Golf Shaft Spine Finder

[gord962]

Re: Golf Shaft Spine Finder

The last set of shafts I had shipped were all marked withwhat I could only assume were the spines. If it wasn't, it was a huge coincidence. They were all within an 1/8 of an inch, except one, which was completely 180 degrees off with the 'gravity test'.

[LowPost42]

Re: Golf Shaft Spine Finder

My only concern is that you may be finding the residual bend, rather than the true spine.

The other thing I've noticed is that the spine moves as the shaft is trimmed. So always spine after you've cut your shafts to playing length!

[gord962]

Re: Golf Shaft Spine Finder

I have found the same thing with the 'table top method'. I was wondering if it was just me...

[xix]

Re: Golf Shaft Spine Finder

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the spine is also the heaviest part of the shaft, correct? So, if you roll your shaft on a flat surface, it should come to rest at the same place each time. The bottom (where it is resting on the flat surface) is the heaviest part of the shaft, therefor the spine. Much cheaper than a spine finder.

This method works fine but takes more time as you have to roll the shaft a number of times to make sure you have the spine.
Also, your table has to be dead flat and clean.

A spine finder can be made for about £10 (the metal body type, not the plastic one) and is worth every penny.
I bought the bearings on E bay then epoxied them into a cut off bit of a table leg I bought from the local B & Q hardware store.

Total cost was just under £10.50.

I must add that I recieved invaluable advice from Lowpost about the whole spining process as well as a load of other club building advice.
Thanks to his help I now have 7 very happy friends playing with custom built clubs (mostly SMT irons).

[jsilva]

Re: Golf Shaft Spine Finder

Hi LowPost Can you drop the part list for building the spinefinder you built from McMaster.com so I can build my own. I would greatly apprecite that, thanks.

[LowPost42]

Re: Golf Shaft Spine Finder

Wow - a blast from the past thread!

I've since moved on from bearing based spine finders (as I've learned that you really only need to search for a spine after finding a FLO plane).

However, I've also long forgotten the specific part numbers, sorry. Over at freegolfinfo.com I knew there was a bigger thread, and that the user PhineasToad was the 'mastermind' behind it - you may be able to find the parts list there.

However, if you're even remotely familiar with plumbing fixtures, here's what you're looking for:

A compression coupling. I used a PVC one, the ends had threaded caps on them, and the caps had holes in them (for the pipe to go through). I think you need 3/4". If I did it again, I'd look for some sort of metal coupling, so that I wasn't worried about cracking the housing in the vice.

Then you source bearings with .620" ID's - you need a pair of them, and they go in the compression coupling (take off the end caps, put the bearings in, replace the caps. .620" (or slightly bigger) will accomodate virtually all shafts.

The last piece of the puzzle is a bearing with an ID of slightly greater than .370" - this goes on the shaft tip when you're spining. I just used to slip the bearing on over the tip and pull, but if I were to ever go back to a bearing based spine finder, I'd try and get some sort of jig to ease the strain on my fingers.

Hope it helps!