Shaft removal advice

[Brewski_golfs]

Looking for suggestions on how to remove a steel shaft from persimmon head where there is not a bore through, and assuming some type of modern epoxy was used to install the shaft.  For bore through clubs its a simple approach of removing the backscrew and inserting a sufficiently heated screwdriver into the heel, but I have not yet removed a shaft on a persimmon without the bore.   Assuming it would be a similar procedure to removing a modern shaft, but looking for any tips, advice, or techniques anyone has successfully used. 

[Socrates]

42 minutes ago, Brewski_golfs said:

Looking for suggestions on how to remove a steel shaft from persimmon head where there is not a bore through, and assuming some type of modern epoxy was used to install the shaft.  For bore through clubs its a simple approach of removing the backscrew and inserting a sufficiently heated screwdriver into the heel, but I have not yet removed a shaft on a persimmon without the bore.   Assuming it would be a similar procedure to removing a modern shaft, but looking for any tips, advice, or techniques anyone has successfully used. 

If it is not a bore through and you aren't willing to attempt drilling a hole through the bottom of the club, you will have to use a 48" rod/drill bit to go down the shaft to heat it up.  Or be willing to cut off the shaft above the hosel and drill from there.  When it's not a bore through, drilling from the sole to find the bottom of the shaft can be tricky and it is easy to mess it up by missing the shaft.  Also, depending on the head, there may not be a backscrew and if you go drilling expecting one to be there, you could easily drill right through the head accidently creating a bore through.

[Stephen8802]

I made a long rod for heating shafts. I started with a steel road I bought from Home Depot and an adjustable handle; I put the handle on one end and ground the other end to the correct diameter with my bench grinder. The idea is the same as coming up from the sole, just a much longer rod. This can be difficult at times if there is a lot of epoxy that filled up the bottom of the shaft when it was pushed into the head. In that case I use a long drill bit I bought from Golfworks that allows me to drill all the way down from the grip end of the shaft and clean out what is in the bottom. In a worst case scenario, you can use the long drill bit to drill all the way through the bottom of the club, sole plate removed, thus making the head a drill through. Remove as you would a drill through and fill the hole with a plug when done. Not recommend, but I've done it. (I've attached a picture of a club I did that too. I picked it up for $2 and it was a mess...I just bought it to refinish and see if I could save it. The shaft had an aluminum cap on it and I couldn't get it out, so I pulled the plate, drilled through the end cap and wood, removed like a drill through, and plugged the hole later. It worked, looks ok, but in the future, method #3 below would be a better choice).

 

The other method, which is my new favorite, is to put the head in a turkey bag (available on Amazon for about $1 each) and then put the covered head in boiling water for 5 minutes. The head should come off rather easily at that point. (I tape up the neck with strips of heavy duct tape to try to protect from breaks on any of the three methods).

 

I've done the turkey bag on the last two heads I've removed, the first on a 653 retrofitted with a graphite shaft and the second on a P61 with a Dynamic Gold shaft. The turkey bag is the best way to pull persimmon off of graphite and works equally well with wood off of metal. The only issue is that if the club has poly on it, the poly will bubble, so if you go turkey bag, you need to strip, sand, and refinish to get the club back in play.

 

Turkey bag...not only fun to say, it works.

 

 

 

 

Edited September 21, 2021 by Stephen8802

[Brewski_golfs]

Thanks @Socrates and @Stephen8802 for the advice.  I suspected as much, will start with a steel rod and use that method, but now I have to find a candidate for the Turkey bag method somewhere down the road! 

[raggal62]

Removing blind bore wood shafts (intact) was usually a troublesome task for me. Haven't done one in years but I recall one trick that had about a 50% success rate.

 

Backscrews were almost always a PITA to extract. Before resorting to shearing I would always first attempt to back it out using a tiny "easy out" screw extractor. As you can imagine - drilling has to be super precise and a new sharp bit is a mandatory tool. If you can achieve a good bite with the easy out then sometimes that's enough to back it out. If not then a heated rod is in order. 

[jeggolfer68]

Thread brings back lots of memories. I've used my 48" drill to cut thru backscrew, then heat other side and put down hosel. Always had a 2nd drill heating. The bag method worked well when dealing with graphite shafts. I need more picks of that Wilson Staff. That's a throwback to when club repair guys were real craftsmen. Great job!