What makes Beryllium Copper special for irons?

[plainsman]

BeCu=Beryllium Copper

 

I have a BeCu sand wedge with a slightly bent S300 shaft. It was a garage sale purchase for a few dollars. The only thing special about it is the BeCu material. Otherwise, it's just a cavity back sand wedge with a decent shaft.

 

Can someone tell me what makes BeCu special in an iron golf club? I've searched and found no clear answer.

 

Is it reasonably possible to straighten the shaft? If not I may use it as a test case to learn about reshafting irons.

[clubshack]

BeCu is a ductile material that can be easily formed into complex shapes. It can be heat treated to make a hard, brittle alloy. It is primarily used in clubmaking to extend the life of a die for casting the clubs. When heat treated, it becomes a stable, long lasting club with a face that doesn't lose its 'bite'. It is not possible to alter the loft and lie of these heads. Beryllium dust is carcenogenic, so don't grind it.

 

You can straighten out the shaft. Use care and leather gloves to protect yourself. Steel shafts can break when stressed. It is best to clamp the shaft in a vise with the proper shaft clamp, just above the bend. Manipulate the head to try to correct the bend. Use a little force at a time until the results appear to be satisfactory.

[BDLz]

BeCu is a ductile material that can be easily formed into complex shapes. It can be heat treated to make a hard, brittle alloy. It is primarily used in clubmaking to extend the life of a die for casting the clubs. When heat treated, it becomes a stable, long lasting club with a face that doesn't lose its 'bite'. It is not possible to alter the loft and lie of these heads. Beryllium dust is carcenogenic, so don't grind it.

 

You can straighten out the shaft. Use care and leather gloves to protect yourself. Steel shafts can break when stressed. It is best to clamp the shaft in a vise with the proper shaft clamp, just above the bend. Manipulate the head to try to correct the bend. Use a little force at a time until the results appear to be satisfactory.

 

 

Where did you get this from?

 

BDLz

[XYB34A]

You can bend them, I have bent a bunch of them. On an old Mitchell loft and lie machine. Just run some hot water and let them soak a bit, then if u want 1 degree bend it 2, they spring back about half of what u bend them. In now way can u bend one that is 2 flat to 4 upright. I do it in my basement. I havent ever broke any, but I have just been plain lucky. I am the third or 4th owner of the loft and lie machine, so its not one of those modern precise bending machines that u can buy today.

 

As far as BeCu, it has a different feel than any other club. It can have a harsh feel if u really do mishit it though. Hit it close to center its butter, but a different kind of butter than a forged iron.

[mat562]

BeCu became popular back in the mid/late '80s principally because it was advertised as offering a softer feel than many of the equivalent cast steel designs of the time. A lot of people also liked the material as it took on a patina as it aged which was cosmetically attractive and very durable in that it 'healed' any scratches or blemishes when it darkened. It was used by numerous manufacturers (perhaps most notably by Ping) in all types of applications and particularly in the wedge market.

 

Nowadays, it's use in golf clubs has been all but eliminated owing to issues over the toxicity of the material and it's environmental effects if not properly contained or disposed of.

 

Although there are issues over the durability of the material it is generally accepted that the clubs can be adjusted to a certain degree - although many people will tell you that BeCu becomes brittle with age, it is a fact that the material was commonly used in aerospace applications which required malleabilty and has been used for many years to make springs which relied upon the ductile nature of the alloy. Ping will no longer undertake adjustments of beryllium copper irons but the principal reason they are unwilling to do so is because of an inability to replace any broken clubs from their inventory. I know a Ping UK employee and his opinion is that the clubs can generally be adjusted with no problems, but the inability to replace broken clubs (which in the case of Eye 2 and Zing models is roughly on a par with the steel-headed models) is to blame for the lack of the service rather than any inherent weakness in the design or the material.

 

Most broken iron clubheads (of any head material) tend to be as a result of pilot error with the bending bar in my experience; and/or overambitious degrees of adjustment.

[thewitt]

We won't work with BeCU heads any longer.

 

You may want to read this before going too far.

 

http://www.cda.org.uk/megab2/general/cuberyl/index.htm

 

Heating a head under hot water before bending will do nothing even remotely interesting, so I'm not sure where that one came from.

 

-t