When I first started repairing clubs we were all taught the dreaded oboe nail method. This entailed sharpening the point of the nail and routinely hammering it down between the shaft and the hosel. As you rotate round the circumference, the shaft eventually collapses into the hosel and the whole thing drops out. Simple? No problem at all; after about three hours the shaft falls out and the club is ready to be re-shafted!
Then a few years ago, an engineer friend of mine suggested using a 5/16” screw extractor, and suddenly the gloom was lifted. These simple, cheap but effective tools make a tough job a piece of cake, as follows:
Step 1
Place the clubhead into a vice using protective jaws, and heat. A naked flame is faster and more effective than a hot air gun but both methods will work.
Step 2
Hammer the extractor hard into the broken shaft, making sure it ‘bites’.
Step 3
Fit a tap wrench to the square top of the extractor and twist out the broken shaft.
Step 4
Remove the broken shaft from the extractor using an old chisel or screwdriver.
These extractors will remove dozens of shafts before the edges become blunt (though they can be re-sharpened), and they are not prone to breaking like the more expensive alternatives.
So there it is, a cheap and effective solution to an old problem – you will be whistling a happy tune in the workshop once again!
