Modified Taylormade Vicino (Brass insert, and ghosted)

[iHak]

My TM Vicino mods *pics*

Hi there!

I've always loved the feel of a brass putter face, and I really like the feel of mallet putters, specifically the Taylormade Spiders.

When TM released the new Ghost, I was disappointed that it's basically just the original, painted white, with an insert that doesn't feel as good as the original. So I decided to mod my Vicino. I ghosted it (powder coat) as well as changing the insert.

It's still not totally finished.. (I'm working on the aesthetics of the top) but it's finished as far as functionality goes. I took it out for a round today and I'm SOO happy with it. It feels dramatically different, in a very good way. The sound is more to my liking as well.

I removed the old insert, and got a sheet of brass about half the thickness of the cavity that it goes into. After shaping the new insert, I made some brass "posts" and glued them in, then surrounded them and filled the cavity with epoxy resin, and pushed the new insert in. Once it set, I sanded everything flush.

The idea behind using had the thickness of brass, and using brass posts, was that I wanted the insert to "connect" with the metal of the actual putter head, but I also wanted tome of the feel that the epoxy would give. The posts provide that nice brassy feel, but I still get that springy feel from the epoxy.

Here's a pic!

[Jeep1423]

How did the plastic connected to the aluminum plate where the sightline turn out?

[chrisday83]

Take some more pics! Good project!

[iHak]

[quote name='Jeep1423' timestamp='1321587629' post='3816417']
How did the plastic connected to the aluminum plate where the sightline turn out?
[/quote]

I still haven't finished that yet! haha.. I have been playing with the putter, it feels so good and I just couldn't wait.

Will post more pics once I finish the top. Im hoping to finish it within a few days.


[quote name='chrisday83' timestamp='1321620894' post='3817503']
Take some more pics! Good project!
[/quote]

Thanks!

[mflores]

Nice job

[Jeep1423]

I'm doing mine this morning. We are at my in laws and my father in law owns a body shop that is right on the property. I'm not sure if you can do a search...but I screwed my Vicino up BIG TIME back in July while trying to paint it white. I though it was completely ruined and bought a Ghost 880 and went into a massive putting slump...this lead me to spend 3 days stripping my disaster of a paint job off of it...and low and behold, the last 3 weeks I've been putting out of my mind with it...including 3 straight holes where I knocked down 45-60 foot putts! It looks so rough that I had to bring it here and attempt it again...but with proper tools and someone with talent this time. If you don't mind, I'll post the results in this thread.

[PINGWRXforeme]

This kind of tinkering is right up my alley. Very nice.

[iHak]

[quote name='mflores' timestamp='1322054887' post='3840353']
Nice job
[/quote]
Thank you!


[quote name='Jeep1423' timestamp='1322314737' post='3853387']
I'm doing mine this morning. We are at my in laws and my father in law owns a body shop that is right on the property. I'm not sure if you can do a search...but I screwed my Vicino up BIG TIME back in July while trying to paint it white. I though it was completely ruined and bought a Ghost 880 and went into a massive putting slump...this lead me to spend 3 days stripping my disaster of a paint job off of it...and low and behold, the last 3 weeks I've been putting out of my mind with it...including 3 straight holes where I knocked down 45-60 foot putts! It looks so rough that I had to bring it here and attempt it again...but with proper tools and someone with talent this time. If you don't mind, I'll post the results in this thread.
[/quote]
Hi there.. yeah, post your pics here! I'd love to see how you go.

[quote name='LNS' timestamp='1322367672' post='3856195']
This kind of tinkering is right up my alley. Very nice.
[/quote]

Thanks very much.. I have played a bunch of rounds with it, even though I STILL have not finished the top.. hhaaha.. omg, it just feels so incredibly nice to putt with. The brass feel is unlike any other.

I plan to finish it soon, once it's done I'll post a bunch of pics.

[golfluvzme]

Really want to see a picture of the top and the currrent condition of that plastic cover that held the thin aluminum piece with the sight line in it. When you said "Powdercoat", I saw a melted mess in my mind's eye. The only reason I mention it is that I had no idea that the top was plastic until about 2 seconds after I tried to heat it up to remove one.

Who would have ever thought that something on a quality putter would have been plastic? Live and learn.

Here is what my version turned out like.

 

[iHak]

Really want to see a picture of the top and the currrent condition of that plastic cover that held the thin aluminum piece with the sight line in it. When you said "Powdercoat", I saw a melted mess in my mind's eye. The only reason I mention it is that I had no idea that the top was plastic until about 2 seconds after I tried to heat it up to remove one.

Who would have ever thought that something on a quality putter would have been plastic? Live and learn.

 

Here we go... I dismantled the whole putter before I had it powder coated (removed the insert as well, as I planned on making my own brass insert.

 

I finally got it finished.. the only thing left to do is add a sight line, (but do I even need one??)

 

I filled the top of the plastic piece, then sanded it with a sanding block so it's perfectly flat across, but still curves from front to back.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[iHak]

[quote name='golfluvzme' timestamp='1323015791' post='3889525']
Really want to see a picture of the top and the currrent condition of that plastic cover that held the thin aluminum piece with the sight line in it. When you said "Powdercoat", I saw a melted mess in my mind's eye. The only reason I mention it is that I had no idea that the top was plastic until about 2 seconds after I tried to heat it up to remove one.
Who would have ever thought that something on a quality putter would have been plastic? Live and learn.
Here is what my version turned out like.


[/quote]

yours looks really good too.. how'd you do such a perfect sight line?

[golfluvzme]

[quote name='iHak' timestamp='1326571948' post='4084477']

yours looks really good too.. how'd you do such a perfect sight line?
[/quote]

Not sure if you can tell from a single picture, but the top plate on my version is milled 6061 Aluminum and is one flat plane. While I had it in the mill, I cut the site line from face to heel, approx. .030 deep.
Love the smoothed look of your top section. If anything, I'd just add a piece of automotive pinstripe tape for a site line. You can get it cheap at Checker Auto or Auto Zone and if you don't like it, she peels right off.
Nice work on your putter! Thanks for sharing all of the pictures.
LaMont in AZ

[iHak]

[quote name='golfluvzme' timestamp='1326657792' post='4088991']
[quote name='iHak' timestamp='1326571948' post='4084477']
yours looks really good too.. how'd you do such a perfect sight line?
[/quote]

Not sure if you can tell from a single picture, but the top plate on my version is milled 6061 Aluminum and is one flat plane. While I had it in the mill, I cut the site line from face to heel, approx. .030 deep.
Love the smoothed look of your top section. If anything, I'd just add a piece of automotive pinstripe tape for a site line. You can get it cheap at Checker Auto or Auto Zone and if you don't like it, she peels right off.
Nice work on your putter! Thanks for sharing all of the pictures.
LaMont in AZ
[/quote]

Thanks! Thank you for the idea of using auto pinstripe tape too.. That will be perfect I think. I'll add a pic or 2 once it's done.

[dunahoo]

looks so clean. love it!

[Nandy14]

Start of a side business? Nice work

[iHak]

[quote name='Nandy14' timestamp='1326770784' post='4097007']
Start of a side business? Nice work
[/quote]

Hahaha! Thanks..
Gosh.. It took so long to do.. there's no way I could do it economically without charging a grand or so per putter.. lol

[iHak]

[quote name='dunahoo' timestamp='1326754948' post='4095305']
looks so clean. love it!
[/quote]

Thanks. It feels as good as it looks. I never liked the insert in this putter. Brass feels so much more true. (to me)

[TRoc9892]

Looks incredible. If it had an alignment aid, I legitimately would have thought these were mass produced from taylormade.
Theoretically, could you have done the same with a copper insert instead of brass?

[iHak]

[quote name='TRoc9892' timestamp='1326827049' post='4099921']
Looks incredible. If it had an alignment aid, I legitimately would have thought these were mass produced from taylormade.
Theoretically, could you have done the same with a copper insert instead of brass?
[/quote]

Thanks!

Yes, I could have done it with just about anything I could get my hands on. I carved the insert out of a solid 6"X8" bar of brass. Copper would be easier, I think (isn't copper softer than brass?)

[iHak]

So.. I still can't get used to a mallet putter.. this was my last ditch attempt at switching from my trusted (very) old Scotty Cameron blade, but I still find myself picking up the SC.

I do like it better than the other spiders (smaller than the Monza Spider, bigger than the Itsy) and the brass insert is a VERY big improvement, imho. I'm thinking about selling it. A lot time went into it because I intended this to be my personal putter, so it had to be perfect. Unlike other finishes, I had this stripped back to metal and powder coated, so it won't chip like a painted club will.

I'm considering selling it, so I can get my hands on some new clubs.

Would anyone be interested? I'd consider trades too..

Thanks!

[Ghost_Orchid]

For the past few days, I've been rolling this putter at Dicks and making some long putts. I love the way it feels and looks, they're pretty cheap online so i need to go back to Dicks and see whether its a center shaft and get the length.

Nice job, btw.

[iHak]

[quote name='Ghost_Orchid' timestamp='1327549623' post='4153781']
For the past few days, I've been rolling this putter at Dicks and making some long putts. I love the way it feels and looks, they're pretty cheap online so i need to go back to Dicks and see whether its a center shaft and get the length.

Nice job, btw.
[/quote]

Thanks.. The Vicino is absolutely the best mallet I have ever used.. I just wish I could get used to it, because I'm pretty sure I'll ultimately make more putts with it than my blade, but I just can't let go of the blade..

[rkristopheranderson]

http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/topic/515941-getting-ridof-that-vicino-glare/page__p__3578582__fromsearch__1#entry3578582

Yeah--you can pick these up good and cheap; got mine slightly used for well under $100. The trick to modifying them is that little piece on top; I got it off with a blow dryer because I read about issues with the plastic material. The catch is that metal piece is so flimsy that unless you've got the ability to rebuild/fab a replacement piece (what you've done looks very, very good) you have to be very careful getting it off and on.

Totally worth it though--I'm rolling this better than anything I've ever had, which got me over the size quick.