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Designing a Golf Club -- Part II

jbishop15

Entry posted by jbishop15 in Golf Club Making

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So, I've finished an initial design. 

I used the autoCAD program freeCAD to draw most of it, and the image editor program Inkscape to import the more demanding designs, like the geranium and the American flag. It took me about a week of learning the program to get comfortable with it. 

Not a complex design, but I am happy with the result. I haven't decided where I'm going to make an injection mold, a sand mold, a metal mold, or just CNC mill this first putter for testing. If I CNC it, this will be a fairly quick process, because then I don't have to buy smelting equipment and melt the steel myself (though the plan is it do that in the future. 

Even if it doesn't work the way I hope, it will have been a worthwhile project.

Once the putter head itself is made, I'm going to nickel plate it to protect it from rust (I'll be using carbon steel for the head itself), and then paint the words and designs in their appropriate colors. Once that is done, I'll install a putter shaft and grip and take it to the course. 

Lot more to do, but I'm on a good path. 

Screen Shot 2022-06-02 at 6.22.39 PM.png

Screen Shot 2022-06-02 at 6.23.46 PM.png

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10 Comments

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saevel25

saevel25 2,862

Posted

You may need to do some back of the napkin CG location calculations. As soon as you remove material somewhere, it shifts the CG. So the club might not be perfectly symmetrical.

jbishop15

jbishop15 235

Posted

5 minutes ago, saevel25 said:

You may need to do some back of the napkin CG location calculations. As soon as you remove material somewhere, it shifts the CG. So the club might not be perfectly symmetrical.

My guess is that the CG is closer to the heel than the center, considering the shaft. I don't know the math necessary to calculate the CG; something I'll have to learn! 

Thanks for the input!!!

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boogielicious

boogielicious 4,834

Posted

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Double check the CAD program for CG calcs. Some come with that ability.

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iacas

iacas 15,323

Posted

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Yeah, and the CG location is going to be important.

Also, do you want people staring at a flag when they're looking down at their putter at address?

jbishop15

jbishop15 235

Posted

57 minutes ago, boogielicious said:

Double check the CAD program for CG calcs. Some come with that ability.

you can do it by using a python console but it's not working right and I can't figure out why. 

5 minutes ago, iacas said:

Yeah, and the CG location is going to be important.

Also, do you want people staring at a flag when they're looking down at their putter at address?

The flag can be changed; that's more for me than for wide use. I like having both a narrow aim line (the straight line) and a wider one. It helps me for some reason. 

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iacas

iacas 15,323

Posted

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What's the end goal here? To begin to manufacture a putter for sale? Because… visit the PGA Merchandise Show some time, and you'll find lots of putters (as well as tees that get you an extra five yards). Everyone designs a putter, and yet… there's nothing special about any of them, really. Putters are just flat pieces of metal on the end of a stick.

jmanbooyaa

jmanbooyaa 160

Posted

I agree. Looks is really the only important aspect. Looks most likely translates to how a player says it feels nice. Just my opinion. 

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iacas

iacas 15,323

Posted

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6 minutes ago, jmanbooyaa said:

I agree. Looks is really the only important aspect. Looks most likely translates to how a player says it feels nice. Just my opinion. 

Looks are how a player aligns the thing. Looks are quite important to a putter.

jbishop15

jbishop15 235

Posted

3 hours ago, iacas said:

What's the end goal here? To begin to manufacture a putter for sale? Because… visit the PGA Merchandise Show some time, and you'll find lots of putters (as well as tees that get you an extra five yards). Everyone designs a putter, and yet… there's nothing special about any of them, really. Putters are just flat pieces of metal on the end of a stick.

The end goal is to make a putter -- past that, I don't really have any expectations! I like making things, but in my professional life the work I do doesn't really have an end point, and having project that I can "finish" has been a lot of fun. 

I definitely agree RE: the specialness of any particular putter. I like the design I have and I think it'll look cool when it's done. But who know! I might hate it when it's actually out in the world. I've got a few friends and family who want one already, which is a cool feeling

JPGolf99

JPGolf99 1

Posted

Awesome work - nothing like working on something you are passionate about. I can't wait to see the finished product once you get there!

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