Toney Penna 403PT rescue

Jgb333 · January 14, 2016

I rescued these from the trash today and was wondering what I have and whether or not they can be saved.

According to Kaplan these were made in 1950 in black but these are stained. Special order or refinished at some point?

The driver and 2 wood faces are a bit chewed up...beyond repair?

I love the shape and weight, I would love to game them. What can be done?

Jgb333 · January 14, 2016

The whipping smelled like pipe smoke when I removed it. I noticed some hairline cracks. Should I worry about this or is modern epoxy strong enough?

stixman · January 14, 2016

Ship them to me in the UK. I would fix them up and they would be up and running for 2017, not pretty but runners and good enough for jazz. LOL

Jgb333 · January 14, 2016

Functional is more important to me than aesthetic's...pm me if you're serious

SteveNZ · January 14, 2016

You can see these on p.26 of the embedded PDF here:

http://www.advancedballstriking.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=202&t=1272

Doesn't add much but the document itself is pretty cool.

Jgb333 · January 14, 2016

Really cool document...thanks

Maxwell · January 14, 2016

The driver and 2 wood faces are a bit chewed up...beyond repair?

No...I don't think so. It would take some work but it can be done.

Refinished previously?

You have registration #'s on the back of the hosels that appear to be original. I wonder if the persimmon wood set are in their original colour.

That's the second set of clubs I have seen in the last month with shafts cut just above the hosels.

Max

Canada

rex235 · January 14, 2016

Jgb-

These.... were in the trash?

Yes, they can be saved, and both Dave Wood and Persimmon studio have websites and threads showing the necessary steps.

Reg Nos on the hosels, the Toney Penna stamps on the crowns, the Oil Hardened and 403 PT stamps on the sole, and MacGregor Tourney and numbers on the soleplates.

Make sure to keep all those!

As you know, Dave Wood calls the Reg Nos "Birth Certificates", and Persimmon Studios total restoration of the "Toney Penna" WW Special is as close a "How To" guide as anyone could ask for.

Note the last three words in the catalog for this model were...Right Hand Only.

The final decision .....Pass....or Play.... is yours.

Jgb333 · January 14, 2016

Jgb-

These.... were in the trash?

Yes, they can be saved, and both Dave Wood and Persimmon studio have websites and threads showing the necessary steps.

Reg Nos on the hosels, the Toney Penna stamps on the crowns, the Oil Hardened and 403 PT stamps on the sole, and MacGregor Tourney and numbers on the soleplates.

Make sure to keep all those!

As you know, Dave Wood calls the Reg Nos "Birth Certificates", and Persimmon Studios total restoration of the "Toney Penna" WW Special is as close a "How To" guide as anyone could ask for.

Note the last three words in the catalog for this model were...Right Hand Only.

The final decision .....Pass....or Play.... is yours.

Yes...in the trash! (can you believe it)

Great information thanks for the advice....

I've had some unexpected interest in these heads...are these rare or just cool as hell!

rex235 · January 14, 2016

Jgb-

"I've had some unexpected interest in these heads...are these rare or just cool as hell"

And this is surprising?

Yes, they are 1951 MacGregor Toney Penna TP403s. Original...Not copies.

These woods were done by the finest MacGregor luthiers to ever work on persimmon golf clubs.

Yes! They are rare, but as to condition well....

Charley Penna has written about his Dad- Charley Sr. and his Uncle- Toneys' model preferences in a different thread.

Right Hand Only....

Fellaheen51 · January 15, 2016

Jgb-

These.... were in the trash?

Yes, they can be saved, and both Dave Wood and Persimmon studio have websites and threads showing the necessary steps.

Reg Nos on the hosels, the Toney Penna stamps on the crowns, the Oil Hardened and 403 PT stamps on the sole, and MacGregor Tourney and numbers on the soleplates.

Make sure to keep all those!

As you know, Dave Wood calls the Reg Nos "Birth Certificates", and Persimmon Studios total restoration of the "Toney Penna" WW Special is as close a "How To" guide as anyone could ask for.

Note the last three words in the catalog for this model were...Right Hand Only.

The final decision .....Pass....or Play.... is yours.

Yes...in the trash! (can you believe it)
Great information thanks for the advice....
I've had some unexpected interest in these heads...are these rare or just cool as hell!

Echoing what has already been mentioned, seems as though you have found yourself a rare and "cool as hell" set of woods. Congratulations on the find. Incredible that you found these in the trash. I haven't taken to dumpster diving to look for vintage clubs yet. But perhaps that is another avenue to consider for club scrounging. It begs the question.......in the trash where?

Based on the above commentary by the experts, these deserve to have a full restoration IMO. As Rex mentioned, what Persimmon Studio did with the TP WW Special was perfection. Be sure to review that thread because he gave a first class "how-to" on the techniques he used to bring that one back to life. From the pics, appears the number stampings on the hosels and the TP on the crown are first rate. What little I know about such things, apparently these are important starting points due to the difficulty in recreating. Plus, there are people around here that may be of assistance in locating original shafts.

Thus the dilemma, what to do with them? Do you want a set of unique, restored players or back to "as new" condition? Do you attempt to resto them on your own or have someone with expertise do the job for you? Have no idea what a full out restoration like this would cost. Given the level of work (and the skill needed) that would be required. Always been curious what a full restoration of a wood costs, but never felt it appropriate to ask. (If one has to to ask, probably can't afford it. LOL.) Not surprising that these may attract some interest from the persimmon aficionados that are about. Especially being a complete set of matching heads.

I've found a couple of pieces during my scrounging (nothing like these woods, just a couple of semi-rare putters) that I decided to sell rather than keep. For financing (adding to the PayPal slush fund) of future acquisitions. Didn't make much sense to put them on the shelf and never use them. Only you can ultimately answer the question. Good luck with whatever approach you decide upon.

Edit Note: Upon rereading, did not mean to imply that you may not have the necessary resto skills for rehabilitating these. Obviously. I have no idea. Just meant to say, restoration by someone with experience in such matters.

Jgb333 · January 15, 2016

"In the trash" was more of a metaphorical statement....going to be thrown out is more accurate (although dumpster diving would not be out of the question)

A full restoration is both out of my skill set and out of my budget.

I would love to learn how to do that type of work but not on a set like this. These need the hand of an expert and the more I look at them the more convinced I am that they deserve that sort of treatment.

I'd be more inclined to explore a trade...maybe a set or two that needs minor restoration so I can start to hone and practice my skills.