Ferrule loose

[gpblue8]

I noticed on a couple of my irons today the ferrules are loose. What's the best type of glue to use on these? Thanks.

[JPsuff]

Originally Posted by gpblue8

I noticed on a couple of my irons today the ferrules are loose. What's the best type of glue to use on these? Thanks.

Just use regular shafting epoxy to re-glue them in place.

I usually notice such things when I'm cleaning my clubs and when I notice a loose ferrule, this is what I do:

I heat the ferrule under really hot water (don't use a blow dryer because you can easily melt the ferrule) so that I can slide it even farther up the shaft - away from the hosel so that about an inch of shaft is exposed between the top of the hosel and the ferrule itself.

Next, after I've finished cleaning the rest of my clubs (there's no rush to fix the ferrules after all), I dry everything off and I take whatever club (or clubs) that have a loose ferrule out to the garage, and I get a piece of medium-grit emery cloth and I rough up the exposed shaft area as I would if I were preparing a shaft tip for installation.

Then I mix up some shafting epoxy (I only use 24-hr epoxy, but any shafting or high-shear strength epoxy will do) and I apply it liberally to the exposed shaft. The epoxy acts as a lubricant and I can then slide the ferrule back into position. I move the ferrule around until I get an even amount of excess epoxy oozing from the seam between the ferrule and the hosel and after setting the ferrule against the hosel I then simply wipe off any excess epoxy with an acetone-soaked paper towel (one wipe around the shaft/ferrule) and then I set it aside to cure.

Once cured, if there's any excess epoxy still visible (usually there isn't), I sand that off with fine emery cloth and re-wipe everything with acetone to polish the ferrule and that's it.

Loose ferrules are common and if they're there, they always turn up while washing the clubs because the hot water expands the ferrules and they move more easily. I've come to expect to find one now and then and I always keep a small amount of epoxy handy for occasionally having to re-glue them.


Hope this helps!


-JP

[OnePutt]

I can't say that I've ever had a ferrule come loose on any of the clubs I've built, but if one did come loose, what was just posted would solve it. I always epoxy my ferrules in place when I install a shaft, which is most likely why none of my clubs have had this problem. So far, none of my OEM drivers have had a problem either.

[spankwhitey]

Measure the club to make sure it is the ferrule that is loose. It might be the head that is creeping down. I had a 9 iron that I thought the ferrule had moved up but it was the head and I removed it by hand! The epoxy was just barely holding the head on.

[JPsuff]

Originally Posted by spankwhitey

Measure the club to make sure it is the ferrule that is loose. It might be the head that is creeping down. I had a 9 iron that I thought the ferrule had moved up but it was the head and I removed it by hand! The epoxy was just barely holding the head on.

That's a very good point!

I once found that out the hard way by sending a 7-iron head far out into the driving range and then had to get them to stop everyone from hitting while one of their guys drove out to fetch it for me.
They wouldn't let me go get it myself (I guess for insurance reasons) and it took quite a while to explain to this guy where I thought it was (a 7-iron head is real small when it's in the middle of a driving range) and I'm sure the other people at the range were none too pleased with having to wait for all of this to happen.


-JP

[gpblue8]

Thanks for the tips. When I inspected all my irons and gave them a little twist, most turned. I think they just didn't apply enough glue. The heads seem solid. Should be good now. Thanks again.

[OnePutt]

I think you'll find that a lot of OEM clubs are made without the ferrule being epoxied on. It seems to be standard practice.