DIY Graphite Shaft Puller

[Camille Bissarro]

I've been trying to figure out a cheapish graphite shaft pulling setup for a while. I came across some videos on Youtube (here and here) by a guy who built one from a couple of vises. He's from the UK, so he says it cost less than &20. I picked up the vises for about $20 a pop at the hardware store. I cut out the aluminum cuff myself, but I'm going to get one from Golfworks here shortly, and had the torch and shaft vise collar already.

It's a pretty simple design, and it works a charm, so I thought I'd share it in case anyone is interesting in making one themselves.

 

[cnosil]

Looks ideal for the at home tinkerer that is only going to do a few shafts. Was thinking about how to do something like this last night; have a shaft or two I want to pull the head/adapter to try in my 3w.

[Camille Bissarro]

29 minutes ago, cnosil said:

Looks ideal for the at home tinkerer that is only going to do a few shafts. Was thinking about how to do something like this last night; have a shaft or two I want to pull the head/adapter to try in my 3w.

@cnosil for sure, it's a low-volume set up. Having used it a few times, on iron heads and a driver adapter, I'd say it's a good and relatively inexpensive option for the hobbyist.

Certainly it's less expensive than a shop shaft extractor tool, and cheaper than a ruined shaft too. Speaking of, maybe I should factor the shafts I've ruined attempting other methods over the years...that would push the total cost up a bit

[berkeleybob]

Nice bench!

[Camille Bissarro]

3 hours ago, berkeleybob said:

Nice bench!

@berkeleybob thanks! It came to me from my wife's grandparents' retirement house in Tenants Harbor, Maine by way of my father in law. It's old, but my wife doesn't know if it originally belonged to her grandparents, or if it came with the house when they bought it. In either case, they got that house in the late 1960s or early 1970s, but by the appearance and construction, the bench seems to date quite a bit before that. As I'm typing, my wife is telling me to add that one of the Bean family (of L.L. Bean fame) lives there now.

That's all I can say about the provenance of the bench, but I do enjoy working on it!

[Camille Bissarro]

Update on the DIY puller: eventually the carpenter's vise tore out of the wood at the end of the bench. I finally bit the bullet and ordered a Golf Works puller, only to learn a component was on back order. I found this thing on ebay instead (see attached photo), and it's the bee's knees.

 

[dlow206]

52 minutes ago, Camille Bissarro said:

Update on the DIY puller: eventually the carpenter's vise tore out of the wood at the end of the bench. I finally bit the bullet and ordered a Golf Works puller, only to learn a component was on back order. I found this thing on ebay instead (see attached photo), and it's the bee's knees.

 

I've got that one as well. Sometimes the shaft slips in the rubber clamp, but i found putting some tape around the shaft helps.

[NickLD]

Thanks Camille, I was going to chuck the driver head as its only worth about £50 (70 bucks) so buying a puller just to replace the shaft was a pointless. However I have a woodworking vice on the bench but never thought of lashing up something like you’ve done. Cheers Mate :-)

[fixyurdivot]

On 6/3/2020 at 11:13 AM, Camille Bissarro said:

I've been trying to figure out a cheapish graphite shaft pulling setup for a while. I came across some videos on Youtube (here and here) by a guy who built one from a couple of vises. He's from the UK, so he says it cost less than &20. I picked up the vises for about $20 a pop at the hardware store. I cut out the aluminum cuff myself, but I'm going to get one from Golfworks here shortly, and had the torch and shaft vise collar already.

It's a pretty simple design, and it works a charm, so I thought I'd share it in case anyone is interesting in making one themselves.

 

Nice set-up.  The few YT videos I've looked at suggest the hydraulic puller but I should think for occasional DIY projects, a screw system that provides solid, straight action would work just fine.

[fixyurdivot]

On 12/4/2020 at 10:27 AM, dlow206 said:

I've got that one as well. Sometimes the shaft slips in the rubber clamp, but i found putting some tape around the shaft helps.

Where are you guys finding these?  Is there a seller on eBay making them?

Edit: found it, I think?  GOLF CLUB SHAFT PULLER EXTRACTOR - FOR STEEL & GRAPHITE SHAFTS | eBay

[dlow206]

4 hours ago, fixyurdivot said:

Where are you guys finding these?  Is there a seller on eBay making them?

Edit: found it, I think?  GOLF CLUB SHAFT PULLER EXTRACTOR - FOR STEEL & GRAPHITE SHAFTS | eBay

Yes, from rjstage