This question is for experienced club builders. I purchased some putter heads and grips off Ebay. I then purchased some putter shafts off ebay but from a different seller. I installed one of the putter heads onto a shaft with no problem. I then trimmed the shaft to length. When I went to install the grip, the shaft looked awfully narrow. I then got a pair of calipers and measured the shaft at both the butt end and at the point where the grip would end. There is a huge difference. The shaft tapers from the butt end(which is .600) all the way down to the bottom end(which is .370). The bottom end has a parallel section but not the butt end. This would make it impossible to install a grip. I emailed the seller and asked him about this and all he told me was to add tape at the butt end to build up the shaft. This wouldnt work because it is a straight taper. So basically my question is, shouldnt there be a parallel section at the top so you can install the grip? Is it normal for the shaft to taper from top to bottom?
Well, I'm not a clubmaker/fitter by a long shot but I know enough about it to offer a couple of pointers...yes, it's normal for the shaft to taper. But there's more to getting a putter right than just gluing the head on and gripping it...I'm pretty sure the tip has to be trimmed and the overall length will affect the total weight and swing weight, etc. Anyway it may seem that the butt end of the shaft is too large for the grip but there are tools to help you stretch the open end of the grip and slide on and release but you really need a clubmakers bench to do it right...scales, vise, clamps, cutters, files, tape, solvent, etc. Not an easy thing to figure out trial by error...I'd try to find someone that's done it before...you said you had more grips and shafts. Maybe one of our more experience club builders will ring in on this one.
Every putter shaft I have seen and used tapered from tip to butt. About .370 at the tip, and .600 or so at the butt. If the shaft you have doesn't have a parralell section at the butt, it's most likely you cut too much off the butt and not enough off the tip. I build custom putters all the time, and irons and woods as well, and I've never had a problem with a shaft being too small at the butt. How long was the putter shaft when you got it? Most of them are about 35 inches long, unless you got a belly putter shaft or one of those made for sticking under your chin. Those require longer shafts, and if you got a 48 inch putter shaft, cut it down to 34 inches, THEN YES, THE BUTT WOULD BE TO SMALL, But it's not the fault of the shaft, it's with the person that tried to install the wrong shaft in the putter.
Bottom line, most shafts do have a section at the tip and at the butt with a constant diameter. If you cut and install the shaft correctly, you will not have any problems with the size of the butt and the grip will fit correctly.
The shaft was 38" and after epoxying on the putter head, I cut the shaft down to my length which is 34". Thats not tto much. When I went to install the grip, I noticed that the diameter of the shaft looked narrow. thats when I took a pair of calipers and measured the shaft. It started at .600 and then tapered down to .370 and was parallel for about 4". There was no parrallel section at the butt end. It started tapering right away. that is my dilemma and question. Is that normal?
Yes, they may taper some, but not enough to cause a problem, not with the shafts I have here. I just finished measureing 5 putter shafts. They measure .605 at the butt, and .575 where the end of the grip would come. The inside diameter of the putter grips I have on hand measure .510. Add a layer of grip tape to the shaft and it would measure .585. That's .075 bigger than the inside of the grip. Plenty of holding power with that a shaft that much bigger than the grip.
Measure your shaft at the end of the grip and let me know what it is. Is this a double bend putter shaft? All the straight putter shafts listed in my catalog are 35" long, only the double bend shafts measure 37 or 38 inches. In either case, cutting it down to 34 shouldn't have been a problem. Do you know the name of the shaft you have? That might help solve this problem.
The shaft is a True Temper shaft. It was originally 38" and I cut off about 4". The diameter at the butt end of the shaft is .585 and tapers down to .480 where the grip would end. That is .105" difference in diameter. I thought the butt end should be parallel in order to install the grip? Is this normal for putter shafts? It is not a double bend shaft but it is a fluted shaft. It does not have any steps in it. It tapers the whole length of the shaft except for the bottom 6", of which about 4" of it is fluted.
My guess is that if you had cut the 4 inches off the tip rather than the butt, you might have been okay diameter wise. You sat the diameter is .585 at the butt and only .480 at the end of the grip? That's a big difference and I can see how it would be a problem. Two layers of masking tape would hlep, but I'd say it's a case of a bad shaft. And I have never heard of a "fluted shaft". And it's a TrueTemper shaft? Nothing like it in any of my catalogs. Have you checked the TT website to see if it's listed there? I have to wonder if it's some kind of older shaft? Why the fluted section I have no idea. Maybe next time you might want to go with Golfsmith for your shafts. If you don't mind me asking, what did this fluted shaft cost you? Other than one big head ache.
I bought 6 of theses shafts off a guy on Ebay. After I cut the one, I thought about cutting from the tip on another shaft but the most I can cut from the tip is 2 inches because of the fluting. The fluting is supposed to stiffen the shaft is place of the stepping. Even if I didnt cut the shaft at the butt end, there still is no parallel section to install a grip.
Sorry to say this, but it sounds like you really got the shaft on your ebay deal. Who did you get them from, so I know not to get any stuff from them ? Do the shaft say TrueTemper on them ? Or was that just what you were told. I've never heard of TT shaft that are fluted. You might want to check the TT website and see if they really exist from TT.
October 25th, 2005, 05:08 PM
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