Thank you, my friend. This one and the MacGregor Colokrom have been the ones I've liked the best because they're so unique. More to come, so please subscribe if you haven't! Thanks again.
Great work. Just dusted off my building, fitting, and repair tools. Your videos are the inspiration for that. Reminded me of just how much I love attempting to build the perfect tool. Been too long. Be well.
Wow, at first I thought you were changing the original with the two bars on the club face, but then I saw the original club face near the end of the video and, once again, saw your genius and attention detail. Well done!
Thank you. I tried to point out the stripes in the video while I was stripping the paint but it's so subtle that it's hard to see unless the light hits it just right. It looks really cool with the contrast of the blasted face.
The nickel plating was the cherry on top for me. I've always wanted to build a plating/anodize setup but I have no real place for it! Great work my dude.
Thanks John. I appreciate you taking the time to comment. Makes the work worth while. The plating setup I made is quite small so that you could stash it in a cabinet until the next run. There's a video on my channel showing how the tank was made if you want to check it out.
Great job, but that's a '58 3-iron. Wilson incorporated the Fluid feel through bore hosel starting in 1956. '54 had no through bore. Keep up the excellent restorations on such beautiful clubs!
I'll do my regular chatter and banter in the tutorial videos, fo sho. But it's nice to sit back, chill and watch the progress without me blabbing through the whole thing. Stay tuned, golf geek!
Hey Brad just got a few sets of Wilson dyna powers and my favorite Wilson fg17’s. Just did the de burring stage going to sand with 400 like you do. I have a few questions after this hoping you could help me. Would love to send you pics of the progress.
Hey Brad, just a suggestion on the Resin. You can get tiny little syringes in bulk at a vet's office. I mean the small ones. you can fill the Resin into the hosel opening all the way down to the tape and plunge just the right amount every time. I have done it on a few Wilsons with the red plastic. No mess on your fingers. That shit gets everywhere any other way. Just some food for thought,
I was going to use this approach too. Then I was going to just use a straw with my finger over the end. Next time I'll opt for the syringe and be more precise with my tape. There was a wrinkle that I had to wet sand. Do you restore clubs as well?
@@BradMeehan Yes I do. Re-shafting, L&L checking, bending, and a lot of re-gripping. My Frequency analyzer went caputs, and the guy I bought my original club scout is out of biz, so I try to just rely on pre-analyzed shafts. After watching, er. Binge-watching I am going through old sets of clubs and lining them up for the transformations. As if I need 2 more things to add to my workload. But hey, one day at a time.
A M A Z I N G! Your patience is commendable. Nice work. I have been binge-watching your vlogs and have procured a lot of items you mentioned. I will be set to get it on in the next week or so. I can't wait to see my face in the chrome. Ha Ha. I Will let you know how it goes. I have a couple of Ben Hogan PT heads with multiple colors and more curves than a centerfold model. Wish me luck.
You had me at 'centerfold model'. Those will look amazing - the paint fill on those irons are gorgeous. Feel free to ask questions and try to practice on a piece of copper pipe or a cheap club to get a feel for it. I'm half-dipshit so if I can do it, anyone can. I'm still learning as I go so we might be figuring it out together.
@@BradMeehan the hardest part is finding the correct ferrules and vintage victory grips that aren't broken or cracked. I picked up 2 complete sets today at the flea market. Both for around 100 bucks. One set had a 1 iron. 1 Iron?! Who the hell plays a 1 iron these days. Just to say you have one in the bag makes you feel like Ben. LOL
will the deburring wheel remove or diminish the chrome plating? I have a set of Titleist 735-cm and I don't want to have to re-plate with chrome or alternatively plate with nickel.
I'm loving your videos and recently picked up an old set of Macgregor Irons & Persimmon Woods. I'm going to attempt to restore them, but I'm curious if you accumulated all the materials right away or over time? The electro cleaning seems confusing to me and would love to know more of what the purpose is.
I accumulated the tools somewhat gradually based on my level of laziness. The things I've purchased were to simplify steps that I was doing manually. For example, the deburring wheel. I was hand sanding EVERYTHING, but now i do this as a first-pass then only have to do light sanding. I was spending a ton of time cleaning my shop because of the amount of dust that is created during polishing and buffing, so i bought the portable stand to take my polisher outside. The arbor extenders that are on the end of my bench grinder were added to be able to swap wheels in seconds, versus a few minutes. Again, it's laziness at its core that drove me to buy some of the things I use. Do you need all of them? No. Will it save time. Hell yeah. The electro cleaning is a necessary step to REALLY get the club clean. Nickel won't bond to dirty / oily / etc and this is the most fool-proof way to ensure it's clean. Reach out with questions and i'd be glad to help you along. brad@bradmeehan.com
Hey Brad, these older irons that are pinned in the hosel. How do go about re-pinning them, without screwing up your plating and polish? I know about peening but, I feel that won't look as nice if you don't sand it smooth afterwards.
Agreed. I've been reusing the pins. I've read that welding rods have the same diameter and if you cut them to size before polishing, you can plate the pin and tap it in.
If you do everything except the last step of nickel plating. Will the finish hold up as long you take care of it? They looked pretty damn good without the plating IMO. I have a set of Apex Plus irons that are in rough shape, I have all of the different compounds. With light pressure to remove rust & nicks...followed by Black, green & blue compound polish that finish should hold up pretty good right? They be used for play, and I'm OCD with my irons. I wipe down after every shot, clean after every round. And put a coat of brasso once it hits winter. Thanks.
They will look good, but there's just no corrosion prevention unless you wipe them down with corrosion inhibitor after the round. You can always repolish them if they corrode a bit.
Is there anyway that you could give me a list of the stuff that you got? I really love your work and truly want to refurbish golf clubs. I love golf clubs and everything about them. I just need a mentor and someone that would help me getting the things I need to get started. God bless and have a wonderful day.
It's water and some muriatic acid, found in the paint department. So it's just a dilute acid. I learned this method when I was removing rust from an old motorcycle tank. It also takes the chrome off so it's a two-for-one deal.
@@BradMeehan thanks so much. Currently working on my arnold palmer "the original" putter. Going to be a gift for my dad. Looking really good. So much sanding... I ordered your buffing wheel and what not from harbor freight. Can't wait
8 months after this was made, can you comment on the durability of the nickel finish and if there’s any tarnishing? Also approximately how long are you plating on the nickel? Thanks!!!
Beautiful work. I am officially a fan!. Question for you. Just came across a set of Titleist acushnet AC-108. What process do you recommend for them? Thank you
Thank you. Check out my Wilson Reflex video for an example. It looks like you could use the same ideas from that one. Those recessed areas would look cool with the media blasted look next to the shiny rest of the club. Does look like you need to plate anything.
Sir! You are a true LEGEND!!. Will definitely follow your process!. I will post something and tag you for your review.. last question.. does it look like I need to plate?. I referrer to your expertise. Please let me know if you recommend it. Thank you once again.
Get the book. GOLF CLUB IDENTIFICATION AND PRICE GUIDE II: GOLF By Mark Wilson & Tom W. Wishon, You can still get a used/well-loved one for around $50.
@@TheKeenej That's the one! I also have two books by Jim Kaplan, which are a collection of Wilson and MacGregor products catalogs and brochures going back 100 years. These come and go on ebay regularly so don't fret if you don't see one listed at the moment.
Brad, another great video with superb results on an iconic iron. When I first saw the club I assumed it would be a full strip and rechrome - how do you determine whether it needs the full treatment or can be brought back like this one with a deep polish? Also thought the epoxy plug would be last on the list along with paintfill?
Thanks, Graeme. I'm a sucker for Wilson Staff so I was eager to do this one. When I did the dilute acid dip for the rust removal, it also takes the remaining chrome. So, I did end up stripping and re-plating it with bright nickel. You'll see it briefly in the video. I had to abbreviate the video because it was getting close to 20 minutes. I was debating on doing the plug last, but figured if it wasn't smooth when I removed the masking tape that I'd have to sand it again (which happened) and damage my progress. I didn't want to risk scratching the fresh plating so I did it before I put it in the tank. I'm doing mad science in the basement and I'm figuring a lot of it out as I go, so I'm sure it's not how they were originally done. But, it turned out gorgeous. The stripes on the club face look really cool in person.
Great work! If you want it closer to the original look (I have a set of these) there is actually a sandblasted area on the leading edge and topline, and the grooves are red paint filled, with the Staff Model lettering in blue and the iron number in black. It's a crazy level of detail for a golf club, probably why the next year's Wilson irons didn't have the face stripes and red hosel arrow!
@@BradMeehan It's red like the other grooves...that's about the only place Wilson didn't make the '58 Staffs complex, no multicolored grooves. Those irons are like the Eldorado Biarritz of golf clubs, so extra, though I'm a '62 Turfrider fan myself!
In this video, your last process before paint was nickel plating. In other video, you finished with media blast as last step. What makes the difference in process?
If you're going to plate the club, I blast the face before plating it. If the club is cast like the Nike Slingshot or Wilson D7, then you don't have to plate it so you can blast it last.
Jon, I use it for the rist removal and it gives the Iron an etch to help with with chrome removal while sanding. I wouldn't use it unless you were going to re-plate it. I used to use it on rusted motorcycle tanks. It's very dilute but effective.
Oh, it's a butter knife for sure. I compared it to the size of a modern blade (the new Wilson Staff Model) and the size difference of the head was significant. I should make a video of me trying to hit them. You'd laugh.
