I love Bubinga, though it's sometimes hard to find any my local specialty hardwood store. Glad you tried the project and I think you'll love the way the putter feels even if it's all old school!

It does work pretty great as a way to hold the epoxy from spilling out... Best project results seem to come when you're winging it and adapting solutions to get you where you want to go. Thanks man!

Hi Rory! If you're talking about growth rings within the tree trunk, I have a couple observations. Slow growth hardwoods are best, especially those that rank highly on the Janka Hardness index, because the growth rings/layers are tightly packed together. It makes for a hard, dense putter. I also like the look of the woodgrain running front to back (putter face to back), and that puts the end grain on the putter face making it a hard hitting surface too. I would avoid the sap wood of the species you choose because it is often softer than the center heart of the tree. If you pick a tree variety that is a little softer, you can harden up the end grain fibers with some CA glue before your final finishing. I wish you best of luck on your project!

I actually got mine mail order from Baird Brothers - a hardwood supplier. www.bairdbrothers.com/ If you google Baird Brothers and hickory dowels, it should take you to the right page... Keep in mind I ordered a half dozen and a couple weren't straight. You may have to order a couple to get a perfect one!

It's just Minwax gloss poly, dries pretty fast between sprays and is completely water resistant. But, you can finish it with whatever you're most comfortable with too... Just keep in mind you're dealing with wood and it might get a little wet along the way.

@@TheFamilyWoodworker Thank you for the help!