Rattle In Driver Head, Please Help

[two shakes]

First of all can i apologise for asking for help in my first post.

I have just returned to golf after a 3 year break,tried dozens of new Drivers looking for a replacement for my R7 Quad TP,unfortunately i couldn't find a driver who's looks or sound i could live with.Looked on that well known auction site and found a mint condition R7 425 TP,with a Grafalloy Prolite 35 shaft fitted.Won the auction,paid,and a few days later the club was delivered.Club was as described,and obviously well cared for by the previous owner.However after hitting 6 balls at the range the driver developed a very bad rattle in the head.It was quite bad,but after shaking the head the rattle stopped ? then after another 10 shots it returned !!!! Needless to say i was not happy.I managed with lots of squinting and maglite manipulation,to see inside the head after removing one of the MWT weights.I discovered 2 pieces of what appears to be Hot Melt or Epoxy loose inside the head.One piece is about the size of my thumbnail and about 2mm thick,the other piece is about a third of the size.I could also see that they had some Rat Glue on,as they were reluctant to move with shaking,but could be moved by inserting a cocktail stick inside the weight port.The previous owner is adamant he didn't have a problem with the driver,and has offered a refund,but i like the club and would prefer to keep it,IF i can cure the rattle.One thing that may or may not be relevant is,that i'd left the driver on the back seat of my car,minus the headcover.It was in direct sunlight,and warm to the touch when i picked it up,i'm wondering these pieces of glue/epoxy break off from inside the head when hitting balls,or were they stuck in the Rat Glue at the base of the club,and became detached when the club got hot ?

Can anybody suggest a repair? A friend who's a clubfitter said reheating the rat glue,or adding more rat glue may cure the problem,or at worst putting some foam in the head will guarantee a cure,but i'm very reluctant to go down the foam route,as i'm worried it will alter the sound and playing characteristics of the club.

Thanks in advance if anybody can offer any advice.Two Shakes

[two shakes]

Anybody ??

[awmgolfer]

Our club pro builds a lot of clubs and one of the drivers he built for one of the kids on the golf team rattled, he said it was just a little of the glue that came off inside the head. It won't effect the play of the club, just can be a little annoying. He took it out next time he changed the shaft.

[tx_basser]

if the hole is large enough so that you can shake the club to where the piece of epoxy gets near the weight hole take a torch and try to melt it.  I had a very similar situation and I the only option I was to shoot some expanding foam insulation in the head.  It added maybe one to two swingweight points, but that was it.

[two shakes]

  tx_basser said:

Originally Posted by tx_basser

if the hole is large enough so that you can shake the club to where the piece of epoxy gets near the weight hole take a torch and try to melt it.  I had a very similar situation and I the only option I was to shoot some expanding foam insulation in the head.  It added maybe one to two swingweight points, but that was it.

The MWT weight holes are 4mm in diameter,as you can imagine its very very difficult trying to shine a torch through one hole,and look through the other.I've managed to manipulate the two pieces onto the leading edge so that i could see what sort of size they were.They have a small amount of Rat Glue on,so i'm reluctant to move them from where they are in case they stick semi permanently somewhere less accessible.I did consider the same thing as you suggested,i was going to put a small blob of fast set epoxy on a skewer,and push it onto one of the pieces,but i've no idea how much heat would be required to melt it,once i got it next to the MWT weight hole.I'm scared i'll damage the paint ?

I have a friend who's a clubmaker,he's already suggested foaming the head,as it will guarantee a cure,but aside from the swingweight issue,i'm worried the head will feel and sound dead.Thanks for the reply,i was beginning to think nobody would help.

[tristanhilton85]

Just take it to a club builder, they can take out the shaft, remove the bits of glue and put it back in... maybe will cost you $20.

[TheGeekGolfer]

I had a rattle in my shaft, it was caused by 3 little plastic rods, no more than 1/8" in diameter and 1/2" in length.  I took them out by cutting a hole (with a razor box cutter) in the grip 'like a pumpkin top' (so it won't fall in) and then shaking them out.  Didn't know that's what it was until I did this, I thought it was epoxy, also.  I super-glued the 'pumpkin top' back in and you can't tell it was ever cut.

[LBlack14]

Heat the sole of the club and tap it so the pieces migrate to the bottom, there is rat glue in the head that should catch and hold the pieces in place when it re-hardens.