Shaft plugs

[BT@Home]

Having just finished removing the shafts from some TM Irons I noticed that the shafts have some kind of plug in the end (I assume to prevent epoxy going up the shaft).

Is this normal to have the plug? Is it really required?

Cheers

[Lowho]

Its not an epoxy plug, Its a tip weight. Taylormade among most companies use these to weight their clubs to an exact swingweight. They cant get the headweights dead on due to quality control issues so they use the weights. You can drill them out easy peasy.

[BT@Home]

So does this mean I should reinstall them, to ensure they are weighted correctly :confused:

[rgjusa]

Yes if they pop out easily. If you have to drill them out and you do not have any replacements, then the easiest (ie. quickest) way is to use lead tape to get the sw back up to what it was. Or let me know what weights you need and a) I might have some b) I can order some too :wink:

[BT@Home]

Thanks, I'll try burning them out :yes:

[Lowho]

Thanks, I'll try burning them out :yes:

Be careful if burning them out (its not reccomended) If there is air still stuck in the shaft they could literally fly out, I;ve seen it happen. Just a quick blast with the drill and they should fall out :yes:

[rgjusa]

I forgot to say - are you changing the grips as well? If you are then they may alter the sw too so putting the plugs back in without taking into account the weight of the grips will affect the sw too...

[BT@Home]

I forgot to say - are you changing the grips as well? If you are then they may alter the sw too so putting the plugs back in without taking into account the weight of the grips will affect the sw too...and there's me thinking this would be easy :)

The grips are already off the old shafts, and new shafts/grips are being used.

[rgjusa]

and there's me thinking this would be easy :)

The grips are already off the old shafts, and new shafts/grips are being used.

Then you won't be interested in my methodology:


Check the loft and lie that I'm trying to get, and make sure that the club heads are protected on the hosel to minimize any bending machine marking
Pull the shaft out and clean up the hosel and mark the weights one by one
Check the depth of the hosel to make sure they are consistent to receive the new shaft
Prep all the shafts and use the spine finder/FLO and mark them one by one
Measure the shafts one by one to make sure the length is exactly at 1/2" increments
Weight sort the grips one by one to make sure all grips are the same weight or extremely close
Install ferrules
Swing weight them one by one and mark them for lead plug adjustment
Install a lead plug and swing weight them one by one to make sure it is within an acceptable tolerance of 1/8-1/4 of a point
Mix the glue and glue them one by one and make sure the spined position is at the right spot and make sure they have the same amount of glue to maintain a consistent swing weight
Turn the ferrule one by one and shine them up w/ acetone
Double check the loft and lie
Clean up heads/ferrules with car wax from any acetone residue
Put on the grips (plus any masking tape) and make sure they line up straight and are consistently stretched to the same length
Document all changes and the final specs for each club/set


No, honest, I do this 'cos I luv it !

[BT@Home]

My mum says I can't be your friend anymore, she says she warned me about people like you.


:eekw:

[PowerPenguin]

My mum says I can't be your friend anymore, she says she warned me about people like you.


:eekw:

ROTFL! :laugh:

Dave

[Snake Eyes]

Then you won't be interested in my methodology:

Check the loft and lie that I'm trying to get, and make sure that the club heads are protected on the hosel to minimize any bending machine marking
Pull the shaft out and clean up the hosel and mark the weights one by one
Check the depth of the hosel to make sure they are consistent to receive the new shaft
Prep all the shafts and use the spine finder/FLO and mark them one by one
Measure the shafts one by one to make sure the length is exactly at 1/2" increments
Weight sort the grips one by one to make sure all grips are the same weight or extremely close
Install ferrules
Swing weight them one by one and mark them for lead plug adjustment
Install a lead plug and swing weight them one by one to make sure it is within an acceptable tolerance of 1/8-1/4 of a point
Mix the glue and glue them one by one and make sure the spined position is at the right spot and make sure they have the same amount of glue to maintain a consistent swing weight
Turn the ferrule one by one and shine them up w/ acetone
Double check the loft and lie
Clean up heads/ferrules with car wax from any acetone residue
Put on the grips (plus any masking tape) and make sure they line up straight and are consistently stretched to the same length
Document all changes and the final specs for each club/set

No, honest, I do this 'cos I luv it !


Bl@@dy Hell!, Seriously, Prep all the shafts and use the spine finder/FLO How is this done?

[rgjusa]

First you need something called a spine finder. Essentially there are 2 bearings that the butt end of that shaft can "float" in, and a 3rd bearing that you use to push down on the tip of the shaft. You clamp the spine finder in the vice and then you are ready.

So you take the "spine finder" and twist the shaft while pushing down on the tip with the 3rd bearing until you find the position it likes to bend in most, in which it is softest. It is easy to find, difficult to describe! What happens is that you find a point where the shaft will "settle" and if you twist in either direction the shaft will try to snap back to the "settled" position. This is the "strongest" neutral bend point (NBP). I mark this as "N".

Once I have this I then clamp the shaft at the butt, attach a tip weight that has a laser attached to it, and twang the shaft horizontally. I am looking for it vibrating from left to right in a straight line called "flat-line-oscillation", abbreviated FLO. If I don't get a straight line it is doing a twisting and kicking thing and you will see the laser pointer go into a loop, figure of 8 - which is bad. So you try again by turning the shaft slightly and twanging. It is never usually far from "N".

I am going to video it one day as it is soooo much easier to see it...

[ScottC]

Do video it rgjusa. This sounds fascinating. Apparently you can build your own http://www.clubmaker-online.com/spinefinder.html (http://www.clubmaker-online.com/spinefinder.html) but seeing it set up and working would make this more meaningful.

[rgjusa]

I think that is where I made my first one from...plastic tubing, bearings - if that is the one then that is what started me on the path...this is where I bought mine from:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/JBs-SPINE-FINDER-Spine-Tool_W0QQitemZ130063079953QQihZ003QQcategoryZ36192 QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD2VQQcmdZViewItem

Excellent piece of kit. The pictures of him with it in the vice also show better than what I could describe.

[Snake Eyes]

Nice one rgjusa, when you have found this "spline" what position in relation to the club head would it be placed?

[rgjusa]

Nice one rgjusa, when you have found this "spline" what position in relation to the club head would it be placed?

For those of us that believe in these things, putting N towards the target is supposed to increase accuracy, at 180* to the target it is supposed to increase distance. Now, at this point someone usually jumps in and quotes that the rules of golf say that you are not allowed to "spine align" to alter the playing characteristics, only to be consistent. There is a patented process called SST Pureing which involves big bucks. I have taken apart SST PUREd clubs and they always seem to have had the N at 12 o'clock (where 12 o'clock points to your nose at address)...

[BT@Home]

How heavy are these weights? I've just got 6 of them out and placed them on a set of scales. The grand total is 4g, give or take some inaccurancy (+/- 10%).

[rgjusa]

Depends...usually from 2 - 10 grams...usually the lightest is 4g...

[EXMAX]

better to remove the plugs as they dont have an air hole which will cause a compression joint forcing out most of the adhesive or pushing the shafts up away from the ferrule.
use tungsten powder - weigh out and mix with adhesive - always use clean adhesive for the inside socket and outer shaft
or dry powder and cork to swingweight.
on spining and floing have to agree
irons generally aligned to target ie at 9.00 if the toe of the club is at 12.00
with drivers it can be different as rg has said many align to 12,00 to prevent excessive toe droop which toes the head down and opens the head giving an open face and increased loft
also the jb stuff on ebay is about the best stuff you can purchase