Shaft Spinning

[LD395]

Since I don't have access to a SST puring, what is the best way to spine my shafts?  I have a ball bearing spine finder, but I've heard mixed feelings about them.

[bombinbrian]

Thats the way I have been finding them since the late 90's, before anyone even knew that there was a spine in a shaft.

[KH]

There are some people out there who don't believe in the spine thing.

I had my HOF LT xxx max tip trimmed with Alpha head (197.9grams) swinging 282cpms (with grip on), spine at 12 o'clock. I put a new Alpha plasma head on it (200.5grams, same length hosel) and put the spine at 6 o'clock (the logo downwards). It swings 269cpm's.

I am definately gonna put some more thought into it when building clubs in the future.

[LD395]

Well...another question is this.  I've found two spines on almost every shaft I have.  One of them snaps into place very strong...the other not so much.  What is the difference between the two different spines?

[callawayrep]

The only way to perfectly spine a shaft WITH a head is to temporarily attach the head face up to the shafts that it will be glued onto(temporary= with some tape or sand paper in the hosel to hold the head still), then position the butt end of the club(without grip)in a vice, then slightly bounce the shaft straight up and down(face pointing up). If the shaft doesn't bounce perfectly up and down, then the shaft isn't spinned to the head that it is being assembled to(make sure the head doesn't rotate while bouncing).
Rotate the shaft and head 1/8 revolutions at a time to find the spine of the shaft. The spine should be VERY VERY obvious, because all the other positions will oscillate and the spine wants to bounce straight up and down. This is the only way to truly spine a shaft to any head. The other machines, PURE and ball bearing are a good reference points, but once again, aren't accurate with a head installed on the shaft. If your spinning to get more accurate contact with the ball, why not do it the best way possible. The plus to this is that it's basically free, instead of $45 for PURE at PGA Superstore or Golfsmith to hand spine for you. Who do you think I learned it from? lol

For all you haters that will say PURING or that ball bearing is the best way to spine, please ask yourself this:
For the PURE machine : is the driver head a symmetrical weight attached to the tip of the shaft? NO, therefore why would PURE attached a symmetrical weight to diagnostically spine a shaft with a computer? It's inaccurate, but it finds the best spine for the symmetrical weight they attach for the test.
As for ball bearing : there is nothing attached to the shaft at all, this truly finds the spine without any added weight to the tip, but how does this help you with a completed club?
Both of these methods work but not for a completed club assembly. If there is any doubt, spend the money and test out the results in a vice. The shaft will never bounce straight up or down.

[TruContender]

i use a laser pointer. tape it to the end and using a vice i secure the shaft in place. gently pulling the shaft to one side and letting it go. watch on the wall for the laser pointer.... if it goes back-n-forth in a straight line a imark it and badabing!

[callawayrep]

i use a laser pointer. tape it to the end and using a vice i secure the shaft in place. gently pulling the shaft to one side and letting it go. watch on the wall for the laser pointer.... if it goes back-n-forth in a straight line a imark it and badabing!

GREAT IDEA!

That is a definite upgrade in the hand spinning process. How much does a laser pointer weigh? I'm not sure if it would affect the shaft....

[PGW]

Need some weight on the end of the shaft/ they sell tip weights used for profiling or you can buy a 'drill chuck'that weighs in around 100 grams-just a laser is not enough weight
In answer to another post-
Usually are 2 spines-1 hard spine and 1 soft- S1 and S2 - also 2 nuetrals
N1 and N2-** some** shafts they are hard to find but others are easy.

[stroz]

I got a weight that the shaft slides on to and the laser sits in the middle. I bought it from Cliff Baron awile ago. Use my CPM vise and look for the flat line of the laser by rotating the shaft with the laser on at 1/8 turns until I get it locked down for being flat.

[mlj275]

My shafts are spined up to + or - 0,1 degrees................
The way we do it, we call it dynamic loading.

[dennymac]

There are some people out there who don't believe in the spine thing

Count me in that group.  Of all the drivers I have used over the last couple years, the only one I couldn't hit straight to save my life was the one I had spine aligned.

[JimSanders]

i want one of the lasers that kenny has in his instructional videos.. anyone know where to get one of those?

[bpa59]

i want one of the lasers that kenny has in his instructional videos.. anyone know where to get one of those?

Tim Hewitt at My Ostrich has them...
Frankly....I´m a little surprised that not more of you LDers are aware of impact a bad spining can have.
A proper made flow on top of that will increase center hits....at least if you ask me.

[mlj275]

i want one of the lasers that kenny has in his instructional videos.. anyone know where to get one of those?

Even the laser thing isn't accurate enough. You just have to be one degree off and it's not spined properly.

[The_Power]

With modern manufacturing technology being able to give you an almost perfectly uniform shaft, does it really matter if it is spined or not

[mlj275]

With modern manufacturing technology being able to give you an almost perfectly uniform shaft, does it really matter if it is spined or not

Actually it does Phil..........

[The_Power]

If its that important why don't the manufacturers spine their shafts as part of the process

[mlj275]

If its that important why don't the manufacturers spine their shafts as part of the process

I would think:
Because it takes a little bit more time then you would think to spine a shaft correctly. If they have to do that for all their shafts? Then that's a lot of time and prices of the shafts would go up.
The normal amateur golfer doesn't care, so he will buy the unspined shaft that is cheaper and the company's that DO spine their shafts for an increased price will sell less shafts.
It's the same thing with the Golf brands that contract a shaft manufacturer for their next model. If they have to pay more they will choose the unspined shaft, because their average golfing customer doesn't care  or doesn't know about spining.

just my thoughts though

[LD395]

At the local I went to this past year a guy let me hit one of his drivers.  It was absolutely sick.  Everything was dead straight.  Great launch and it just kept going up.  Steveg on here hit it too.  The same guy was at the regional in Dallas.  I asked him about that driver, he said that the shaft had been flowed and spined.  Now, you could say that that drive just fit my swing perfectly, and I'm sure it did.  But, I own the same set-up and was hitting it that day too.  Mine is not spined.  Completely different feel and different level of consistency.  I have to say that it was the spinning. 

It was a 6* Alpha Plasma on a UST LD3.

[callawayrep]

It was a 6* Alpha Plasma on a UST LD3.

Those UST shafts have a lot of hard spots(spines) in them, and it takes along time to find the hardest spot.