KSMIFFIS Posted October 29, 2004 Report Share Posted October 29, 2004 Anyone ever had their driver head bent open? How did it sit? And what's the process? Is the hosel bent back or twisted etc? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FAQ Posted October 29, 2004 Report Share Posted October 29, 2004 Anyone ever had their driver head bent open?How did it sit? And what's the process? Is the hosel bent back or twisted etc? Driver heads actually do not bend. Only if the hosel is made out of metal. The only way to do it is if the clubmaker has a mold to fit that head. They heat them and try to coax them open. Another way is to drill, but I'm not sure if you can achieve 2* that way. Actually both of these techniques are very risky to damage the head. The only place I know that has the molds is on the Tour Truck and they shatter them often. I bet Joe has some good comments for this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TourGolfJeff Posted October 30, 2004 Report Share Posted October 30, 2004 Gentlemen, A forged ti wood head or a stainless steel wood head can indeed be bent open or closed or flat or upright, provided te hosel length allows bending. The head does not have to be heated, but a "good" machine such as Mitchell's Plus is needed. Short hosel bending bars are generally needed as well. Tour vans do use molds particular to their clubs, but since they only bend their own models, this is practical for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FAQ Posted October 30, 2004 Report Share Posted October 30, 2004 Gentlemen,A forged ti wood head or a stainless steel wood head can indeed be bent open or closed or flat or upright, provided te hosel length allows bending. The head does not have to be heated, but a "good" machine such as Mitchell's Plus is needed. Short hosel bending bars are generally needed as well. Tour vans do use molds particular to their clubs, but since they only bend their own models, this is practical for them. Jeff: Do you do this? If so what models of drivers do you recommend for this type of technique? Also, The original question was referring to a TM R7TP, Do you bend that one? What shop are you with? Thanks in advance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TourGolfJeff Posted October 30, 2004 Report Share Posted October 30, 2004 Chris, I am with Tour Golf Products, Inc., in Columbus OH as their Director of Marketing. I alos own a driving range/mini golf facility. I formerly was with Mitchell Golf as well as Dynacraft Golf. I do not do any bending myself as I do not have a machine. I would recommend any PCS clubmaker with a Mitchell Plus machine to do the bending. I have not seen the TP's being bent, but I think (although not sure) their hosels allow bending. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xf1000 Posted October 31, 2004 Report Share Posted October 31, 2004 I sure would love to hear from Joe on this subject. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murch Posted October 31, 2004 Report Share Posted October 31, 2004 Jeff is spot on, It is possible to bend Forged Ti and Stainless, some easier then others but with patience and a bit of experience it is unbelievable just how many models can be bent with the Mitch plus machine and the right operator. We do this quite a bit. The most receptive quality heads I have experience with this ability is the Nakashima's. We can fit anyone with this combo and at times some injection for weight and or "bias." Cheers, Chris M Tour Technologies, Australian PGA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FAQ Posted October 31, 2004 Report Share Posted October 31, 2004 Jeff is spot on, It is possible to bend Forged Ti and Stainless, some easier then others but with patience and a bit of experience it is unbelievable just how many models can be bent with the Mitch plus machine and the right operator. We do this quite a bit. The most receptive quality heads I have experience with this ability is the Nakashima's. We can fit anyone with this combo and at times some injection for weight and or "bias." Cheers, Chris M Tour Technologies, Australian PGA Chris, you are in Australia? Are you guys bending the R7TP's there? Can you bend them for loft too? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joey3108 Posted October 31, 2004 Report Share Posted October 31, 2004 I sure would love to hear from Joe on this subject.Even if i have the machine, I will never guaranty that i will not damage the head 100%. I've seen to many of them end up w/ oval hosel , chipped paint, collapse crown, etc. I've seen to many snapped hosel in the trash can of the tour van. In the old days, I've bend PT head, TM burner, etc...but those are steel and long neck. Risk is definitely a lot smaller.It's definitely possible if you have a very experience bender, even that still to risky IMO. I would rather send it back to TM tour department or tour van and beg them to bend it. Reduce the risk but still quite visible IMO. I wouldn't even send my driver to a tour van for bending. The risk is to high IMHO. For god sake, It's $700 club. :surprize: Ask for a written guaranty if any one of them say they can do it without any risk involve. ps: XF, We should hook up and get Oscar to play Sonoma. I'm sure it's still pure after last week Tour Champions. Cheers! Joe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murch Posted October 31, 2004 Report Share Posted October 31, 2004 FAQ, Can only bend lie and face angle. Face angle will have an impact on the way the club performs including its effective or playing loft. Just as Joe K said there is know guarantee when bending this type of club as they do vary a bit between head to head. {hot spots, cold spots, welds, etc, etc } Have done some R7's, just a few and just a little bend, all with success {so far so good} there should not be an issue with distorting the hosel {ovalising} { in most cases} if you use the right tooling, but paint at times can be an issue {can stretch and cloud up in appearance}. If you try to go too far or too slow the crowns of some may collapes. This is my experiences only, I'm sure there is others. Hope that helps Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FAQ Posted October 31, 2004 Report Share Posted October 31, 2004 I sure would love to hear from Joe on this subject.Even if i have the machine, I will never guaranty that i will not damage the head 100%. I've seen to many of them end up w/ oval hosel , chipped paint, collapse crown, etc. I've seen to many snapped hosel in the trash can of the tour van. In the old days, I've bend PT head, TM burner, etc...but those are steel and long neck. Risk is definitely a lot smaller.It's definitely possible if you have a very experience bender, even that still to risky IMO. I would rather send it back to TM tour department or tour van and beg them to bend it. Reduce the risk but still quite visible IMO. I wouldn't even send my driver to a tour van for bending. The risk is to high IMHO. For god sake, It's $700 club. :surprize: Ask for a written guaranty if any one of them say they can do it without any risk involve. ps: XF, We should hook up and get Oscar to play Sonoma. I'm sure it's still pure after last week Tour Champions. Cheers! Joe Thanks Joe! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joey3108 Posted November 1, 2004 Report Share Posted November 1, 2004 In addition to what i said before: Now a days , Oversize driver construction are so big, therefore the wall are much thinner...especially by the crown (top). So it's only make sense that is why they have a special molding for a specific head to secure it on the machine during bending. I would love to thinker ( if i have time ) to design a bending machine w/ a very good clamping system that can fit to any shape of head design. It would be easier if we can find a material that if warm it up will form a tight shape and when it cool down solid as a steel. Any scientist here can help? Cheers! Joe :cool: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonartec_guy Posted November 1, 2004 Report Share Posted November 1, 2004 In addition to what i said before:Now a days , Oversize driver construction are so big, therefore the wall are much thinner...especially by the crown (top). So it's only make sense that is why they have a special molding for a specific head to secure it on the machine during bending. I would love to thinker ( if i have time ) to design a bending machine w/ a very good clamping system that can fit to any shape of head design. It would be easier if we can find a material that if warm it up will form a tight shape and when it cool down solid as a steel. Any scientist here can help? Cheers! Joe :cool: any solid that could be heated and molded to cool as hard as steel would have to bea heated to relatively high temps. if the solid was to be melted, the process of creating a mold would instantaneously take off all paint, finish, enamel, etc. your best bet would to make your own mold for the most popular drivers. then youd have like 2 doxen that you could always use. making single molds is a relatively easy process. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joey3108 Posted November 1, 2004 Report Share Posted November 1, 2004 In addition to what i said before:Now a days , Oversize driver construction are so big, therefore the wall are much thinner...especially by the crown (top). So it's only make sense that is why they have a special molding for a specific head to secure it on the machine during bending. I would love to thinker ( if i have time ) to design a bending machine w/ a very good clamping system that can fit to any shape of head design. It would be easier if we can find a material that if warm it up will form a tight shape and when it cool down solid as a steel. Any scientist here can help? Cheers! Joe :cool: your best bet would to make your own mold for the most popular drivers. then youd have like 2 doxen that you could always use. making single molds is a relatively easy process. That is what i was thinking. Design a clamping parts to sit on the strong part of the construction on every angle ( Face, Crown, Sole, Toe and Heel ). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FAQ Posted November 1, 2004 Report Share Posted November 1, 2004 Besides making these molds for easy to find drivers, I would make them for imported drivers where they offer conforming heads only in low lofts. That would be a good market that really needs to be addressed. Of course, I'm looking out for myself too. I'd like to see higher lofts with the Japanese conforming heads. Like the TourStage MR. :laugh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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