Iron Work
Eight blanks pulled from the same box are not eight identical blanks. Iron work here means every one of them gets weighed before it's cut, so the set behaves as a set and not eight separate guesses.
Frequency Slope Is Planned, Not Discovered Afterward
A well-built iron set climbs in butt frequency by a small, steady amount from the longest club to the shortest — usually four to five cycles per club. That progression is planned on the cut plan before a single blank is trimmed, using the tip trim chart specific to the blank model in the rack, not a generic table.
Once cut and assembled, every club in the set is checked against its own line on the work order. A club that lands more than two cycles outside its target goes back on the bench before the set is released.
One Line Per Club
The Variables on an Iron Cut Plan
Blank Hand-Matching
Blanks from the same box vary by a few grams and a handful of cycles. We check every one before deciding which goes in which club.
Tip Trim Progression
Longer irons get less tip trim, shorter irons get more — the step is what keeps the set's stiffness climbing at a steady rate instead of jumping around.
Lie Angle
Checked with the sole flat against a board, not assumed from the catalog spec. Years of mat practice can bend lie flatter than it started.
Length Progression
Half-inch steps club to club are standard, but not universal — taller and shorter players often need the progression adjusted rather than shifted as a block.
Swingweight Consistency
Checked club to club after assembly so the set feels like one continuous tool rather than fourteen individually reasonable decisions.
Grip Build-Up
Recorded in wraps per club on the work order, so a future regrip reproduces the size instead of quietly resetting it.
What Iron Work Usually Fixes
Uneven Yardage Gaps
Often traced to a frequency slope that never got checked, not to swing inconsistency. Charting it exposes exactly which club in the set is out of step.
A Set That "Fights Itself"
Individually well-built clubs can still feel mismatched if the progression between them is uneven. Frequency-matching is one of the faster fixes available on the bench.
Toe- or Heel-Biased Strikes
Frequently a lie-angle issue rather than a swing-path issue. Worth checking with the sole flat before assuming it's mechanics.
Short Irons That Feel "Whippy"
Usually a tip-trim progression that wasn't followed consistently. Re-cutting to a corrected plan resolves it without replacing the blanks.