Macgregor M75W Fairway Wood

[Swingingk]

Good evening all.  I've got a lone MacGregor 4-wood labeled as M75W and "EYE-O-MATIC" on the sole.  It's got a red leather grip and a green shaft band that says True Temper Rocket.  It's in unplayable condition with loose everything and I thought I'd take a run at rebuilding it for vintage play in the spring.
Can anyone give me some insight into this club?  I'd be interested to know what year it might have been made and it's relative playability as compared to others in its class/era.  I really like the shape and feel of this wood in my hands and am keen to get it hitting balls again.  Any comments would be welcome.  Thanks!

[Stephen8802]

I have 6 M75 4 woods, going back to the first one I found in 1982 and played with (mostly) from then to 1998. I also have another 10 or so 4 woods in the same head shape. In my opinion, and opinions vary, 693 fairway woods and Model 40 fairways (like yours) are the absolute epitome of a classic Macgregor. I love my M75s like they are part of my body. I have hit thousands and thousands of balls with M75s over the last 40 years and think it is the perfect fairway wood in every way, so yes, it is playable.

 

M75s were made from 1952 to 1955. The '52s had 5 screws, then they went to the 6 screw pattern in the second year of production, so yours is '53-55. The M75s had a model 40 head on all woods, a shape that both preceded and followed that model. The M43/33 in 1950 and 1951 had a model 69 driver head and model 40 fairway woods. In 1953, the insert color was changed to a white/black/white eye-o-matic and the model number was changed to M85. At the same time, the M75 was introduced and had "popular 40 model throughout." So, your club is the same shape 4 wood head as an M43 and M85 but came with a driver that wasn't a deep face.

 

This head was used in many other models that came later, many of which I also have. I picked up a Jimmy Demaret 4 wood in a thrift store last year knowing it was a second level club, but thought it looked just right. I got it home, put it next to my M75, and sure enough, it was the same head. To me, this is the quintessential Macgregor fairway wood, and the M75 is the best looking of the bunch. (I could say the same about the 693 4 wood I played in college and the two I have now, sometimes its hard to pick just one).

 

Yours is a W, which originally came with a True Temper E shaft, which is like a modern medium, and had a beveled edge red leather grip; it did not come with a Rocket shaft, which was later in the decade. If it is a green band rocket, then it is stiffer than an E and was likely replaced by the first owner. (If you want an E, I have a few and would gladly trade and E with original grip for a green band rocket that I can put in the M75 4 wood head on my desk). The club was originally black with red paint fill, just like yours. The red usually isn't that bright after the years, so yours may have been repainted, but by the quality of the stamping, I do not think it was ever sanded. That is a real nice example and you won't find many as nice.

 

If you are going to refinish it, and I can't recommend that enough based on how much I have enjoyed learning how to refinish clubs, and decide to stain it, you will need to take care getting the black paint off. I'm happy to talk you through it, but the gist is that you will need to protect the face as you remove the paint, then clean the face, then use wood bleach on the head. After that, they look great with a dark walnut stain. You will definitely need to reset the sole and insert, as well as the shaft. Its a good club to start on because the winged MT is much easier to etch than a Armour signature.

 

Here are some of mine:  1 &2) My 80s pair. The 5 screw was in my bag, the 6 screw was refinished as a back up in 1983 and it hasn't been hit since I got it back. Both were done by Maltby back when he was the best in the biz. 3-5) an M75 I refinished in the spring...got it as part of a lot and the guy threw this in for free because the sole plate was gouged...I put in a 1 shaft from a 60s Macgregor and played with this all summer...if there is a better club to hit on the planet, I haven't swung it. 6) a set of 5 screws I did this fall. The driver is from NY state, the 3-4 I picked up here in Denver. I finished these too late in the year to hit. 

 

I did all this year's M75 work in Minwax dark Walnut with a satin poly, but as you can see, every club takes the color differently. I didn't use wood bleach on the first one I did and did bleach the last, and I think you can see how the club takes stain differently with three applications of wood bleach.

 

Any other questions? As you can tell,I love M75s and could go on...and on...and on.

 

 

Edited January 25, 2021 by Stephen8802

[Swingingk]

Thank you very much sir!  You obviously really know your M75's and I'm very grateful to you for sharing your knowledge.  Thanks to for the pictures of your beautiful examples which will serve as a baseline for the quality and detail I'll have to put into the restoration.  I thought I'd wait until I have the head stripped before I decide on the final finish.  If the wood is exceptionally nice I may go with stain but I must admit I'm leaning towards black as per original at this time.

It's very interesting that the shaft has been replaced, and especially so that it has been replaced by another vintage piece.  It's got a fair amount of chrome loss so hopefully it isn't rusty on the inside.  Here's a few more detail pictures:

 

[Swingingk]

1 hour ago, Stephen8802 said:

I have 6 M75 4 woods, going back to the first one I found in 1982 and played with (mostly) from then to 1998. I also have another 10 or so 4 woods in the same head shape. In my opinion, and opinions vary, 693 fairway woods and Model 40 fairways (like yours) are the absolute epitome of a classic Macgregor. I love my M75s like they are part of my body. I have hit thousands and thousands of balls with M75s over the last 40 years and think it is the perfect fairway wood in every way, so yes, it is playable.

 

M75s were made from 1952 to 1955. The '52s had 5 screws, then they went to the 6 screw pattern in the second year of production, so yours is '53-55. The M75s had a model 40 head on all woods, a shape that both preceded and followed that model. The M43/33 in 1950 and 1951 had a model 69 driver head and model 40 fairway woods. In 1953, the insert color was changed to a white/black/white eye-o-matic and the model number was changed to M85. At the same time, the M75 was introduced and had "popular 40 model throughout." So, your club is the same shape 4 wood head as an M43 and M85 but came with a driver that wasn't a deep face.

 

This head was used in many other models that came later, many of which I also have. I picked up a Jimmy Demaret 4 wood in a thrift store last year knowing it was a second level club, but thought it looked just right. I got it home, put it next to my M75, and sure enough, it was the same head. To me, this is the quintessential Macgregor fairway wood, and the M75 is the best looking of the bunch. (I could say the same about the 693 4 wood I played in college and the two I have now, sometimes its hard to pick just one).

 

Yours is a W, which originally came with a True Temper E shaft, which is like a modern medium, and had a beveled edge read leather grip; it did not come with a Rocket shaft, which was later in the decade. If it is a green band rocket, then it is stiffer than an E and was likely replaced by the first owner. (If you want an E, I have a few and would gladly trade and E with original grip for a green band rocket that I can put in the M75 4 wood head on my desk). The club was originally black with red paint fill, just like yours. The red usually isn't that bright after the years, so yours may have been repainted, but by the quality of the stamping, I do not think it was ever sanded. That is a real nice example and you won't find many as nice.

 

If you are going to refinish it, and I can't recommend that enough based on how much I have enjoyed learning how to refinish clubs, and decide to stain it, you will need to take care getting the black paint off. I'm happy to talk you through it, but the gist is that you will need to protect the face as you remove the paint, then clean the face, then use wood bleach on the head. After that, they look great with a dark walnut stain. You will definitely need to reset the sole and insert, as well as the shaft. Its a good club to start on because the winged MT is much easier to etch than a Armour signature.

 

Here are some of mine:  1 &2) My 80s pair. The 5 screw was in my bag, the 6 screw was refinished as a back up in 1983 and it hasn't been hit since I got it back. Both were done by Maltby back when he was the best in the biz. 3-5) an M75 I refinished in the spring...got it as part of a lot and the guy threw this in for free because the sole plate was gouged...I put in a 1 shaft from a 60s Macgregor and played with this all summer...if there is a better club to hit on the planet, I haven't swung it. 6) a set of 5 screws I did this fall. The driver is from NY state, the 3-4 I picked up here in Denver. I finished these too late in the year to hit. 

 

I did all this year's M75 work in Minwax dark Walnut with a satin poly, but as you can see, every club takes the color differently. I didn't use wood bleach on the first one I did and did bleach the last, and I think you can see how the club takes stain differently with three applications of wood bleach.

 

Any other questions? As you can tell,I love M75s and could go on...and on...and on.

 

 

Ps:  Thanks also for the offer of help on the project - I will definitely take you up on that.  If I can get this thing anywhere near an nice as you've done on yours I'll be a happy man.  Beautiful work!  

[Stephen8802]

Its really nice shaft and the equivalent of a modern stiff, maybe a hair softer. I've started grabbing green band rockets when I find them. There are two likely reasons someone put that shaft it. First, it was replaced in the late 50's because someone wanted a stiffer shaft. If so, that would have been a great shaft to put in. I have those shafts in my '56 Staff irons and some woods from the second half of the 50s.

 

The second reason is the same as why I have started grabbing them. If you want to put a modern shaft into a 50's or 60's Macgregor, you have to drill out the hosel because Dynamic and Dynamic gold shafts from the 80's and 90's are bigger. So, if you use a contemporary shaft, or often something through the 60s, you don't have to drill the club. Reaming or step drilling a hosel isn't the hardest thing to do, but it is certainly easier to put in the same size shaft.

 

I'm going with the shaft being replaced in the 50s, especially if it has chrome loss.

 

I started refinishing about a year ago. I made lots of mistakes, and I have a long way to go, but I'm getting good enough. I'm not selling any, so the just have to be good enough for me to enjoy playing them.

Edited January 25, 2021 by Stephen8802

[Swingingk]

24 minutes ago, Stephen8802 said:

Its really nice shaft and the equivalent of a modern stiff, maybe a hair softer. I've started grabbing green band rockets when I find them. There are two likely reasons someone put that shaft it. First, it was replaced in the late 50's because someone wanted a stiffer shaft. If so, that would have been a great shaft to put in. I have those shafts in my '56 Staff irons and some woods from the second half of the 50s.

 

The second reason is the same as why I have started grabbing them. If you want to put a modern shaft into a 50's or 60's Macgregor, you have to drill out the hosel because Dynamic and Dynamic gold shafts from the 80's and 90's are bigger. So, if you use a contemporary shaft, or often something through the 60s, you don't have to drill the club. Reaming or step drilling a hosel isn't the hardest thing to do, but it is certainly easier to put in the same size shaft.

 

I'm going with the shaft being replaced in the 50s, especially if it has chrome loss.

 

I started refinishing about a year ago. I made lots of mistakes, and I have a long way to go, but I'm getting good enough. I'm not selling any, so the just have to be good enough for me to enjoy playing them.

That was such a glowing review of the green Rocket shaft that I think you may have just convinced me to keep it.  Haha

 

The more I think about it the more I like the idea that it had a shaft "upgrade" early in its career.  I'd like to think it was put together by someone who knew quality and knew what they wanted out of it.  Kind of like a 50's Wrx'r who's all about the performance and not some weekend hacker.  No one can tell of course but it's fun to daydream...

[Swingingk]

Ok so I've watched the John Erickson/Mike Rees YouTube series on persimmon restoration and I've checked out Dave Woods website.  I tried this once before with a fair degree of success so I think I'm armed with enough knowledge and experience to attempt good results.  We shall see...
I took it apart with minimal resistance.  The shaft screw put up a bit of a fight but eventually gave in and the shaft itself pulled out easily without heat.  The sole plate fell out too but the insert needed a chisel.  Luckily all the pieces came apart with little to no edge damage. 
I applied furniture stripper to the head I think four times before no more old finish would come out.  After the second coat of stripper I noticed red paint under the white inside the grooves.  The grain looks quite nice and even nicer when wetted down a bit.  There are a few dings but no heavy damage.   I'm going to try the old gunstock repair trick and see if I can steam the dents out with a wet rag and hot iron.

 

So anyway, so far so good! 

[Stephen8802]

That is a perfect specimen and it looks like you did everything right. If you want to get the rest of that black out, try 2 part wood bleach before you sand. 

 

I've done the steaming trick and I think it will work. In general, I don't mind dents and dings, I hate over sanded stamps and enjoy when a club shows marks from its long life. Kinda like Gerry Cheevers mask for those of us old enough to remember the big, bad, Bruins. 

 

I was thinking about you last night when another box showed up. I bought a '58 model 40 4 wood head because I need some practice on removing Velocitized SEOM inserts. It doesn't matter what the finish or insert, that head shape just looks right. 

 

 

[Swingingk]

33 minutes ago, Stephen8802 said:

That is a perfect specimen and it looks like you did everything right. If you want to get the rest of that black out, try 2 part wood bleach before you sand. 

 

I've done the steaming trick and I think it will work. In general, I don't mind dents and dings, I hate over sanded stamps and enjoy when a club shows marks from its long life. Kinda like Gerry Cheevers mask for those of us old enough to remember the big, bad, Bruins. 

 

I was thinking about you last night when another box showed up. I bought a '58 model 40 4 wood head because I need some practice on removing Velocitized SEOM inserts. It doesn't matter what the finish or insert, that head shape just looks right. 

 

 

Thanks and yes, it does look like a nice piece of lumber.  The grain seems very tight with lots of growth rings which should make for a dense block I think.  I also like the way the grain lines up to a perfect point out on the toe - I think it looks neat.  I intend on doing the least amount of sanding I can get away with.  I might need to do a bit of blending around the edges of the sole plate but I don't really want to take anything at all from the top or bottom.

 

I do have a couple of questions for you.  Firstly regarding the bleach: should I be looking for a special "wood bleach" or will regular bleach work?  I did a bit of googlin' and found many references to just the usual old bleach, which I happen to have a gallon of.  What would you recommend? 

I also wanted to pick your brain on the insert.  The fiber part looks fine but the white part has yellowed to some degree.  Is there some way that I might get the white to brighten up a bit?  I'm very hesitant to experiment with this as I'd rather have an intact yellowish insert than no insert at all.  😆

[Stephen8802]

When you file and sand the face to smooth it and get the bulge and roll right, it will take off the yellow. It helps if you have radius gauges to do that right. I found mine used on ebay after looking for 6 months, but you can buy plastic ones used for guitar necks.

 

As far as I know, wood bleach is a different animal. I have a couple of gallons of clothes bleach and still buy this stuff. It works. 

 

 

[Swingingk]

38 minutes ago, Stephen8802 said:

When you file and sand the face to smooth it and get the bulge and roll right, it will take off the yellow. It helps if you have radius gauges to do that right. I found mine used on ebay after looking for 6 months, but you can buy plastic ones used for guitar necks.

 

As far as I know, wood bleach is a different animal. I have a couple of gallons of clothes bleach and still buy this stuff. It works. 

 

 

Yeah I figured as much on the bleach thing.  I'll have to go out looking tomorrow. 

I don't have the radius gages so I figured I'd just cut what I need from brass shim stock.  Would you happen to know what the original bulge and roll of this club would have been?  The insert was sitting so poorly in the head that I could only guess at it.

Another thing I don't have right now is grain filler.  On other woodworking projects in the past I have used very fine sanding dust mixed with my finish for a wipe-on semi paste which worked well.  Any opinions on grain filling?

[Stephen8802]

I have two original M75 4 woods in my office, both are 10 degrees. The PT1W 4 on my desk is more like 8. I like a little more bulge and roll, so mine usually end up closer to 8 than 10. (Perhaps the fact that I have these three in my office is why my wife thinks I have a problem).

 

I use WoodPerfect neutral grain filler I bought from Constantine's online, along with some burlap (https://www.constantines.com/woodperfectgrainfiller.aspx). I also have their Walnut and use it if I want the color a little darker. I buy my wood bleach from Amazon. My life can be a bit hectic, I buy whatever I can online. 

 

By the way, there was a time this summer where you couldn't find Zinsser bleach anywhere. I bought it when it came back in stock, but for two months, it was sold out in the USA. 

Edited January 28, 2021 by Stephen8802

[Swingingk]

18 minutes ago, Stephen8802 said:

I have two original M75 4 woods in my office, both are 10 degrees. The PT1W 4 on my desk is more like 8. I like a little more bulge and roll, so mine usually end up closer to 8 than 10. (Perhaps the fact that I have these three in my office is why my wife thinks I have a problem).

 

I use WoodPerfect neutral grain filler I bought from Constantine's online, along with some burlap (https://www.constantines.com/woodperfectgrainfiller.aspx). I also have their Walnut and use it if I want the color a little darker. I buy my wood bleach from Amazon. My life can be a bit hectic, I buy whatever I can online. 

 

By the way, there was a time this summer where you couldn't find Zinsser bleach anywhere. I bought it when it came back in stock, but for two months, it was sold out in the USA. 

Excellent thanks.  I try to buy locally if possible but these items will require ordering.  I don't mind that but I don't want to wait now that I'm rolling.  Haha

Forgive my technical ignorance when it comes to persimmon but when you say 10 degrees of roll do you mean 10 inches of radius or 10 degrees angular difference between one edge and the other?  Admittedly I have a lot to learn...  ☺

[Stephen8802]

I used the wrong word. I have Golfworks radius gauges and I should have said 10 inch radius and 8 inch radius. I'm so used to thinking degrees of loft that I misspoke. 

[golfunderpar18]

My set of m75’s some before and after photos,

[Swingingk]

15 minutes ago, Stephen8802 said:

I used the wrong word. I have Golfworks radius gauges and I should have said 10 inch radius and 8 inch radius. I'm so used to thinking degrees of loft that I misspoke. 

Yeah well idiot me figured out the obvious almost as I was hitting the send button.  It was a dumb question.  Lol

[Stephen8802]

13 minutes ago, golfunderpar18 said:

My set of m75’s some before and after photos....

 

Please stop. I'm trying to get ready for bed and I'll never be able to sleep if you keep getting my heart rate up like that. 

 

Those are just so pretty and they are done just right. 

[Swingingk]

11 minutes ago, golfunderpar18 said:

My set of m75’s some before and after photos,

Those are really nice.  David Bass right?  Beautiful set.

[Swingingk]

The sole plate was kind of caved in so I cut a forming block from a piece of hardwood and attempted to use it to squeeze the sole plate back to its original shape by crushing it all together in a large vise.  It didn't work so I used the blocks as forming dies and carefully worked the plate with careful hammer blows. That worked great and with some judicious tweaking I have it fitting very well.  I'll use some thickened epoxy when I assemble the club to fill any cavities or gaps left under the plate. 

[raggal62]

Looking forward to seeing the end result. The grain looks absolutely incredible!

[Swingingk]

So now that I'm in deep with this thing I'm really into seeing the results.  I went out today and picked up some wood bleach and grain filler and went home to get at it.

After about five applications of furniture stripper and a very light sanding I could really see the dents and dings.  I did quite a bit of steaming work on them and it helped a lot to lessen or even eliminate them in some cases.  Then I hit it with four cycles of 2-part wood bleach, then another two cycles of furniture stripper, and finally a couple of more bleachings.  I'm pretty sure I've extracted as much of the original black paint as I possibly can now and am ready to move on - I think.  I'll let it dry out overnight and tomorrow I'll look at how everything fits together and come up with a plan glue it up.  This is fun!  😆

[Foozle]

1 hour ago, Swingingk said:

So now that I'm in deep with this thing I'm really into seeing the results.  I went out today and picked up some wood bleach and grain filler and went home to get at it.

After about five applications of furniture stripper and a very light sanding I could really see the dents and dings.  I did quite a bit of steaming work on them and it helped a lot to lessen or even eliminate them in some cases.  Then I hit it with four cycles of 2-part wood bleach, then another two cycles of furniture stripper, and finally a couple of more bleachings.  I'm pretty sure I've extracted as much of the original black paint as I possibly can now and am ready to move on - I think.  I'll let it dry out overnight and tomorrow I'll look at how everything fits together and come up with a plan glue it up.  This is fun!  😆

Appreciating the progress reports and pictures. Keep them coming! Looking forward to the end result.

[golfunderpar18]

On 1/27/2021 at 8:39 PM, Swingingk said:

Those are really nice.  David Bass right?  Beautiful set.

Yes this is the first set I had david work on.  They turned out great.  He has since done some m85’s for me, a few wood bros persimmons and  some  Cleveland persimmons. Working with him again now for the third time building out some custom Cleveland persimmons drivers from some blank heads.

[Swingingk]

4 hours ago, golfunderpar18 said:

Yes this is the first set I had david work on.  They turned out great.  He has since done some m85’s for me, a few wood bros persimmons and  some  Cleveland persimmons. Working with him again now for the third time building out some custom Cleveland persimmons drivers from some blank heads.

New custom clubs from blank heads - neat!  I'd love to see those when they're done.  

[golfunderpar18]

Will post them when complete

[golfunderpar18]

Insert being made for one of the drivers.  Going to be BWB in this one.  More to come 

[Swingingk]

1 hour ago, golfunderpar18 said:

Insert being made for one of the drivers.  Going to be BWB in this one.  More to come 

Cool picture.  Is the insert made of that compressed resin/fiber/paper stuff?  I'd like to get my hands on some of that...

[Swingingk]

I cleaned all the parts up as well as I could and abraded all the mating surfaces to be glued with 80 grit sandpaper.  I did a final wipe of everything with acetone and mixed up my epoxy.  I've got a gallon of West System 105 resin and 206 slow hardener left over from a boat project and decided to use that.  It's got a pot life of 30 minutes or so and takes a full 24 hours to cure so I had plenty of time to get things right.  My understanding (and personal experience) is that the West System product is among the best available and I'm confident that the results will be excellent.  I glued in the insert pieces and fastened the screws back into their original positions.  I had to fool with them a bit to get them aligned properly, backing them out and chamfering the holes deeper as needed to make the cross in the screws line up top to bottom.  I tried my best to align the face grooves in the insert to the grooves in the head but the screws kind of pulled the insert where they wanted to so I hope it looks ok tomorrow.
I then checked to make sure the insert was aligned with the sole of the club and it was so I didn't need to dress it down.  There were a couple of small cracks in the base of the club so I drilled three small holes along them and worked epoxy down into them and filled them with epoxy.  (The picture with the toothpicks shows where i drilled the holes) 

I then mixed some very fine birch dust that I had collected from my palm sander with some of the epoxy to make a thicker paste and used that to glue the sole plate down.  I then installed the screws and tightened them down securely.  Several of them went in a bit further than their original location and so are likely going to look a little wonky but I don't have new ones to use so I'm hoping for an acceptable result. 
Then I used the remaining clean epoxy to glue the shaft in.  Working the shaft in a out a bit helped the epoxy to penetrate into the two neck cracks as well.  I aligned the angled shaft end with the sole of the club as best as I could and tie-wrapped the neck to the shaft as tightly as I could manage.  I then mixed an even thicker paste and filled any remaining gaps in the assembly. 
So it's solidly glued back together again.  I still need to fashion a shaft plug but that's minor - the big work is done.  I'll come back to it on a couple of hours and trim off the excess epoxy and tomorrow I'll start the final finishing process.

[Stephen8802]

You have a knack for this and I hope you keep doing it. You seem to have come into this with more wood working skill than I did, so you are way past where I was when I started. 

 

Here are a couple of things I learned along the way that might help you on the next project. First, I learned the hard way how important it is to get the screws out and back in carefully. I have both #1 and #2 frearson bits and use heat on all screws, even if I don't think they will need it. I draw a picture of the face and sole plate on a piece of cardboard and insert the screws into the cardboard on the pictures so I know which hole they came from, even if they go back in weeks after they came out. I take care to get the screws in the same position when the go back in, even if they could go tighter. Modern epoxies are strong enough to hold these parts together, the screws don't have to do the work. Usually, I get it right and the old screws are in the right spots. However, in the rush to get they set before the epoxy dries, sometimes I screw up (look at the fourth picture I posted earlier in the thread, the lower left screw is a quarter turn off). 

 

The one thing I noticed in those pictures that makes me nervous is that it looks like you got epoxy on the wood and that changes how the wood takes stain. I try to set the insert and sole plate before I strip the paint to keep whatever finish on I can before the epoxy hits the head, then I coat the whole head in rubber cement, then I tape the whole head with blue tape. This triple safety approach gives me the maximum protection against epoxy touching bare wood. You can sand where the epoxy touched the wood, but sometimes there is a slightly lighter area there and the color is less uniform.

 

For inserts and soleplates, any epoxy will do. I like clear stuff myself, some people like black. Mike Rees uses cheap Ace Hardware 10 minute epoxy, I use clear 10 minute JB epoxy because I prefer squeeze bottles to tubes; your West Systems is more than up to the task. I have some of the more liquid West Systems epoxy I use for cracks because it runs into the cracks better than the thicker stuff. I only use Golfworks shaft epoxy for the shafts because I have it, but if I ran out, I'd use my West Systems in a heart beat and wouldn't think twice about it. 

 

In the future, try putting the plug into the shaft before you put the shaft in the club. Use a hardwood, do your best to line up the grain (again, look at the 4 wood above and seen how I learned that I needed to line up the grain...doh!), and set the plug in with epoxy. I put the plug all the way past the hole in the shaft to give the tip more strength. The dowels I buy are thicker in diameter than the ID of the shaft, so I cut a dowel first, put it in my drill, the use the drill to spin the dowel like a lathe while I use a file and then some sandpaper to get it to the right diameter. You can also do this on a bench grinder, and I have often, but it is harder to get the dowel round. If you put the plug in first, coat the end with rubber cement so the epoxy doesn't get into the wood. 

 

If you decide to put a shaft pin in, you have a bunch of ways to go. I don't try to replicate the look or the original pin, although I appreciate that many people have the attention to detail to do so. I take a #4 frearson bronze screw and reduce the size of the head on my bench grinder all the way to the screw slots. (This is really tricky and very dangerous to your fingers, so if you decide to go this route be super careful not to grind your fingers). I pre drill the shaft (and wood plug that is up that high in the shaft) and then set the screw while the epoxy is still wet. I set it low enough to cover it with some wood dough so I don't see the screw head. 

 

Keep posting pictures, they are great inspiration to the rest of us.

Edited January 30, 2021 by Stephen8802

[Foozle]

52 minutes ago, Stephen8802 said:

You have a knack for this and I hope you keep doing it. You seem to have come into this with more wood working skill than I did, so you are way past where I was when I started. 

 

Here are a couple of things I learned along the way that might help you on the next project. First, I learned the hard way how important it is to get the screws out and back in carefully. I have both #1 and #2 frearson bits and use heat on all screws, even if I don't think they will need it. I draw a picture of the face and sole plate on a piece of cardboard and insert the screws into the cardboard on the pictures so I know which hole they came from, even if they go back in weeks after they came out. I take care to get the screws in the same position when the go back in, even if they could go tighter. Modern epoxies are strong enough to hold these parts together, the screws don't have to do the work. Usually, I get it right and the old screws are in the right spots. However, in the rush to get they set before the epoxy dries, sometimes I screw up (look at the fourth picture I posted earlier in the thread, the lower left screw is a quarter turn off). 

 

The one thing I noticed in those pictures that makes me nervous is that it looks like you got epoxy on the wood and that changes how the wood takes stain. I try to set the insert and sole plate before I strip the paint to keep whatever finish on I can before the epoxy hits the head, then I coat the whole head in rubber cement, then I tape the whole head with blue tape. This triple safety approach gives me the maximum protection against epoxy touching bare wood. You can sand where the epoxy touched the wood, but sometimes there is a slightly lighter area there and the color is less uniform.

 

For inserts and soleplates, any epoxy will do. I like clear stuff myself, some people like black. Mike Rees uses cheap Ace Hardware 10 minute epoxy, I use clear 10 minute JB epoxy because I prefer squeeze bottles to tubes; your West Systems is more than up to the task. I have some of the more liquid West Systems epoxy I use for cracks because it runs into the cracks better than the thicker stuff. I only use Golfworks shaft epoxy for the shafts because I have it, but if I ran out, I'd use my West Systems in a heart beat and wouldn't think twice about it. 

 

In the future, try putting the plug into the shaft before you put the shaft in the club. Use a hardwood, do your best to line up the grain (again, look at the 4 wood above and seen how I learned that I needed to line up the grain...doh!), and set the plug in with epoxy. I put the plug all the way past the hole in the shaft to give the tip more strength. The dowels I buy are thicker in diameter than the ID of the shaft, so I cut a dowel first, put it in my drill, the use the drill to spin the dowel like a lathe while I use a file and then some sandpaper to get it to the right diameter. You can also do this on a bench grinder, and I have often, but it is harder to get the dowel round. If you put the plug in first, coat the end with rubber cement so the epoxy doesn't get into the wood. 

 

If you decide to put a shaft pin in, you have a bunch of ways to go. I don't try to replicate the look or the original pin, although I appreciate that many people have the attention to detail to do so. I take a #4 frearson bronze screw and reduce the size of the head on my bench grinder all the way to the screw slots. (This is really tricky and very dangerous to your fingers, so if you decide to go this route be super careful not to grind your fingers). I pre drill the shaft (and wood plug that is up that high in the shaft) and then set the screw while the epoxy is still wet. I set it low enough to cover it with some wood dough so I don't see the screw head. 

 

Keep posting pictures, they are great inspiration to the rest of us.

I am enjoying this thread and learning a lot. Hopefully inspire me to have a go at a full restoration at some point. Thanks.