Frankeniron build! A few questions, help needed!

endurancechiro · July 29, 2017

So, my brain got to spinning this morning looking at components I have in the garage, and I wanted to see what all my fellow tinkerers thought about this idea. I have built several irons and wedges, but haven't done much in the graphite world, so the tipping, weighting, etc are a little out of my comfort zone for the time being.

What I have: TA 845s silver scot 18* 2 iron head (.355 taper tip model)

Miyazaki 43g stiff wood shaft measuring just a hair under 43" in length.

First question, to turn this into a built 39.5" driving iron, and wanting to preserve the stiff flex (or even make it a shade more stiff) would I want to tip trim, butt trim, or a combination of each (and if so what would that combination be)?

Second question, with it being a 43g shaft, what kind of weighting would need to be added to make a decent swing weight (something in the D1-d3 range)

Third, if I tip trim, the tip diameter will increase, will shafting beads be enough to make it seat correctly or will I have to get a shim?

Thanks in advance for putting up with my hairbrained idea! Any input would be helpful!

Stuart_G · July 30, 2017

So you are trying to put a 2 iron head in a wood shaft?

IF so, what's the raw head weight? I might expect most 2 iron heads to be around 232-235 gm. That would be in the ball park of maybe a 7 or 9 wood so follow the tipping directions for a 7 wood. Probably around 1.5" but that can depend on the shaft and it's parallel tip length. You want to make sure you don't tip too much and leave at least 1-1/4" of the reinforced tip section intact.

It's a wood shaft - that's a parallel tip section at .335. It's not going to decrease as you tip it and you will need some big shims to get a good fit into the .355 tapered (from .370) iron hossel.

Also should check the BBGM for those heads. Might indicate the need for more tipping (if there is enough parallel tip section left to do any additional tipping - probably not).

Swing weight is almost impossible to say with any accuracy, you're just going to have to wait and see what the SW scale tells you. But I suspect it will be very light. Relative to a driver build (which that shaft was designed for), you're dropping playing length a bit more then 5" (minus 30 to 33 sw pts) but with a head weight that's only about 35 gm heavier (plus 16-17 sw pts). Which means a lot of weight will likely be needed for any reasonable swing weight - and adding that much weight would mean that shaft will play very soft IF you can even add that much weight (which will be very difficult). And since the tipping has likely already likely been maxed out, there is nothing really you could do to keep the shaft from getting softer from any weight added.

Also, at that short a playing length, you will probably be past the parallel butt section and the grip will partially onto the tapered part of the shaft - so may need some extra build up tape to have an evenly sized grip.

ignitewvu · July 30, 2017

The swing weight is going to be a mess with that setup.

endurancechiro · July 30, 2017

Thanks, I actually did something like that last night I trimmed an inch and a half from the tip and the rest from the butt end. It's going to be light so there will be a lot of swing weight work to be done. The nice thing is these irons or 355 tapered tip, so it wasn't as big of a deal for shimming the head.

It may turn out to be an absolute disaster but I've tried giving the shaft away three or four times and it's so light no one wants it, so I figured what the heck. Worst case, it ends up being a chance to learn to work with graphite. It'll be fun to get it on the range a few times.

So you are trying to put a 2 iron head in a wood shaft?

IF so, what's the raw head weight? I might expect most 2 iron heads to be around 232-235 gm. That would be in the ball park of maybe a 7 or 9 wood so follow the tipping directions for a 7 wood. Probably around 1.5" but that can depend on the shaft and it's parallel tip length. You want to make sure you don't tip too much and leave at least 1-1/4" of the reinforced tip section intact.

It's a wood shaft - that's a parallel tip section at .335. It's not going to decrease as you tip it and you will need some big shims to get a good fit into the .355 tapered (from .370) iron hossel.

Also should check the BBGM for those heads. Might indicate the need for more tipping (if there is enough parallel tip section left to do any additional tipping - probably not).

Swing weight is almost impossible to say with any accuracy, you're just going to have to wait and see what the SW scale tells you. But I suspect it will be very light. Relative to a driver build (which that shaft was designed for), you're dropping playing length a bit more then 5" (minus 30 to 33 sw pts) but with a head weight that's only about 35 gm heavier (plus 16-17 sw pts). Which means a lot of weight will likely be needed for any reasonable swing weight - and adding that much weight would mean that shaft will play very soft IF you can even add that much weight (which will be very difficult). And since the tipping has likely already likely been maxed out, there is nothing really you could do to keep the shaft from getting softer from any weight added.

Also, at that short a playing length, you will probably be past the parallel butt section and the grip will partially onto the tapered part of the shaft - so may need some extra build up tape to have an evenly sized grip.

5hort5tuff · July 31, 2017

Unfortunately ita gonna be a tough build. Graphite shafts can really only add 10g with a tip weight. You can add more with tungsten down the shaft and a plug. That would end up costing you more $$$ than the head or shaft is worth.

BirdieBob · July 31, 2017

Ah, the 845!

Had that in the 1 iron back in the early 1990s....... DG S300 shaft.

endurancechiro · July 31, 2017

Ah, the 845!
Had that in the 1 iron back in the early 1990s....... DG S300 shaft.

love my 845s, in the process of selling my main set and going full time back with these... Just shafted them up with some Rifle 6.0's soft stepped and had a blast with them on the course yesterday. If I can get the 2i dialed in for a tee club in these high west Texas winds, It'll be a great time.