The Lesson I have learned is don't touch this really crap stuff with a bargepole ;even as a favour.
So true! The key is to be able to identify "crap stuff" before starting to work on it.
Here's how...........1 Take a pointed object like a carbide scribe or point of a stainless steel pocket knife and press the point into an unpainted portion of the head. If the point leaves a tiny "pockmark" you can be quite sure the head is not stainless steel or titaniun. 2 Beware of markings like "titanium matrix" this is a fancy term for aluminum (which has 2-3% titanium as an impurity). 3 On iron heads excessive scratches, dents or gouges usually indicate zinc or aluminum construction. Heat a zinc head to remove a shaft and the hosel could melt! Don't be fooled by chrome plating. 4 Experience will tell you which brand names are often "crap stuff" but understand that some make all grades of lower priced product.
In your case the point test would have saved you some heartache.
The above mentioned tests are also handy when a customer asks you to adjust loft and lie. It won't save you if the heads are actually titanium. But there are very few of those and you would know as soon as you try to bend (hard as hell). Don't even try, the break is very "dramatic" and most unpredictable!
