi5]

Just waiting for an extra long end mill so I can get into the pocket. Thanks for the compliments guys. I could do with a bigger mill though as using a benchtop mill takes forever!

[J13]

very cool look forward to seeing more pics!

[Stu-Co]

Been close to a month.. I think we need an update!

[TripleGrindSole]

^word.^

[mudgolf]

How much weight will the plumbers neck add to the putter

[finchi5]

Good question with regards to the weight. I am thinking I may alter the neck style totally. Ive got some 10mm mild steel bar and some 10mm stainless that I can turn using my mill, I may still end up using the plumbers neck though. I will weight the neck and post later.

No progress has been made so far on the head as it is freezing in the workshop!! I went in the other day and its just too cold....roll on spring!

[finchi5]

The stainless plumbers neck I have weights 44.5g. The head is a whopping 470g at the minute. Still a lot of work to do, just need to find some time to get it done. Should hopefully get some done tomorrow.

[Ri_Redneck]

Excellent work! Keep the pics coming and look into a heater for that shop! Building your own putter from scratch can be a painful but very rewarding endeavour.

Awsome!

BT

[finchi5]

Its about minus 6 in there at the min! Will crack on with it soon, I promise

[finchi5]

Well, put a few extra layers of clothing on to go into the workshop today!!

I used a long end mill to get into the cavity, there are a few chatter marks on the flange but I will go back and tidy that up next time.

Also, I need to mill the face to the correct loft and try to put a nice finish on it

The sole has been shaped at the toe and the heel to provide a bit of relief.

Thinking of trying to make a santa fe style neck from some 10mm mild steel rod as well, as Im not mad keen on the ready made plumbers neck that I bought.