Dynamic Gold weld seam alignment

[jmck]

[quote name='vangator1' timestamp='1445989628' post='12515682']
When I FLO'd my TTDGS300's, I found the shaft would oscillate back and forth from just about any orientation except when the NBP was at 12:00. The shaft would consistently oscillate in an oval. So I made sure the NBP was at 9:00 on all my shafts. What the effect is if the orientation were random, I don't know, but I feel better about aligning them for sure.
[/quote]

Normally I take everything Tom Wishon says as 100% gospel--dude's no doubt forgotten more about golf clubs than I'll ever know and we're VERY lucky to have him contributing here--but I agree with this above post. If I can SEE the shaft behave differently as I rotate it through 360*, it's just my natural inclination to want to do something to make that behavior consistent from club to club.

I have no idea if it makes any difference out on the course where I generate more than enough user-error to screw things up, but if I'm building clubs for myself I think it's worth the small extra amount of time it takes to find the NBP and aim it at 9:00. Tom's probably 100% right again...but even if I'm just a simple sucker for the placebo effect of something that makes no difference at all....well I'll take it.

[Stuart_G]

I think you may be reading more into Tom's post than is there. Just because the seam is irrelevant doesn't mean that the shaft can not have a spine or NBP. The shaft goes through a lot of different processes during manufacturing, the welding is just one small part.

[vangator1]

The TT shaft was amazingly consistent compared to some cheaper shafts I've spined and FLO'd. My current irons are the most accurate I've ever played with and also the first that I've spined and FLO'd. I spined and FLO'd a set for my son-in-law after that. His specs are the same as mine and I think I hit them slightly better. They have much cheaper shafts in them (Harrison).

[TomWishon]

[quote name='vangator1' timestamp='1445989628' post='12515682']

When I FLO'd my TTDGS300's, I found the shaft would oscillate back and forth from just about any orientation except when the NBP was at 12:00. The shaft would consistently oscillate in an oval. So I made sure the NBP was at 9:00 on all my shafts. What the effect is if the orientation were random, I don't know, but I feel better about aligning them for sure.
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I have a whole lot of experience in shaft asymmetry testing and research in my career going back into the mid 90s. I also helped SST PURE in the development and verification of their shaft alignment process. I only tell you this so you know I am not just blowing smoke at you.

In steel shafts, when you see them oscillate in a non FLO manner, that is not coming from a welding seam in the shaft anywhere near as much as it is coming from little variations in wall thickness consistency up and down the shaft, as well as minute variations in the shaft's straightness being a big one. So when FLO'ing any shaft, it is of no significance or use to ever think about the position of where the shaft is welded. You just simply twang/rotate/twang/rotate until you are happy with the oscillation shape - mark it and install the shaft with that plane at the target. Period.

With all the experience I have in this area of clubmaking, you'll find me as one who doesn't put a whole lot of importance on FLO plane checking of shafts, nor on worrying about what plane to put where when you do this, of course providing the shaft is made by a reputable company. What this is all about is asymmetry of a shaft. When it bends forward coming into impact upon the release of the golfer, in that one movement forward is the shaft bending on the same plane that the golfer's release is directing it to bend.

For VERY asymmetrical shafts, it can happen where in that one forward bend coming into impact, the shaft moves sideways a bit and causes some form of shaft induced miss hit. But the condition of asymmetry has to be very severe for that to really happen. But it is far less likely for it to happen with steel vs graphite, and even less so with steel iron shafts because iron shafts simply do not bend very much at all during a swing - half of the amount that a wood shaft actually bends during a swing.

One thing that can be misleading in all of this is this action of a shaft demonstrating oval shaped oscillations when "twanged" with the butt secure and a weight on the tip end. In the real swing the shaft only bends forward once. Ovalling tends to show up in the 2nd, 3rd, 4th oscillations when you are doing that form of testing. So if you see a shaft make an oval shape oscillation in a test, that is no guarantee that the shaft could cause a miss hit when used in a club.

At the same time, it is a viable insurance policy to set the mind at rest and remove any doubt about this being a possible happening. So it's fine to FLO but I wouldn't worry in an iron shaft about anything else - mark the FLO plane and install the shaft so that plane of stable bending is at the target or what's better, is in line with your specific swing path you have.

[jmck]

^^^ Another great post. Thanks!

[Socrates]

Tom, you sure write well. Even when you are pouring cold water on something, you can make it sound good. Anyway, you just reinforced my opinion on the topic.

[vangator1]

Tom, thanks for the response. Always enjoy picking up nuggets of wisdom along the way. I always thought that iron shafts, particularly tt, were stable enough to not worry about. The weld technology is interesting.