Vintage Golf

[Voyager EMH]

Are you going to do any work on them?

Opinions vary, but I would not paint touch-up the woods. I would merely apply some protective varnish where needed.
Iron heads soaking in white vinegar overnight then a scrub with an old toothbrush.
Final cleaning with Bar Keepers Friend Power Cream.
Optional touching up of lettering.
The sideways A - I think this was blue like these Slazenger JN 2000 with a thin blue triangle.

This not my set - I've snipped the pic from a set on sale at a silly price.
Personally, I'm not keen on blue lettering on clubs and I've redone the JN on mine in a bronze/gold type colour.
The thin triangles I've left alone - some have a bit of blue in them and some almost no colour.

 

[Oddsocks]

I hadn’t planned any work on them but that being said once we had our four round series I may collect them and give them some love in the spring.

Any recommendations on varnish?

 

[Voyager EMH]

You need Exterior Varnish or even Yacht Varnish. You are doing a practical job of preventing further water damage not creating a shiny beautiful thing.
I picked up some Wickes own brand yacht varnish at a reduced price, but 1 Litre is far too much really. Its the only one I've used on woods so far.
Ronseal is the most expensive and Wiilko own brand is cheap and smaller tins of 250ml.
Applying it very very thinly but not missing any spots is fairly intricate work. Overdoing it can look poorer than the opposite.

 

[Crow]

I use a spray tin, thin coats and sand down any rough areas first.
Also, mask off the whipping and any areas you don't want to spray.

 

[Oddsocks]

I’m assuming we are trying to keep the varnish away from the insert?

 

[Crow]

I’m assuming we are trying to keep the varnish away from the insert?

No, varnish on the insert is fine.
The whole head can be dipped in a tin of varnish, I was thinking more of the whipping and shaft, probably the only parts you wouldn't want to varnish.

 

[Oddsocks]

Thanks crow

 

[Voyager EMH]

There is a small crack on the sole of the driver.
I'm not sure what needs to be done there.
Will varnish be enough to seal it?

 

[Crow]

There is a small crack on the sole of the driver.
I'm not sure what needs to be done there.
Will varnish be enough to seal it?

Hard to say in a laminated head, it might just be the bottom layer that's shrunk a bit due to water penetration or it might go deeper.
A pin might reveal how deep the crack goes, if it's deep the shaft should ideally be removed and the head reset with epoxy and clamped tight while it dries, but it's not a valuable club so might not be worth the effort.
You could try sticking some epoxy glue in anyway in prior to varnishing.

 

[Voyager EMH]

I got all the black paint out of the John Letters Banker 5 and I've shone it up a bit. I tried scrubbing with fairy liquid first, but all I did was make the black more shiny. White spirit in the end, but I had to work fast, because it turned to a nasty black sludge very quickly and I had kitchen roll at the ready.
I've included a pic of my JN 2000 7-iron. I'm never going to sell this set, so I thought I would indulge myself with bronze paint down the markings at the edges of the face. Not too OTT, I hope. The previous owner had touched up the red "2000" but over-splodged in places and I actually removed some with cotton bud and nail varnish remover.


I needed black paint only on the soles of the PW and SW. These were in very good condition when purchased and I have the matching 1, 2, 3, 4 woods as well. I paid about a quarter of the price that some ebay seller wants for his irons only set right now. Oh, by the way, although they were called "2000" they date from the early 1970s. (Thanks to @Crow for the info)

 

[Crow]

Paint fill in the markings boxing in the grooves was sometimes used on the original paint finish.
I've got a set of very good condition Slazenger irons where you can clearly see the original gold paint fill.

 

[Oddsocks]

Any tips for roughing up old slippery grip rites?

 

[Crow]

Any tips for roughing up old slippery grip rites?

Sounds like Victory Greens, he worst grip ever IMHO.

I try and re-grip these ASAP, you can try putting the wraps used in tennis etc on them if you want a quick fix.
I've tried sandpaper but it doesn't seem to help much.

 

[harpo_72]

Fairy liquid revives rubber … but it has its limits. I got rid of the grips as they were horrific

 

[Oddsocks]

Sounds like Victory Greens, he worst grip ever IMHO.

I try and re-grip these ASAP, you can try putting the wraps used in tennis etc on them if you want a quick fix.
I've tried sandpaper but it doesn't seem to help much.

It’s exactly them but in black/white combo. The rubber is cracked so will need changing, I’m just not sure I can get them done by Sunday

 

[Voyager EMH]

I played today and...
...I thought I would photograph the clubs I played with after I cleaned them this afternoon.

Confidence woods 1, 3, 4.
Dunlop Maxfli Original Blade 2-iron.
Dunlop Maxfli Australian Blade 3-SW
John Letters Banker 5 putter.
Wilson bag and a Titliest Turfglider trolley.

 

[garyinderry]

I played today and...
...I thought I would photograph the clubs I played with after I cleaned them this afternoon.

Confidence woods 1, 3, 4.
Dunlop Maxfli Original Blade 2-iron.
Dunlop Maxfli Australian Blade 3-SW
John Letters Banker 5 putter.
Wilson bag and a Titliest Turfglider trolley.

View attachment 39432

Theres nothing cooler than the sw from a set of blades.

 

[Ye Olde Boomer]

I still have my first set which was handed down to me by my uncle.
He bought them immediately upon returning from Korea, circa 1954.
They were quite old when I got them, but I learned to play with them.
They just needed re-gripping.

MacGregor Tommy Armour Tourney Eye-O-Matic ___1, 3, 4
Wilson Staff DynaPowered___2-9 ( no PW included )
Spalding Dynamiter__sand iron
Spalding Cash In___putter

Lofts are about 2 clubs weaker than modern equipment.
I'd have been fine if they had stuck with the old standard.

Also some individually wrapped in cellophane 1.62" diameter Dunlop balls that he bought in Bermuda still remain in the real leather bag,
which is in a shape no longer seen today and quite dried out.

I had played some of them when I was a kid, but I have none of those unwrapped ones remaining.
They were wound, of course.
The covers were neither urethane nor surlyn--they were natural balata rubber and cracked if you stared at them.

My finished basement is decorated with all the clubs that I've ever owned since then.

 

[Voyager EMH]

My next door neighbour has given me a TM RBZ Stage 2 driver. Not loaned - given. Said it never worked for him.



Placed like this, the grip of the big ugly one still goes 1 inch higher than the persimmon driver. Both "standard" length for their time, I assume.
I feel I'm bound to hit the RBZ further, of course. But for social golf - which will give me more enjoyment/pleasure to play with?
I know which one I prefer to look at!

 

[Crow]

My next door neighbour has given me a TM RBZ Stage 2 driver. Not loaned - given. Said it never worked for him.



Placed like this, the grip of the big ugly one still goes 1 inch higher than the persimmon driver. Both "standard" length for their time, I assume.
I feel I'm bound to hit the RBZ further, of course. But for social golf - which will give me more enjoyment/pleasure to play with?
I know which one I prefer to look at!

Easy answer for you and me.

If you're going to play through the winter I'd also recommend getting some "weatherproof" options for your woods.
These can be early steel heads or polymer heads, anything that won't be damaged by playing in wet, muddy conditions.
Something like the below, Sparkbrook Golf Co Cypress point polymer and 1980s Titleist steel head.




The Titleist 1 wood is actually smaller than a wooden 1 wood due to weight, see comparison picture below.