Followup to my previous post... Here's the details on the process, exhumed from my archives for 2001.
From: "Dave Tutelman" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "ShopTalk" <ShopTalk@mail.msen.com> Subject: ShopTalk: Dremel tool to recut grooves Date: Sun, 30 Dec 2001 18:35:37 -0500 X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.00.2615.200 Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Reply-To: ShopTalk@mail.msen.com I love my sand wedge of several years, except for one thing -- the grooves. The club is a Chicago Classic 55*, bent strong to 54*; that gives me a 100yds-every-time club, and is halfway between my PW and LW so there is no need for a gap wedge. But the grooves... They're too narrow and too shallow, meaning: * I don't get the full value of grooves from the rough, where cross-section volume seems to be the figure of merit. * The grooves are hard to keep clean. My face-cleaning brush (use it after every iron shot) can't remove grit from these grooves. And hey, it is a SAND wedge; there's ALWAYS silica grit to get out. So when Carey Winquist wrote that he had recut grooves in his irons, I asked him what he had used. His reply, in part: From: Carey Winquist <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: Dave Tutelman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Monday, December 24, 2001 1:46 PM Subject: Re: ShopTalk: Game Improvement Iron Heads > The tool I used (in [clubmaker friend's]store) looked something like a narrow > chisel which I used to follow along the existing scorelines. He told me > the tool was available from Golfsmith... > Re-grooving with this tool is a very labor intensive process and I had > to be extremely careful to remove only that material that I wished to > remove. The "bit" was configured in a "V" shape so I don't think it > would be terribly useful to fashion square grooves. > > You might be able to use a high speed rotary tool with the proper bit, > but it would require a very steady hand. You would probably have to set > up some type of a jig to obtain any precision as well. Well, I had considered using my Dremel for the job ever since I had the club. But I was reluctant to go to an improvised power tool and risk ruining the club. So I kept waiting for "the right tool" to come along. Carey's reply convinced me that "the right tool" probably wasn't there, so I bit the bullet. I observed the following measurements: .035" = max legal groove width .013" = groove width on my sand wedge .025-.030" = groove width on clubs where I liked the grooves Interestingly, those little (~1" diam) cutoff wheels for the Dremel are .025" thick. Using one of them to recut the grooves sounded like just the ticket! It turned out to be a lot easier than I expected. I was able to freehand it no problem; no "precision jig" was needed. The salient points: * Use eye protection! You only get one pair of eyes. * Clamp the clubhead securely in a position that allows you comfortable working with two hands; you should not need a hand to position the work. I used a hosel clamp in a vise, leaving the face in a convenient position. If you have a regrooving "nest" that might work better -- or not; remember, it's a Dremel, not a conventional regrooving tool. * Hold the tool with two hands, and place a finger of the hand nearer the bit against the sole of the club. This allows much finer hand control when positioning the cutting blade. * Use eye protection! I frequently felt tiny shards strike my cheek, and was very glad I had my safety glasses on. * Run at a high speed (I was probably running 10,000-15,000 rpm), and use several passes with a light touch. * After the grooves were cut, I used a carbide scriber to finish the job. I tilted it one way for a pass, then another pass tilted the other way. This did two things: (1) the tip helped square out the rounded groove a little, and (2) the edge of the tool burnished the edge of the groove, so there were no burrs and a slightly rounded edge. * OK, NOW you can take off your eye protection. The result looked like the grooves I like on some other clubs, even under 10x magnification. They also felt right to the touch. I can't give you playing results yet. Doesn't look like there's golf weather in the NJ forecast for the next 10 days. If January doesn't have a thaw, the next time I'll play golf is Jan 23 in South Carolina. Happy New Year! DaveT
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