cutting butt end vs cutting shaft

[raygunpk 0]

I have a stick with about a 4 inch wood plug in there. I want to take off an inch...should I remove the wood plug and cut the shaft or just take it off the wood directly? Which would yield a whippier/stiffer overall flex?

[Ogie Oglethorpe 14]

Cut the plug.

The 1 inch is not going to make a significant difference. Regardless, in general, making it SHORTER makes it STIFFER, not whippier.

[flyerman 0]

I think his question is: would cutting the plug make the stick stiffer or whippier than cutting the the shaft and putting the plug back in?

I agree that an inch really wouldn't make much difference. I personally would cut the plug because I want as much of the integrity of the shaft and it's natural flex in tact.

But to answer your question, I think it depends on the flex of the shaft, the material of the end plug, and the length of the shaft and the plug. I'm not an engineer, but I'm guessing that unless you have a stiff-very stiff shaft, the shaft flexes more than the wood plug. However, it seems that a flex zone would be created where the plug meets the shaft because they are two different densities. So a cut down shaft with a really long plug would change the flex dynamics consideribly. But I may be talking out of my ass here...

Any engineers want to take a crack at this....

[Jarick 5]

Your typical plug is probably what, 120 flex or so? So it would make it less stiffer to cut the plug than the shaft, unless your shaft was over 120 flex.

[Rustpot 1]

Any engineers want to take a crack at this....

Cut the wood to increase the flex less. The flex is coming from leverage on the shaft as well as the stiffness of the composite, which is why cutting makes it stiffer. If you have the choice, cutting the composite raises the overall rigidity of the stick, where cutting the wood just gives you an inch less to crank on the stick of the same stiffness.

Assuming, of course, that the leverage given by an extra inch of wood doesn't counteract the slightly stiffer stick.

Get any mechanics book and look up cantilever beam equations. It's not the best model for the stick, but it's a pretty good base to start on and you can make calculations of your own.

[raygunpk 0]

Didn't know plugs are 120 flex...interesting!

[Jason Harris 31]

Joe from Oggie has measured wooden plugs with his TruFlex machine and found the range to be amazing. It's in another thread somewhere, but I believe the range was around 90 to 140 flex. He refers to it as being at the mercy of the tree.

On your topic, however, I'd cut the plug and try to keep the composite stick in its original condition.

[habsfan87 0]

I think someone (oggie?) tested a bunch and they were anywhere from like 90-150 or something. I always cut the plug before the shaft

[Jarick 5]

That's what I was thinking, so average of 120. Most of the butt ends I've got are made of very good wood and seem very consistent, but they are really high flex. I think it would be great if Oggie could somehow offer butt ends in different lengths and flexes, but there would be a lot to stock.

[Jason Harris 31]

I know that Joe has started a custom program, but I don't know the parameters; i.e., how many are required or what can be changed.

[AnthonyJTa 0]

On your topic, however, I'd cut the plug and try to keep the composite stick in its original condition.

+1... all for the sake of the possibility of getting rid of it.

[phoenixgold 0]

cut the shaft not the wood.

[habsfan87 0]

cut the shaft not the wood.

any insight to your reasoning?

[Ngo_35 1]

Always keep the shaft and cut the wood. You never want to ruin the integrity of the shaft. The shaft is made consistently(to a degree) not the butt end.

[Jason91 0]

Cut the plug: 8 Cut the shaft: 0

[Pinoroho 0]

I have a stick with about a 4 inch wood plug in there. I want to take off an inch...should I remove the wood plug and cut the shaft or just take it off the wood directly? Which would yield a whippier/stiffer overall flex?

The results of cutting either will be negligible, although cutting the wood will keep the integrity and length of the shaft.

Always keep the shaft and cut the wood. You never want to ruin the integrity of the shaft. The shaft is made consistently(to a degree) not the butt end.

New composite grips and endplugs are engineered with a specific stiffness to provide a flex up in the grip area.