kelco9 Appreciate the heads-up, but I have done so. My current single length clubs are at about 281 g, I can weight these 770CFEs to 282 g with the heads I have on hand.

I haven't double checked Tom's background info on the Sterlings, but my recollection was that either there or a Tutleman study the high COR faces do not have as much of an effect at higher lofts, which is why the higher lofted Sterlings do not have the high COR face. Having the high COR face with the 770CFEs then, hopefully won't make much of a difference. Plus, my slow swingspeed...!

I'm also going with 4.5° loft gaps for the 770CFEs.

      HybridWood Ah, I see. Sounds like you have done your homework. That is interesting about the hi-COR effect on higher lofts. That makes sense. There will probably be a diminishing effect from 7-iron to SW, but you can simply address that through loft adjustment if it does emerge. The one thing that surprised me is the 281 g SL heads. That's heavier than I expected, given the 272 spec on a pinhawks and 274 on the Sterlings. That certainly makes it easier to SL your 770s.

          Except for my original Ping Eye2 BeCu irons, which now occupy a place of honor in the man-cave, I played all components for years. Cheaper than OEM and much more fun to build, especially since I had a part-time business doing so and used components from all the major components companies back then. Last several years seems many of the companies folded, merged or just disappeared. With the price of the OEM today after being on market for 6 months it is much cheaper to purchase and re-shaft to what I need - don't run the business anymore as dealing with the public is a pita. The OEM's have shot themselves in the foot by releasing new product every quarter to try and one-up each other. Marketing-types run the OEM's and most of the difference between a company's offerings will be marketing hype. Most savvy buyers will now wait 3 months and get what they want at half price and if they are really savvy they will get the shaft replaced to one that better suits their swing, unless they are lucky enough to get a proper fitting before purchasing.

          kelco9 Agreed. As you probably guessed, the irons I'm currently using weren't made for SL either! The Twin Tunes have two weight ports; removing them from the 9-iron and PW left me with about 281 g. I guess since I am already accustomed to the ~281 g weight I'd figure I'd try them out with the 770CFE's.

              govols Reasonable point, but there shouldn't be a problem. The body of the 770s are 17-4 cast, which can be a bit of a bear to bend, but if he is going to an 8-iron length, it's only a 1/2 degree bend (the lie on the 9-iron through SW in the 770s is 64, the 8-iron is 63.5, and the 7-iron 63. Very doable. In fact, probably not even noticeable if you didn't do any bending at all, even though that flies in the face of the SL a bit. Truth be told, there's few sets I've seen that don't have this small of a variance at best (even if we would like to claim otherwise).

                  kelco9 True. I choke down quite often on my irons and don't give lie angle a second thought.

                    govols Yes, that's true...just like I had to do with my current SL iron set. And as kelco9 points out, there isn't much bending to be done, unlike if I was trying to start with a 5-iron. (Target L/L to be 36.5" and 63.5°).

                    Wishon claims a 2° bend limit for the 770CFE but of course 17-4 SS isn't the easiest to bend, again as kelco9 pointed out.

                    And Steve - sorry for the threadjack!

                        I played nothing but components for probably 25 years. Then when I retired I treated myself to a set of Ping i5
                        irons about 10 years ago. A few years ago I got a new set of Callaway Xr's to replace them. My woods are all
                        OEM that I have bought used and reshafted to suit me. So, I still have a mixed bag. Lately though, I've been missing the hobby of clubmaking, and I'm tempted to get myself a set of Maltby KE4 Tour heads and shaft them up to see if there's anything to the Maltby Playability Factor I've been reading about for these past several years (the KE4's are rated much higher in MPF than either my Pings or Callaways.....just curious!)

                          HybridWood Do you still have the 462 head and if so would you be willing to part with it?

                            HybridWood Wishon claims a 2° bend limit for the 770CFE but of course 17-4 SS isn't the easiest to bend, again as kelco9 pointed out.

                            I can't remember if it was the 770 CFE or the 870ti's but I think there were some bending limitations due to concerns of the welded on face popping off.

                              fatshot I've been missing the hobby of clubmaking, and I'm tempted to.........

                              That's the lure of that hobby. Component irons are usually cheaper to build than buy used (in mint condition), and you get NEW clubs along with the pride associated with playing well with a set you built. I know it's OEM, but I get the same effect when buying old PINGs (Eye 2, ZING, etc) shinging up and repaintfilling the heads and installing new shafts/grips.

                                  sdandrea1 That's the lure of that hobby. Component irons are usually cheaper to build than buy used (in mint condition), and you get NEW clubs along with the pride associated with playing well with a set you built. I know it's OEM, but I get the same effect when buying old PINGs (Eye 2, ZING, etc) shinging up and repaintfilling the heads and installing new shafts/grips.

                                  Oem or component, I enjoy tinkering with them. I took a set of Ping G5 irons, reamed them out and put in some FST 115 shafts. It doesn't take a huge investment to get into clubmaking. A work bench, vice and shaft clamp will get you started. Having a shaft puller is definitely a big help.

                                    fatshot And I, for one, would be interested in the results!

                                      I just played 18 holes today with my ONE Maltby KE4 Tour iron in the bag.....it's the 7 iron on a graphite shaft
                                      (senior flex). I debated whether to take both 7 irons along, but decided to "sink or swim" with the experimental club! I hit it GREAT! Hit 3 greens with it, missed 2, but hit those solidly (one push, one pull). I liked the solid
                                      feeling and the fact that the sole is slightly narrower and does NOT have so much bounce as my Callaway XR set. Much easier to get through the turf. Distance was about the same as I expect out of my Cally #7.
                                      A very solid club, IMO.....

                                      I hope I get to play with it a couple of more times before the weather gets too bad to play (almost was today.....rained most of the night, and pretty windy, but temps in the high 50's, so OK to tee it up!). I'd like
                                      to decide whether or not to build out the rest of the set before we go to Florida in January.....

                                      Bigborgel
                                      Back when I used more components, the OEM product cycle was once a year at best. It took a few years before a used club was affordable....by then the club was 3+ years old so a new component head was the way to go. Also, back then there were no free shaft upgrades...you paid for a better shaft.
                                      Now with stuff being discounted and in used bins before the end of the season...with upgraded shafts, buying OEM for me anyway is a no brainer.