Best budget iron loft/lie tool for both measuring and bending?

[Gerr]

Amateur club builder here, getting tired of taking my irons in, paying to have them bent, and every place seems to measure them differently.  For example, took a forged PW in that was 46*, asked for it to be bent to 48*, but took it in a year later to find it's been bent to 44*.  I would like to measure and bend my own irons/wedges, but can't afford $500+ on a good loft/lie bending machine.  Any decent ones out there that don't cost a fortune?

[pccasstpro]

Look on Ebay, I had a friend pick up a Mitchel Steelclub Digital for next to nothing a few weeks ago.

 

[968cab]

How about $400?

 

https://www.golfworks.com/economy-iron-bending-machine/p/gw0053/
 

 

Biggest problem is the back-order log.  I ordered 8/25, and they say 10/15 “available for delivery” now.  So ~2 month lead time

[b.helts]

44 minutes ago, pccasstpro said:

Look on Ebay, I had a friend pick up a Mitchel Steelclub Digital for next to nothing a few weeks ago.

 

 

eehhhhh?  Define "next to nothing".

[OrangeGravy]

8 hours ago, b.helts said:

 

eehhhhh?  Define "next to nothing".

Yes please. Ive been tracking various LL machines in the Bay and have yet to see a Mitchell go for less than $1000-$1300

[webwarmiller]

IMO, the least expensive way for a hobbyist would be to purchase a decent measuring gauge and make the actual loft/lie adjustments the way Ping does it.  They clamp the hosel in a vice with the club's toe up and then use a rubber mallet to adjust the lie and a rubber lined yoke to bend for loft.  There's a decent amount of back and forth as you have to move btw the gauge and vice as you measure/adjust/remeasure.  This would be a pain if doing a full set of clubs, but if you are only adjusting a wedge every now and then it's really not a big deal.  

 

Watch the below video starting at 8:25 to see what I mean.  

 

 

[dmbrill719]

I'm of no help for a budget machine - but one tip regarding having someone else bend.  Don't ask them to bend to a specific angle.  Ask them to bend a specific amount from where they are currently.  For example - bend 2* weak from where it currently is.  Or, have them measure the clubs weaker and stronger than the one to bent, to make sure the club being bent fits the progression between the others that you're looking for.  But yes, just saying bend this one club to X will unfortunately give you inconsistent results.

[smashdn]

35 minutes ago, webwarmiller said:

IMO, the least expensive way for a hobbyist would be to purchase a decent measuring gauge and make the actual loft/lie adjustments the way Ping does it.  

 

If those little taps he was putting on that club are enough to change the lie angle either Pings are really soft or we should all be checking our irons more often because it didn't seem like it took much to move them.

 

Local course has LandL machine in basement.  I had a new set checked to make sure that they had not been altered off of stock set up.  Was free but he only checked three clubs to compare the measurements to stock specs.

 

I need to invest in some club building tools myself.  Scale for heads, scale for swingweight, sander, etc.  I have been doing my own grips for a while now but am going to start messing with iron shafts.

[Socrates]

3 hours ago, webwarmiller said:

IMO, the least expensive way for a hobbyist would be to purchase a decent measuring gauge and make the actual loft/lie adjustments the way Ping does it.  They clamp the hosel in a vice with the club's toe up and then use a rubber mallet to adjust the lie and a rubber lined yoke to bend for loft.  There's a decent amount of back and forth as you have to move btw the gauge and vice as you measure/adjust/remeasure.  This would be a pain if doing a full set of clubs, but if you are only adjusting a wedge every now and then it's really not a big deal.  

 

Watch the below video starting at 8:25 to see what I mean.  

 

 

 

2 hours ago, smashdn said:

 

If those little taps he was putting on that club are enough to change the lie angle either Pings are really soft or we should all be checking our irons more often because it didn't seem like it took much to move them.

 

Local course has LandL machine in basement.  I had a new set checked to make sure that they had not been altered off of stock set up.  Was free but he only checked three clubs to compare the measurements to stock specs.

 

I need to invest in some club building tools myself.  Scale for heads, scale for swingweight, sander, etc.  I have been doing my own grips for a while now but am going to start messing with iron shafts.

 

There is no way anyone here is going to be able to lock in a hosel as solid as the Ping device.  Anyone who has tried to do it like Ping does, in a basement/garage vise, has no chance of making it work.  Those little taps have a lot of mass and force behind them.  Buying a proper bending machine (Mitchell, M3, or Golfworks) is the only way to go for any home/basement work.

 

I personally love the method Ping uses and I would use it if I could create the same solid device they have.  The one drawback to the Ping method is that any strike bend the hosel also bends the loft angle which is why they also torque the head to adjust the loft.  Using a Mitchell, for example, allows you to make lie or loft adjustments without changing the other angle.  You can change both at the same time if you want. but you don't have to.

Edited September 16, 2021 by Socrates

[mvhoffman]

If you have an iphone, you can use the level option on the measure icon.  

 

[Milfordlefty]

Order this https://www.golfworks.com/magnetic-protractor/p/pro/,   Only $14.99. Take club to repair shop for loft/lie angle adjustment. Then you can stick it on before you leave shop to determine if they moved the club to the angle you want. If you are charged $14 each time by shop, $500/$14 = 35.7, or almost 36 adjustments. If you plan on doing a lot of adjustments, then you will likely need to spend more than your current budget for a bending machine. If you only do one or two clubs a year, cheaper to have someone else do it, as long as you can check it your self. "Trust buy verify"!!!

[pccasstpro]

On 9/15/2021 at 4:59 PM, b.helts said:

 

eehhhhh?  Define "next to nothing".

$400.00 for a Mitchell Hobbyist Machine , the cam out with them Circa 2002 or so for the home user. Came with a bar. The owner had everything with it. 

[kwelifan]

Golfmechanix was the cheapest way I could find to get everything you need to measure and bend irons.  I spent about $330 shipped last year.  It can be tedious measuring, clamping, bending, measuring again, etc, but it gets the job done and its accurate.  Grab a few beers before you start and it takes no time at all.

 

 

 

[tyorke1]

i have an old scotland difficult to get accurate , remember most haves changed a lot u need one capable of handling this. i will get a few done on a mitchell then find where they are at on mine for calibration. don’t bend cast you will ruin a cheap machine. mine gets used so much but i’m free to all my buddies .