Use proper epoxy

[bvanlieu]

Quite the opposite: it makes for a better bond. Its not just about time, but a heat cure in the initial set time makes it more gooder. :) I can't speak intelligently about the chemistry as its not my field of engineering, but reading is out there :)

My garage is 50-60d over night this time of year. Even the house dips to 62 before heat kicks in at night. If I want to use the club the next day, using heat for a few hours speeds up the process to ensure its ready to use.

 

Having a better bond is just icing on the club.

[denkea]

Years ago some club makers that needed to remove the old Titleist driver heads that had 3 1/2" of tip insertion depth used crock pots with sand and heated the sand for a while.

Guess that would also work with curing epoxy faster. Use a meat thermometer to test the sand temp and go from there.

[Nessism]

Speed curing does increase strength. Pretty much 100% of the OEM's and tour van's do it.

60 mins at 140-150F or 90 mins at 120F and the club will be ready to hit.

One thing I've noticed though is if you apply the heat before the epoxy has solidified it may flow when heat is applied. I prefer to wait for the epoxy to kick off and stop flowing before heating.

150F will be quite warm to the touch but it won't burn you. Sort of like the steering wheel of your car when parked in the sun.

[GooseHook]

Hindsight's 20/20, but I realized a while back that it's best to buy extra when you're getting clubmaking supplies. Need grip solvent? Buy a damn gallon. Need epoxy? Buy 2 tubes, or get the Part A/B bottles and store them somewhere where they can last. You may take a long time to use it but you will never feel like you're in a pinch. The one thing I don't stock up on is grip tape, since I've noticed that the quality tends to go south by the time you're finishing a roll.

I've done some curing with space heaters in the shed and occasionally leaving a club over a floor vent when the heat is on, but that's mostly in the cooler months. A 90 degree shed does a good job.

[dubbelbogey]

Yes - the main reason I use heat is to get a stronger bond. Stronger than what you'd get by letting it sit at room temp for days. The speed up is nice, but rarely is needed for me as I just do this as a hobby and for friends. In this case, time is not money.

 

[Albatross85]

I use a heat gun from 2 feet away, 25 minutes on low and 15 minutes on high. Then let the clubs sit for 20-30 mins to cool down and set naturally. Done this 20+ times with 0 failures.

I set the heat gun on my wooden work bench with aluminum foil under it and point it at the shaft standing vertical. Sometimes i set the shaft on a block of wood to get it higher off the ground getting the adapter at the right height for graphite builds.

[Nessism]

If using a heat gun be sure to not heat up any graphite shafts too much.

[Breiman]

Ive been guilty of using epoxy that was a bit to old and i did not want to fork over some $$$$for one club. Needless to say, i never found that wedge head.

[dlow206]

Does epoxy continue curing after temps get back up to a certain level? For example, say it is 75 degrees in the garage and the clubs are left to cure, but overnight it gets down to 50. Will the epoxy continue to cure properly the next day when it warms back up?

 

EDIT: For my scenario, i am in no hurry to use the clubs. They could sit for a week if they need to.

Edited March 28, 2021 by dlow206

[LukeDonaldsTiger]

No! Changing conditions while curing will weaken the bond. Also, there’s a final level of curing and once that’s achieved, it will stay there. 
 

I talked to a guy who worked as a chemist for a glue manufacturer and he explained it to me. I was asking about applying heat longer and he told me that. 

[mogc60]

I’ve used JB WELD Steel reinforced epoxy for over 15 years. They grey epoxy. I don’t use anything else.  I’ve shafted 1000’s of clubs and never had a failure. I’ve even played with clubs an hour after install. Never had an issue pulling a shaft later. And it’s $5 at Walmart. I read all these posts about epoxy failures and I’ll just keep using what I have been.  

[Valtiel]

On 3/29/2021 at 8:15 AM, mogc60 said:

I’ve used JB WELD Steel reinforced epoxy for over 15 years. They grey epoxy. I don’t use anything else.  I’ve shafted 1000’s of clubs and never had a failure. I’ve even played with clubs an hour after install. Never had an issue pulling a shaft later. And it’s $5 at Walmart. I read all these posts about epoxy failures and I’ll just keep using what I have been.  

The only problem with that stuff is the 550* breakdown temp. It'll hold for sure, but you'll certainly cook a composite shaft if you ever need to pull it. 

[MFBach]

I have a small storage room next to my laundry room that I use for most of my club work. After the initial setup, it’s actually and nice work space. If I have any clubs curing, I always turn on an oil, radiator heater for the night. Keeps the room at an unbearably warm temp, but I’ve never had any issues after 12-24 hours, depending on epoxy. I’ve used long cure and tour set, Brampton’s and GolfWorks, and to be honest, I can’t tell much difference between any of them. I’m convinced that club work is 90% preparation and end results are minimally affected by assembly materials, as long as you’re using something reasonable. 
 

TLDR: I use my storage room as a club oven 😆

[cavemeister]

On 3/29/2021 at 10:15 AM, mogc60 said:

I’ve used JB WELD Steel reinforced epoxy for over 15 years. They grey epoxy. I don’t use anything else.  I’ve shafted 1000’s of clubs and never had a failure. I’ve even played with clubs an hour after install. Never had an issue pulling a shaft later. And it’s $5 at Walmart. I read all these posts about epoxy failures and I’ll just keep using what I have been.  

How is pulling a jb weld shaft?

[mogc60]

20 hours ago, cavemeister said:

How is pulling a jb weld shaft?

I would never use the regular JB weld but the gray steel enforced I’ve never had any issue pulling graphite shafts with a shaft puller. I’ve done hundreds of them too. Like pulling any graphite use a torch and not a heat gun. I’m not bs’ing either. It’s the best I’ve ever used. I won’t use anything else. It dries quick so doing multiple clubs isn’t ideal but mixing small amounts for each club is simple. That’s the only drawback of it is multiple clubs but it’s never bothered me. 

Edited July 23, 2021 by mogc60