Pulling a Shaft: Question from GolfWRX Member

February 7, 2011

A GolfWRX member sent me a message about pulling shafts after viewing the post on replacing a Sonartec shaft, located at https://thepowerfade.wordpress.com/2010/10/17/how-i-do-club-repair-and-you-can-too/. Check out the interaction below:

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Sent 13 January 2011 – 12:36 PM
Hey man. A few quick questions for ya. I live in Pittsburgh PA and since we have 7 inches of snow, there will be no more golf. Time for some DIY golf.

I have some limited experience with golf DIY. I was able to refinish and regroove 2 wedges a few months ago. I did the paintfill and everything.

I’m looking to refinish a set of 695cbs that I have. My questions come in here. The 2 wedges that I did before, I wasn’t worried about keeping the shafts as they were not wedges I planned on playing. So I just heated the s*** out of the shaft and pulled it out. Since these are a set of irons I plan on playing with, I want to take the heads off as carefully as possible.

What is the best way to pull iron shafts that I plan on playing with? They are steel. I assume that I will need new ferrules as well. Can you tell me that best and cheapest place you know to buy new ferrules? Really appreciate the help and great write up. If you have a writeup to link me to or if you have some step-by-step instructions, I would really appreciate it. Thx.

Sent 13 January 2011 – 01:45 PM
Sounds like a pretty easy job. Graphite is a lot harder to deal with.

Since you “heated the s***” out of the two wedges, I assume you already have a blow torch. I would make sure it’s a propane torch, as other types (acetylene, butane, for example) can get too hot and damage your club. I use a Bernz-O-Matic propane torch (about $20 at Home Depot).

Your ferrules will be irreparably damaged, yes. Before you remove the shaft, hit them with the torch for about 2 seconds so they melt a little bit, then let them cool for about 20 seconds and cut them off with a box cutter.

Once the ferrule is off, you don’t need any special equipment to take off an iron shaft (this is where the difference between graphite and steel is really seen). What I do is (1) put a heat-resistant glove on my left hand (I’m right-handed), (2) start the torch, (3) pick up the club in my left hand (held far enough away from the head that I don’t burn my glove), (4) heat the hosel, (5) put the torch down and turn it off, (6) switch hands so that I now hold the (unheated part of the) shaft in my right hand, (7) grip the head with my gloved left hand, and (8) give the club head a twist to see if the head has come loose. I usually start with about 25 seconds or so of heat, then try to twist, then 10s more of heat, then twist, then 10s, then twist, and so on until the epoxy bond breaks. MAKE SURE that you don’t just heat the hosel in one spot–continually move up and down the hosel and around the hosel (face side, crown side, sole side, etc.) so that you’re not focusing in one spot. This can cause overheating of the one spot, leaving marks and, possibly, damage to your club. Plus, it takes a lot longer. Heat loosens the epoxy bond. If you’re staying in one spot with the heat, it has to travel all the way around the shaft to get to the other side. That means that one side will be hotter than the other side. If you circulate around the hosel with the torch, the heat will be even all the way around, so you won’t have any hot spots, and it’ll go faster. As with all things, if you take your time, you should be OK.

As for ferrules, sorry I can’t help much. There are some threads on GolfWRX.com/forums if you want “custom” ferrules (where you can buy custom colors) and I know there are offerings available online. Otherwise, it’s usually best just to buy a pack at Golfsmith or on golfsmith.com (if you don’t have a golfsmith near you). Always make sure you get the right ones for your shaft diameter.

If you need any more help (how to get the ferrule on the shaft, how to clean out the hosel, etc.) let me know. I’m happy to help.

Sent 13 January 2011 – 02:03 PM
Thx for the reply. I really appreciate it.

I have Sensicore high launch shafts in my irons. Do you know how I would tell what diameter the shaft is and what diameter ferrules I would need?

Sent 13 January 2011 – 02:14 PM

Re the “diameter,” Titleist should have material online somewhere about the hosel bore for 695cbs. If you’d rather not waste your time, you can actually call Golfsmith–they have a book where they can look it up. Usually irons are .355, but you need to confirm before buying. Also, don’t do like my friend did and mix up .355 with .335.

Let me know how it goes or if you have more questions.

Sent 13 January 2011 – 02:43 PM
HAHA. Will do. Thx. I will call Golfsmith and find out. My time frame is really whenever I get home from work. I dont have anything to do now that there’s snow on the ground so I’ll be messing around with it at night. I’ll take some pics and if you want to use them great. I’ll shoot you a message if I have any other questions.

Thx again.

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How to Buy Golf Equipment – Introduction and The Basics

January 10, 2011

Today’s post is about purchasing golf equipment and how to maximize benefit while reducing cost.

Many people don’t realize that the “price” of something isn’t really the price. In America, we are conditioned to believe that the price marked on an item is the price of the item. If you have the money, you buy it; if you don’t have the money, you don’t buy it. But anyone who has traveled abroad knows the value of a marketplace setting and “haggling” to get a deal.

When I was in Italy, I found a marketplace where a very nice man was selling wallets. I found one I especially liked and internally valued it at about 12 euro. It had “25 euro” marked on it. I told the man I wanted to pay about 10 euro. He came down from 25 to 18. I asked if I paid in cash, would he take more off (credit card fees), and he came down to 16. I said “I really didn’t want to pay more than 12” and he came to 15. He told me how nice it was; how the craftsmanship was excellent; how he couldn’t make money if he sold it for less than 15. Politely, I said “OK. Well, it’s a very nice wallet, but I don’t want to pay more than 12 euro. Thank you so much for your time.” Then I walked away. As I turned the corner, he yelled out to me “OK! OK! I can do 12!”

People don’t really understand where all the numbers come from, though. They think “well, I need to start low so I can work my way up to the price I want to pay.” That isn’t the strategy at all.

Instead, the strategy behind buying and selling is figuring out an independent value for things BEFORE looking at the price tag or negotiating a transaction. This value is something completely subjective–something that only you can define. As in my wallet example, I decided that the wallet was worth about 12 euro to me before I saw that the price was 25. If the marked price was 12–great, I would have simply paid the price. But I wasn’t going to go above what I thought it was worth.

The same thing holds true for buying golf equipment. Value is a completely subjective measure. For one seller, a club needs to bring in at least $150 or it’s just not worth selling, whereas another seller’s main concern is getting the club out of his closet, so he’ll take $100 for the exact same thing.

Now, all of this isn’t to say that you offer the seller whatever price you think it’s worth. Instead, figure out whether the seller’s price is close enough to the price you’re willing to pay so that an offer will seem reasonable to the seller. I once had a seller call me a “dumb uck” (intentionally leaving out the “f” to avoid being thrown off of the website) because I offered him a price that he perceived was too low for a club. Often times, however, a seller will accept a lower price. By following this procedure, I have consistently saved between 20% and 50% on used golf equipment.

So, with that backdrop in mind, I have listed some guidelines for buying equipment (and saving money). Hopefully they will help you with your search for equipment.

(1) Know what you want; know Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by JK
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