yet another DIY retro Ping Anser + tungsten heel/toe weighting mod

[wallymann]

i have an anser with a ton of lead tape, but it looks ghetto...so my objective was to setup another 35" anser with sw @ D5 *sans* lead-tape.  i neglected to save the pre-mod numbers, but it's well known these ansers are light...IIRC sw was in the high-C range. also, all that lead-tape seems to mute the *tink* of the slotted anser -- i'm hoping this brings it back a bit.

 

inspiration taken from these threads:

• https://forums.golfwrx.com/topic/1635638-ping-anser-build-custom-everything-well-sorta/
• https://forums.golfwrx.com/topic/1557392-adding-tungsten-weights-to-a-putter/
• https://forums.golfwrx.com/topic/645662-increasing-weight-of-a-ping-putter/

 

start with an unremarkable slotted bronze anser, recently cleaned up so it looks sparkly.

 

source some tungsten weights...3/8" diameter, varying lengths...landed on 3/4" length x 2 for heel-toe weighting --> that's ~42g total.

 

the required 3/8" x 3/4" x 2 holes constitute ~26g of bronze material...so that'll be a net ~16g increase in head weight.  at least that's the plan!

 

carefully locate the holes to accommodate 3/8" holes bored to 3/4" depth -- this was tricky!  note how close i cut it -- there are bulges in the backside of the head where the drill was pressing outward.

 

unfortunately, i got rid of my drill press a few years ago, so this was all done by hand and quite tedious -- lots of cutting oil and patience required!

 

to maximize added mass. i mixed tungsten powder into the epoxy used to secure the weights -- i maxxed it out and it ended up a gritty paste.

 

in the end, sw ends up @ D3 -- a little shy of my target.  i will leave it here for a bit and test it out with a lead-tape to see if D5 is really what i want long-term.  in that case, i ID'd some areas in the sole i can place additional thin weights, similar to what @Mark506did, that should get me up to D5.

 

also, while waiting for the epoxy to cure i fabbed up a ghetto lie-angle adjustment jig, needed ~4* more upright -- adjusted w/o any issues, again patience required!

 

Edited December 6, 2021 by wallymann

[jonradus]

Hmmm. This is pretty interesting here. Opinder would be very jealous.

[Jmm96]

Looking good. Great project. I love seeing this kind basement ingenuity on clubs. I commend you for drilling those holes by hand without a press. keep us updated.

[wallymann]

doing some more eyeballing and cogitation...now that i know that 1 weight per side isnt sufficient for my desired head-weight, thinking i'll take another run at this mod using my other anser and optimizing weight placement...the blue tape indicates the edge of the heel/toe weights, there's plenty of room for 2 properly placed holes @ each end.

 

Edited December 1, 2021 by wallymann

[wallymann]

x

Edited December 1, 2021 by wallymann

[PixlPutterman]

I did something similar like a decade ago but with lead soldering. 

 

Love it

[wallymann]

santa saw fit to hook me up with a proper drill-press...here's my v2.0 anser tungsten weight mod...+17.0g net increase in head-weight

merry christmas everyone! 

Edited December 27, 2021 by wallymann

[Eeecc]

Nice job, I like that color difference/contrast. How does it swing?

[wallymann]

On 12/25/2021 at 8:20 PM, Eeecc said:

Nice job, I like that color difference/contrast. How does it swing?

 

exact same headweight as i had before (using lead) so it feels completely normal to me...512g overall club-weight @ D5.

side-benefit is that by pulling all the lead-tape off, the anser again has that crisp "tink" sound when striking a ball.

here are v1 and v2 together, ready to game:

Edited December 27, 2021 by wallymann

[grrrunge]

Nicely done. They look sweet!l

What's the heel to toe length of the club heads on those two?

[wallymann]

4 minutes ago, grrrunge said:

Nicely done. They look sweet!l

What's the heel to toe length of the club heads on those two?

 

anser heads are 4-1/2" long

[grrrunge]

Thanks for checking. That's what I thought. I just got an old odyssey putter, which I thought about modifying like this. I thought it was a straight up anser-clone, but it measures 4-5/8" which confused me a bit.

[CooperR56]

this is awesome, where did you source the weights from??

[wallymann]

1 hour ago, CooperR56 said:

this is awesome, where did you source the weights from??

 

amazon.  they're 3/8" diameter weights intended for pinewood derby cars.

[WanLefty]

Great job!

 

Can I ask how you removed the shaft without having to drill out the ball bearing?! 

 

Wan

[wallymann]

10 hours ago, WanLefty said:

Great job!

 

Can I ask how you removed the shaft without having to drill out the ball bearing?! 

 

Wan

 

sadly nothing to add here...version-1 i did the retrofit with shaft in-situ.  version-2 came to me sans shaft, so it was just epoxied in from when i did the pre-mod install -- no idea how it came to be w/o shaft.

[grrrunge]

10 hours ago, WanLefty said:

Great job!

 

Can I ask how you removed the shaft without having to drill out the ball bearing?! 

 

Wan

 

I've read about people heating up the hosel and then pouring ice water or dry ice down the inside of the shaft. Supposedly that makes the ball bearing cool fast enough that it releases from its location, and you should be able to get it out.