Pulling a head with "low heat"

[Mathwiz]

What exactly do club makers mean when they say they pulled a head with low heat? I thought the epoxy had to be heated to a certain temperature to break down the epoxy. Don't get me wrong, I have pulled many heads from steel shafts, but it took a lot more than "low heat" before the epoxy broke down enough to twist the head off. The reason I ask is I am trying to remove a set of iron heads from some graphite shafts and I tried low heat for a long period of time to no avail. When I turned the heat gun up to the high setting it finally broke the epoxy bond but I think I messed up the graphite shaft. I'd kinda like to save the others.

[MbolicGolf]

you neeed to use high pressure in conjuction with the low heat.

[glock35ipsc]

Originally Posted by MbolicGolf

you neeed to use high pressure in conjuction with the low heat.

^^^ This.  For graphite shafts, ^^^ would probably mean a heat gun (not a torch) and a shaft puller.  ALWAYS use a shaft puller when working with graphite shafts, as any twisting will almost certainly jack up the shaft.  Steel shafts are no problem though, twist away.

[WUTiger]

Some clubsmiths are concerned about heating the new composite driver and wood heads (such as Callaway Razr Hawk) and damaging the heads when pulling shafts. Not sure if this is your topic.

[moparman426]

Originally Posted by MbolicGolf

you neeed to use high pressure in conjuction with the low heat.

^^^^ This.  As mentioned, always use a puller for anything graphite.  Pre-loading the shaft with the puller before adding low heat works best for saving the shafts for reuse.

Originally Posted by WUTiger

Some clubsmiths are concerned about heating the new composite driver and wood heads (such as Callaway Razr Hawk) and damaging the heads when pulling shafts. Not sure if this is your topic.

Most OEMs recommend cutting the shaft and drilling out the hosel when it comes to their composite heads, but you can wrap the head with a wet hand towel to help keep the bonded areas cool.  I have done this with Callaway FTi models, but as always, use your own discretion.