inserting wooden dowels in iron shafts

[headcase59]

Can someone explain the purpose, the installation process,and where to get them?

 

Thanks

golfkahuna

[kenfuji]

wooden dowels were used in bore through irons and woods. unless there is new reason they use would use them in non bore through clube heads. the plugs people use these they are now plastic or rubber. i rarely see wooden plugs being used any more.

[theclubdoctor]

Titleist uses hickory dowels it the tip end of their steel iron shafts to dampen vibration. You can accomplish the same thing with fluted furniture dowels available at Lowes or Home Depot. You will need 3/8" or 5/16" depending on shaft tip size (you may have to sand to fit). Drill a 1/8" hole in the middle of the dowel coat the OUTSIDE of the dowel with epoxy and insert in shaft (I do it from the butt end) and use a ram rod to push the dowel down untill it is 1 1/2" from the tip, make sure the the hole you drilled in the middle is clear and then install iron head.

 

Don

[lostboy]

Newbie question, what does drilling the hole do?

[wildwilly911]

read this thru explanes why and how, its done for vibration

http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=15326

[EXMAX]

it allows air, glue a way out of the joint preventing a compression fit

[lostboy]

Ah, thanks for both replies... Makes sense now...

[web]

I did this to a set of snake eyes wedges alone with spineing last winter. Pretty easy to do. The drilling is needed, the first dowel I put in was nat drilled and he shaft did not want to set correctly due to pressure.

[rgjusa]

To save messing around with wood/drills/glue, I use this technique: I now use "caulk backing", Lowes, Home Depot, Ace etc etc have it as it is soooooo much easier. It is a styrene filler (I think), I cut off about 6-8", insert it into the club down the shaft after any "down the shaft weighting" has been done, and shove it down with the ram rod. No glue, will never rattle even if it did come loose, no drilling, no waiting, comes in various sizes, does the job.

[simshawk]

To save messing around with wood/drills/glue, I use this technique: I now use "caulk backing", Lowes, Home Depot, Ace etc etc have it as it is soooooo much easier. It is a styrene filler (I think), I cut off about 6-8", insert it into the club down the shaft after any "down the shaft weighting" has been done, and shove it down with the ram rod. No glue, will never rattle even if it did come loose, no drilling, no waiting, comes in various sizes, does the job.

 

 

What effect have you seen on this technique on vibration dampening? A couple of my co-workers and I were discussing something very similar to your solution today.

[rgjusa]

To save messing around with wood/drills/glue, I use this technique: I now use "caulk backing", Lowes, Home Depot, Ace etc etc have it as it is soooooo much easier. It is a styrene filler (I think), I cut off about 6-8", insert it into the club down the shaft after any "down the shaft weighting" has been done, and shove it down with the ram rod. No glue, will never rattle even if it did come loose, no drilling, no waiting, comes in various sizes, does the job.

 

 

What effect have you seen on this technique on vibration dampening? A couple of my co-workers and I were discussing something very similar to your solution today.

 

It feels the same as sensicore clubs to me and seems to work.

[simshawk]

I looked up the caulk baking online (there are many types), and have a couple questions. What type and diameter do you use. Also, how do you get the get the 6" rod/tube to compress consistently / uniformly? I am not understanding how this can be done with a normal ram rod

[rgjusa]

It is 3/8" diameter, comes in 20' lengths. I use a 48" ramrod, I drop the tube down the shaft and gently push it down until I feel it resisting. Once it resists I give a bit of a hard shove(s) to make sure it is packed down. As I give the same sort of shove(s) each time that coupled with the constituency of the tube is what gives it uniformity. No science attached. Pure gut feel.

[mesegrn]

I'm thinking of using wooden dowels in my irons. Did it make the head feel more soft on mishits? Does it really lessen the vibration? I heard on the new Golfwrx podcast that Tiger uses them in his irons.

[TheBIIgCat]

I'm thinking of using wooden dowels in my irons. Did it make the head feel more soft on mishits? Does it really lessen the vibration? I heard on the new Golfwrx podcast that Tiger uses them in his irons.

Absolutely works, you will definitely feel the difference

[mesegrn]

I mean if it dampens a mishit bladed iron, its gotta be worth something. Haha

[ZipinZ]

None of the above posts mention or give any consideration to increased swing weight when stuffing material down the shaft, I would be a bit concerned, unless you like a heavy S/W.

 

D.

[mesegrn]

I saw a post somewhere that Joe Kwok states, its minimal. I'm betting no more than one point.

[Jagpilotohio]

Hahahahaha!! So funny!

 

I wondered how long it would take for someone to post about this after hearing Tiger did it on that podcast the other day.

 

Wooden dowels in the tips of his X100’s. I Wonder if Depot and Lowe’s had a run on them since that was posted??

[halliedog]

I've do this with every set I've owned for 15 years or so now and it definitely helps. I was going through a horrible bout of tennis elbow back then and couldn't play 2 days in a row without serious pain. Now I can play 36 back to back days without any pain whatsoever. Only other alternative was switching to graphite, and back then graphite iron shafts weren't what they are today.

 

I use 5/16" fluted dowels from Home Depot/Lowes. With the flutes you don't need to drill a tiny hole through the dowel. I find this size to work best, and no sanding required, however I don't think it really matters how far down they seat - all you are looking for is a tight fit against the shaft walls to filter vibrations. My method is to apply epoxy to only one side of the dowel, then drop into the shaft and gently tamp down with ramrod. I do this after heads are installed and epoxy is fully set. I also use the foam backer rod, and use the install method described above by rgjusa. You still know when you've caught it thin (bladed), but you don't get those stinging fingers on cool mornings.

[Llortamaisey]

I've do this with every set I've owned for 15 years or so now and it definitely helps. I was going through a horrible bout of tennis elbow back then and couldn't play 2 days in a row without serious pain. Now I can play 36 back to back days without any pain whatsoever. Only other alternative was switching to graphite, and back then graphite iron shafts weren't what they are today.

 

I use 5/16" fluted dowels from Home Depot/Lowes. With the flutes you don't need to drill a tiny hole through the dowel. I find this size to work best, and no sanding required, however I don't think it really matters how far down they seat - all you are looking for is a tight fit against the shaft walls to filter vibrations. My method is to apply epoxy to only one side of the dowel, then drop into the shaft and gently tamp down with ramrod. I do this after heads are installed and epoxy is fully set. I also use the foam backer rod, and use the install method described above by rgjusa. You still know when you've caught it thin (bladed), but you don't get those stinging fingers on cool mornings.

 

How long do you cut each insert?

[halliedog]

I've do this with every set I've owned for 15 years or so now and it definitely helps. I was going through a horrible bout of tennis elbow back then and couldn't play 2 days in a row without serious pain. Now I can play 36 back to back days without any pain whatsoever. Only other alternative was switching to graphite, and back then graphite iron shafts weren't what they are today.

 

I use 5/16" fluted dowels from Home Depot/Lowes. With the flutes you don't need to drill a tiny hole through the dowel. I find this size to work best, and no sanding required, however I don't think it really matters how far down they seat - all you are looking for is a tight fit against the shaft walls to filter vibrations. My method is to apply epoxy to only one side of the dowel, then drop into the shaft and gently tamp down with ramrod. I do this after heads are installed and epoxy is fully set. I also use the foam backer rod, and use the install method described above by rgjusa. You still know when you've caught it thin (bladed), but you don't get those stinging fingers on cool mornings.

 

How long do you cut each insert?

 

The dowels come pre-cut at about 2" and come in packs of 50 for about $5.00. The foam I cut to 8". Not sure which you were referring to.

[mesegrn]

I've had tendonitis in my right elbow for about 6 months now. I'm willing try to it! I could see some benefits to doing it.

[Stuart_G]

If you want to try something quick and easy to deal with the tendonitis, you're better off giving the prosoft inserts a try first.

[mesegrn]

Thanks Stuart, I’ll look into those. Are they easy to find?

[Stuart_G]

Thanks Stuart, I’ll look into those. Are they easy to find?

 

Very easy.

 

https://www.valuegol...g-shaft-inserts

 

Not as good as graphite shafts but not much of an investment in either time or money if it turns out they don't happen to help enough (if you do it in conjunction with your next grip change).

[mesegrn]

Thanks Stuart, I’ll look into those. They’re pretty cheap. Looks like the tool is what costs the most.

[halliedog]

While I'd never normally disagree with Stuart, I will in this case. I find the dowels to be much better than either Sensi-Core or Prosoft, and the combination of dowels/"Prosofts" is still not as good as graphite but pretty close and it still feels like you're playing steel (because you are). I've tried straight in steel, graphite, steel with only dowels, and steel with dowels + "Prosofts". Steel with both comes in a very close second to graphite.

 

Benefits are you can continue to play steel shafts that fit your swing profile without sore elbows.

 

Minuses are you have to remove the grip, but you would have to do that with Prosofts anyway, so nothing lost?

 

Since you'll have to either replace/salvage your grips with air/syringe to do either option, try the dowels on a few and see if it makes a difference for you?

[mesegrn]

I'm definitely installing the dowels next week and looking at the Prosofts as well. Thank for the information. I think both would be a great idea!

[Stuart_G]

While I'd never normally disagree with Stuart, I will in this case. I find the dowels to be much better than either Sensi-Core or Prosoft,

 

You wouldn't' really be disagreeing with me. I just said the prosofts would be a quick and easy option to try. I never said anything about how effective they would be compared to the dowels. To me, all the other methods to reduce shock are all very distance seconds to changing to graphite and so I see little difference between them. But everyone is different - with different medical conditions and different swings so impossible to really generalize what's better relative to anything else.

 

Personally, I think anyone with any kind of medical issues that are aggravated by hitting balls should go directly to graphite. Anything else is usually just a band-aid and most of them will have to go that route eventually anyways so best to get it over with. But that's just my opinion so I don't tend to force it on others too often.

 

 

Minuses are you have to remove the grip, but you would have to do that with Prosofts anyway, so nothing lost?

 

Well, minor points but Prosofts are a lot easier to 'undo' if it doesn't work out or don't reduce the resale value of the clubs if left in place.