DIY Graphite shaft puller

[Daniel Eason]

I've done a lot of reading on this and I've got some questions after buying the first part (bottle jack)

 

1. Hosel protectors don't seem to be around much on Ebay, what material suits DIY'ing one?

2. One post here shows using aluminium plate across the bottle jack to then hold the shaft/hosel adapter, is there any reason they are using Alumimimum? Would wood suffice? 

 

Thanks

 

[EddieEdwards]

Are you gonna be heating the hosel with a torch?  Then you probably don't want wood.   I'd go with a softer metal like aluminium or brass.  That way the hosel adapter get marred up not the hosel.

[Daniel Eason]

9 hours ago, EddieEdwards said:

Are you gonna be heating the hosel with a torch?  Then you probably don't want wood.   I'd go with a softer metal like aluminium or brass.  That way the hosel adapter get marred up not the hosel.

 

Ah yes, makes sense....lol

 

 

[jonr38632]

Been pulling graphite iron and wood shafts for years. Tried a jack style puller and it works great, but it takes time to setup and it usually kills my ferrule. Now i use a heat gun and gloves. Really fast and easy. Saves my ferrules too! Slowly rotate club head over gun then twist the head off. Takes about 30 sec per club. Some shafts have swapped clubs 15 or more times!

[Colej]

7 hours ago, jonr38632 said:

Been pulling graphite iron and wood shafts for years. Tried a jack style puller and it works great, but it takes time to setup and it usually kills my ferrule. Now i use a heat gun and gloves. Really fast and easy. Saves my ferrules too! Slowly rotate club head over gun then twist the head off. Takes about 30 sec per club. Some shafts have swapped clubs 15 or more times!

You’re twisting a head off a graphite shaft? 

[jonr38632]

@Colej correct. Once you heat the hosel and break the epoxy bond the head just twists off. May take a little force, but don't be scared, graphite is pretty durable.

[kwcsports]

35 years of clubmaking, I have never heard of twisting off graphite. I've always used a puller. Glad it works for you but I would not recommend it personally. 

[RSinSG]

When I first got into DIY club tinkering I tried to pull a graphite shaft. I had done a couple of sets of steel irons and figured it would be easy. Lucky for me it was a standard OEM shaft because I twisted the tip into shreds. 
 

Get a cheap puller from Golfworks. Even though it’s gone up in price some It pays for itself. 
 

https://www.golfworks.com/clubmakers-vise-graphite-shaft-extractor/p/ucmvgsr/

[skraly]

I have a regular shaft puller now but before I did I had a DIY method that worked but was a little time consuming.

I used this method before adjustable adapters became available but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work with them as well.  
You’ll need a vice, an inexpensive, rubber shaft clamp(many local golf stores carry this or you can order on-line), finally you’ll need about a 10-12” adjustable wrench.  Of course, also a mini torch or a heat gun.

If removing a steel shaft you can just clamp ,heat and twist off.

For graphite, you run some risk of damage to the shaft tip using the twist off method.  I don’t recommend that for graphite.

For graphite, first heat and remove the ferrule using a utility knife(guess I forgot to include that In the needed list),  next clamp the shaft in the vice using the rubber shaft clamp.  Be careful not to over tighten as you can crush the shaft.  The shaft is clamped with just enough space between the top of the hosel and the vice jaws so you that can slip the jaws of the adjustable wrench into the space.  Adjust the jaws of the wrench so they just fit past the shaft.

You’re going to apply heat to the hosel only.  If an iron or glued hosel wood about 20-25 sec. of heat with a mini torch or about 60 sec. with a heat gun.  Hosel adapters require less heating time.  Keep the heat source continuously moving.

After heating wait about 10-15 sec. to allow the heat to evenly penetrate.

Once heated, apply sideways, prying, force on the handle of the wrench.  Go slowly with gradually increasing force until the epoxy bond is broken.  At this point you’ll need to reposition the shaft to close the gap you’ve created back to the original amount.  If the gap gets too big you’ll also start applying an unwanted bending force to the shaft tip.  This is what makes this a slow process.

 After 2 or 3 steps the shaft will usually have moved enough to just pull it off by hand(make sure you are wearing a work glove as the piece can be quite hot).  Make sure to pull straight so as not to apply sideways force on the shaft tip.  While the graphite tip is hot it is in a weakened state.  If done properly, once pulled, the shaft tip will be hot but not so hot that you can’t hold it in your hand.  The hosel or adapter will be much hotter.  Any residual epoxy should be scraped off while still hot.  It will come off pretty easily by using the edge of the utility knife.  Scrap toward the tip with the knife blade held at less than 90 deg. in the direction you are scraping.

Obviously a regular shaft puller is best.  But, if you only rarely pull a shaft or if the expense of a descent shaft puller is an issue, this method does work.  I probably pulled 25-30 shafts this way ,without issue, before deciding to pop for a regular puller(I was able to get a machinist friend to make one for me for a bottle of Glenlivet😊)
This has been pretty long winded.  I hope my description was at least somewhat clear.

Edited May 30, 2021 by skraly

[drumdude96]

6 hours ago, jonr38632 said:

@Colej correct. Once you heat the hosel and break the epoxy bond the head just twists off. May take a little force, but don't be scared, graphite is pretty durable.

Dear God, there is a lot of really, really bad advice on this forum. Everyone, please ignore the quoted post, unless you want to destroy expensive graphite shafts.

[Whiskey_fire]

 

With graphite if you have a vice, put a spare adapter screw in the adapter and clamp  the screw head in the vice.  Heat the adapter a bit and then grab the grip end of the club and pull STRAIGHT backwards.  I have done lots like that. 

[Fgav2402]

I once tried twisting a head off a graphite shaft, it came off and then I threw the shaft in the bin cos it was ruined. Lesson learned

[jeggolfer68]

When graphite shafts became popular, maybe 1980's, the method used was wrapping the head in a sandwich bag, dipping in pot of boiling water. Definitely worked, however I would explain to customers that I wouldn't guarentee the condition of the pulled shaft. Back then shafts were much cheaper and the customer didn't care, he just wanted a new shaft put in. Also, many times I was dealing with pulling out a broken shaft. Today, just a personal hobby, I use a shaft puller.

[Ger21]

11 hours ago, jonr38632 said:

@Colej correct. Once you heat the hosel and break the epoxy bond the head just twists off. May take a little force, but don't be scared, graphite is pretty durable.

I've tried this a handful of times, and destroyed the shaft EVERY SINGLE TIME.

Graphite is NOT durable when heat is involved.

[jonr38632]

Cool. Got hundreds under my belt no problems. My guess is you keep it under heat too long. Have fun! 

Edited May 30, 2021 by jonr38632

[mcounci2]

I would 100% just invest in a legit shaft puller. As long as you're not crazy with the torch they're nearly foolproof and easy to use. I think this one is a great price/performance mix for a hobbyist. 

 

https://www.golfworks.com/maltby-graphite-shaft-extractor/p/ma2007/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw78yFBhCZARIsAOxgSx28uw2ySeVJrkHPGnF49rg4cdKUGXj0AKKcpHtFZaQBDRDdU8iWF1saAjjvEALw_wcB