The tip of the shaft, once you determine the proper tip trimming and trim accordingly, needs to be abraded to allow the epoxy to adhere to the shaft and hold the shaft into the head.
Your goal is to roughen up the shaft enough so the epoxy will adhere to the shaft, however not so much as to damage the shaft.
Steel shafts may need to be sanded down considerably in order to fit into the hosel of the club head. Often there are several layers of thick chrome on a steel shaft that need to be removed before the .370 shaft will fit into the .370 hosel bore.
On a graphite shaft, you will need to remove some of the paint, however you do not want to cut so deeply into the shaft that you damage any of the graphite fibers. Be careful with graphite shafts and ultra-thin steel shafts as over prepping is one of the lead causes of shaft breakage in finished clubs.
With standard steel shafts, you can be more aggressive than with graphite shafts, and it's not uncommon to use a dremel tool or a drill with a sanding wheel attachment, a bench grinder or a vertical belt sander to roughen up the shaft surface to the depth of the hosel.
| Select the video image to see an example of the use of a bench grinder for abrading the tip of a steel shaft. Keep in mind when using a bench grinder, the object is to simply roughen up the surface of the shaft, removing just enough material to insert the shaft into the hosel, and to not create any flat spots on the shaft itself. Keep the shaft moving back and forth while you rotate it against the grinding wheel - keeping light pressure on the shaft against the wheel. |  |
Most common in the home shop will be abrasion with sandpaper. This is most easily accomplished by clamping the shaft in a vice, and using a strip of sandpaper like a shoe-shine polishing cloth to roughen up the shaft's surface.
| Select the video image to
see an example of the use of a rough grit sandpaper for abrading the tip of a
steel shaft. | 
|
Another method for abrading steel shafts is by using a common metal file.
| Select
the video image to
see an example of the use of a metal file for abrading the
tip of a
steel shaft. You may either hold the shaft in your hand, or clamp the shaft in a vise as you would for sandpaper abrasion, and simply cut the outer layer of the shaft with the file as you normally would file any other item - rolling it with the curve of the shaft so you don't create flat spots. Remember that most metal files only cut while pushing away from you, so take that into account when preparing a shaft tip with a metal file. | 
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With graphite shafts, you will want to be more gentle with the shaft tip so as not to damage any of the graphite fibers. You want to remove only a very small amount of shaft material other than paint, when preparing a graphite shaft tip for installation.
Common methods include hand sanding with medium grit paper, filing with a metal file, using a belt sander with a fine sanding belt, using a bench grinder, dremel tool or flap wheel sander - all equipped with nylon wheels or sanding strips.
| Select
the video image to
see an example of the use of a bench grinder with a nylon grind wheel for abrading the
tip of a graphite shaft. Use the nylon wheel with graphite much the same way you would use a standard grinding wheel with steel. Lightly run the shaft tip up against the wheel, while turning it completely around. Remove only enough material to abrade the tip - do not over prep graphite! | 
|
| Select
the video image to
see an example of the use of medium grit sandpaper for abrading the
tip of a graphite shaft. Using medium grit sandpaper, again you would cut a strip of paper and use a shoe shine motion to remove the paint around the shaft. Keep an eye on the amount of material you are removing - you want to be gentle here as too heavy a prep job can cause premature shaft failure. | 
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| When abrading the tip of a graphite shaft with a metal file, it's easiest to clamp the shaft tip in a shaft clamp in order to assist you. The file must be held flat on the shaft so that you don't cut into the fibers with the edge of the file. This is very important, as the file can easily cut through fiber without you knowing you've done the damage. Caution is your friend here for certain. Select the video image to see an example of the use of a metal file for abrading the tip of a graphite shaft. | 
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Regardless of which method you use - and there are many deviations that will work just as well - be sure you remove only enough material from steel or graphite shafts to get a good bond with the epoxy, and not so much that you weaken the shaft tip.
Mark the shaft first for the correct hosel depth - including 1/2 of the length of the ferrule - then abrade the shaft to your mark. You may wish to use a piece of masking tape to mark the shaft as it will not wear off with sanding and is a certain reminder of where to stop the abrading process.
Tim Hewitt, myOstrich Golf
Video segments are compliments of SMT Golf.
