Best Club-Making Equipment

[freelanceterry]

Starting a shop...need advice

I was just recommended for funding through my hometown Community Development Corp. to start a club repair and custom putter shop. Still needs to pass city council but it's 99% a go.

First off - Big thanks to Mike Fix. Really helped me out in the planning stages of this business. Your advice was crucial.

Loft/Lie machine.

I was set on the True Blue....but then I had the chance to fiddle around with a mitchel putter machine. It seemed of super quality - was smooth - a breeze to work with.
I have little experience with this sort of thing.

What's the best unit out there for the money?
The true blue states that it does putters as well....is this true?

May 14 is the final word and I should get my check shortly after that.
I may post a wtb ad for a bunch of the stuff....or if any of you guys are getting rid of anything/upgrading - keep me in mind and I can get you a full list from my budget breakout of what I intend to buy.

Thanks Mike and thanks wrx for feeding my addiction!

Terry

ps Any and all advice on startup of this business is appreciated. Long replies can be sent to: [email protected]

[Dyno]

I've all Mitchell loft lie machines including the putter machine but they are alot more dough than the True Blue. Arniesclubs and thewitt swear by them and their word is good. Gotta run but hopefully I can provide some input later. Basic work does not need much in the way of tools but as you get into more and more repairs, you'll find you'll need quite a variety of tools for which the costs add up rapidly.

[freelanceterry]

Thanks!

 

Yeah, anyone who has experience on these machines will be helpful...especially with the true blue.

Love the fact that it has the gauges on there and does putters in one machine. Seems very cost effective if the quality and performance is good.

 

Basic stuff to start off/services will be:

 

Loft/Lie

re-shafting

re-gripping (going with the air compressor, etc)

custom stamping

putter re-finishing

fitting of course

swing-weight

 

Staying away from super technical stuff to start out. Town probably couldn't suport it.

 

Another component of the business will be custom club-making for persons with physical disabilities/impairments. It's in the field that I work in now - and I beleive that there are some exceptional funding sources available for such a program.

Combining my love of the game with my love of helping people seemed like a no-brainer.

 

Again, any advice/recommondations would be great!!

[Lowpro]

love the true blue.. bend many tp mills putters with it.. no worries.. pretty much the machine is just solid and nice to work with.

[freelanceterry]

Old tpm's??

Cause that's exactly what I'm doing. Have about 10 now and another 10 on the way.

Recondition - loft/lie to specs - custom stamp and sell em'.

 

How is the "pin" system compared to the mitchell for example?

Do you need any special adaptors or anything to bend putters with the TB?

Woods/hybrids?

[thewitt]

I will not buy another Mitchell - and I've owned nearly very model they have...

 

The MR3 machine is solid and easy to use.

 

As for adaptors for different putter/hybrids/etc - yes, you may need to make something for oddball heads out of plastic or hardwood. This is no different with any bending machine. None of them work for all head models and designs without special adaptors.

 

MR3 has blanks made from a hard plastic you can use as a starting place for oddball head desiigns.

 

-t

[freelanceterry]

Cool.

 

Also had a question about the bending bars.

Which one/style is best suited for irons? Putters? Short hosels? etc...

[thewitt]

Bending bars are a whole 'nother animal.

 

I think I have 6 now in this shop, and probably as many in the other shops as well.

 

-t

[freelanceterry]

damn - more money.

Budget stretching thinner................

[Dyno]

I'll just throw out a few things that I have and found useful/necessary along with misc comments as they come to me. Other clubmakers will probably differ. I've never taken a class...preferring the trial by fire approach ;)

 

Loft/Lie: Get a good machine....no shortcuts other than buying a used version of a good machine. The True Blue is probably the one to stick with. I've got separate Mitchell irons/woods and putter machines and the cost is significantly higher than the TB. Mount it solidly into concrete with anchor bolts. Get short hosel and standard hosel bars at minimum. Use brass hosel sleeves to prevent marring hosels.

 

Get a decent gauge to measure loft lie separately. The Auditor ones from GS aren't great but adequate for most things except putters (despite what they say). I have the mid level Maltby and it is excellent. I could have bought a Green Machine but feel the expense was overkill.

re-shafting Hydraulic puller - JB Professional is the best value/performance. No sweating over a screw type puller and not much more money than a good Mitchell. JB Spine Finder is a good addition too. 48" hot rod, 48" drill bit for those 'special heads'. Power Tube brush (hosel cleaning brush....the Power Tube is what Arnie uses and is cheaper than ones available from GS and GW). 335/350/370 drill bits and reamers. Tapered reamer. Metal shaft clamp. Leverage bar (looks like a tuning fork....I use a homemade version made from 2x4's). Wet saw (for dust control). 42" belt sander with GS Blue Belt for ferrule finishing.

 

re-gripping (going with the air compressor, etc) If you can find one, the Sylvestri speedclamp is really good and very convenient. Their Cdn distributor shut it's doors and I bought the last 3 they had for cheap. :clapping: A tape dispensor is handy too....no guessing at lengths. The compressor can't do all grips so you'll still need solvent or Bramptons HF100.

 

swing-weight Cheap scale is fine but usually not as stable as a good one. I use the classic Maltby one. Get a digital scale as well....mine is 1kg capacity readable to 0.1g. Ebay has some good deals....I got an I-Weigh....is ok. I'm used to the quick response of lab grade scales but the I-Weigh works well enough and has a lifetime warranty.

 

frequency Clubscout (www.csfa.com) is good and reliable but not ideal for profiling. The Auditor one is supposedly ok but I inevitably get rid of anything with the Auditor brand on it. Never had much luck with them. The Clubscout has been solid and consistent for me. Excellent slip clutch clamp. Mitchell would be good too.

 

fitting

Launch montor gives credibility but they are $$$'s and don't completely replace actual range fitting. I'd locate your shop on a range if possible. You can get by with a Swingspeed Radar with tempo. Lie board (can go homemade here). Impact tape/spray. Hitting net and mat.

 

If you are intending on outfitting your whole shop, I'd give both Mark Masters at GW or Mark Ehly at GS a call and see if you can get a price break. At the very least you should get GW/Premier or GS/Proplan Gold pricing. Also look for items you can get outside of GS/GW as it will inevitably be much cheaper. For myself, it's taken me years to build up the tool inventory but since you will have a full shop, your timeframe is much shorter.

 

Just a few random thoughts....sorry about the bad grammar and incompleteness...I have to pack for a biz trip! Good luck!

[bwadden]

I am just a hobbyist but have procured the virtually identical set of tools that Dyno has: the True Blue, the JB hydraulic shaft puller, the Club Scout frequency machine, and the Golfworks mid range lie angle machine.

 

The True Blue is a fantastic value. I have it bolted to the top of my workbench and bypassed the stand for $125. It works great and is highly accurate. I bend all my putters to Stan Utley specs (5* loft, 69* lie angle) and it is very easy. I have also bent hybrids successfully. I haven't touched any drivers yet, but the TB could do it. In my opinion the TB dominates Mitchell machines for accuracy, club flexibility and price. The bending bar that comes with it is inferior (which MR3 readily admits). A good non-marring bending bar can be bought from Golfworks.

 

I also just bought the new Golfworks club measuring device and find that to be very accurate and a time saver. ($150 bucks but worth it).

[freelanceterry]

Awesome. Thanks guys.

 

Def like the idea of getting the price break for buying everything.

I won't be able to "deck it out" initially but with your advice, I think I know what I'm getting for the "essentials".

 

What are the odds if I post a WTB on here with all this stuff....someone would be willing to part with it?

I see tools on the WTS forum from time to time but it seems pretty rare.

What I need is someone looking to upgrade a bunch of essentials and is willing to unload a bunch of stuff.

It would help with my budget anyway....

 

Here's to wishful thinking!