Best Epoxy for Assembling Golf Heads With Shafts
What is the best epoxy for assembling golf heads with shafts?
Selleys Araldite Super Strong Epoxy Adhesive can be used for this application, and it is known to be used for it by some pro shops.
Selleys is careful about the recommendation, and you should be too: this adhesive is not specifically designed for golf club assembly. Check with your local pro or golf shop for any special requirements before you commit a set of shafts to it. Club assembly has its own conventions around epoxy viscosity, cure schedule and shaft preparation that a general-purpose adhesive data sheet does not address.
What Araldite Super Strong actually gives you
| Property | Typical result |
|---|---|
| Technology | Two-part epoxy |
| Colour | Dries clear |
| Set time | 5 minutes |
| Working life of mixed glue | 2–3 minutes at 20°C |
| Initial bond time | 30 minutes |
| Maximum bond time | After 16 hours |
| Holds up to | 150 kg/cm² (fully cured, clean abraded copper) |
| Temperature resistance | Up to 60°C |
| Packaging | 8 mL syringe, 24 mL syringe, 35 mL tube |
Indicative data only, not intended for the preparation of specifications.
What the working time means for a club build
This is the figure that decides whether Super Strong suits your process. The mixed glue remains usable for 2 to 3 minutes at 20°C, and sets in 5 minutes. That is a short window for a job that involves buttering a hosel bore, coating a shaft tip, inserting, seating and then aligning the shaft to a specific spine or logo orientation.
Two practical consequences follow.
Mix one club at a time. A batch mixed for three heads will begin setting while you are still on the first. Mixing small quantities also helps: larger masses of epoxy generate more heat as they react, which accelerates the cure and shortens the working time further.
If you need longer, use a different Araldite. Araldite Extra Time is the long-working-time product in the range — it remains usable for 1 hour at 20°C, sets in 60 minutes, and holds the same 150 kg/cm². It also has a higher temperature resistance, up to 80°C rather than 60°C. Its trade-off is at the other end: initial bond takes 6 to 8 hours and maximum strength is reached after 24 to 72 hours, so a club glued with it has to sit undisturbed overnight rather than for 16 hours.
Araldite Rapid is the wrong direction for this job — it sets in 90 seconds, remains usable for about 1 minute, and holds up to 75 kg/cm² rather than 150.
How to use it
- Abrade, clean and dry both surfaces. This matters more than the choice of epoxy. The published 150 kg/cm² figure is measured on a clean, abraded surface, and a polished shaft tip in a smooth bore is not that.
- For a syringe, snap out the cap from the plunger and carefully cut the sealed tips at the end of the nozzle. For a tube, pierce each tube with the spike found in the top of the cap.
- Dispense equal parts of both liquids onto a clean disposable surface and mix thoroughly with a spatula. Do not use the plastic blister to mix in.
- Apply the mixed glue to both surfaces of the job, then bring them together. For a hosel that means coating the bore as well as the shaft tip.
- Set your alignment immediately — you have 2 to 3 minutes.
- Do not apply undue strain to the bond for 30 minutes. Hold the join in place with tape or weights if necessary.
- Leave it to reach maximum strength, which takes 16 hours. Allow longer in colder weather.
- Clean uncured Araldite off the ferrule and hosel with acetone before it sets. Replace the cap from the plunger onto the nozzle and store in a cool dry place.
Limitations worth knowing
- Will not bond PTFE, polyethylene or polypropylene plastics. Relevant if any component of your ferrule or tip assembly is one of these.
- The bond softens above 60°C, with strength restored when the temperature returns to normal. A car boot in an Australian summer can exceed that, so this is a real consideration for stored clubs. Araldite Extra Time's 80°C rating gives more margin.
- Allow longer bonding times in colder weather.
- The product may discolour if exposed to UV. Inside a hosel this is hidden; on a visible epoxy line at the ferrule it may not be.
- Pre-test on leather and rubber to determine suitability — relevant if you are also attaching grips rather than using grip tape and solvent.
- Selleys has not designed or tested this product for golf club assembly. The pro shop advice above is not a formality.
Common questions about epoxy for club assembly
How long do I have to align the shaft?
Two to three minutes at 20°C with Araldite Super Strong. It sets in five. If that is not enough, Araldite Extra Time stays usable for an hour.
How long before I can hit balls?
Maximum strength is reached after 16 hours with Super Strong, and after 24 to 72 hours with Extra Time. Do not stress the bond in the first 30 minutes.
Do I need to abrade the shaft tip?
Yes. The surface preparation instruction is to abrade, clean and dry both surfaces, and the published strength figure is measured on an abraded surface.
Should I glue the bore or the tip?
Both. The directions are to apply the mixed glue to both surfaces of the job before bringing them together.
Which Araldite holds the most?
Super Strong and Extra Time both hold up to 150 kg/cm² when fully cured on a clean, abraded surface. Rapid holds up to 75 kg/cm².
Will heat from a car boot damage the joint?
The bond softens above 60°C for Super Strong and above 80°C for Extra Time, with strength restored when the temperature returns to normal.
Can I pull a shaft later with heat?
Selleys publishes a softening temperature but not a shaft-extraction procedure. This is precisely the kind of special requirement to raise with a pro or golf shop before you build.
What size pack do I need?
Super Strong comes in 8 mL and 24 mL syringes and a 35 mL tube. Mix small quantities per club rather than one large batch, since larger volumes cure faster.
How do I clean up excess?
Acetone, on uncured Araldite. Once it has cured, removal is mechanical — see removing dried Araldite.
How long do I have to align the shaft?
Two to three minutes at 20°C with Araldite Super Strong. It sets in five. If that is not enough, Araldite Extra Time stays usable for an hour.
How long before I can hit balls?
Maximum strength is reached after 16 hours with Super Strong, and after 24 to 72 hours with Extra Time. Do not stress the bond in the first 30 minutes.
Do I need to abrade the shaft tip?
Yes. The surface preparation instruction is to abrade, clean and dry both surfaces, and the published strength figure is measured on an abraded surface.
Should I glue the bore or the tip?
Both. The directions are to apply the mixed glue to both surfaces of the job before bringing them together.
Which Araldite holds the most?
Super Strong and Extra Time both hold up to 150 kg/cm² when fully cured on a clean, abraded surface. Rapid holds up to 75 kg/cm².
Will heat from a car boot damage the joint?
The bond softens above 60°C for Super Strong and above 80°C for Extra Time, with strength restored when the temperature returns to normal.
Can I pull a shaft later with heat?
Selleys publishes a softening temperature but not a shaft-extraction procedure. This is precisely the kind of special requirement to raise with a pro or golf shop before you build.
What size pack do I need?
Super Strong comes in 8 mL and 24 mL syringes and a 35 mL tube. Mix small quantities per club rather than one large batch, since larger volumes cure faster.
How do I clean up excess?
Acetone, on uncured Araldite. Once it has cured, removal is mechanical — see removing dried Araldite .