btal,
welcome to the forums! I am sure you will find this place not only informative, but also very entertaining!
Now, for your OB-1 cue shaft. It sounds as though your cue smith may not be aware of the simple maintenance on our cue shafts. Our cue shafts come originally with either a card inside the package or now a label on the cue shaft itself that explains our carbon fiber tip pad. This information is also on our website under Care and Repairs, along with instructions for maintenance.
http://www.obcues.com/carerepair.html
If you call me on Tuesday, we can figure out the best way to fix it up for you. If it is a warranty issue I will fix it up and ship it back for you. Even if it works out to be something our warranty does not cover, I am sure I can help you out. Call me and we can work it out.
Probably the only thing I am aware of that increases the chance that a tip and pad will come off is letting the tip get down too thin. I have seen some where, at the edges, they were hitting on the pad! Obviously, this is too thin and is asking for problems.
Soon you will start to see our tips with a red layer to help remind you when to replace the tip. Basically, you want to keep 2 layers at the sidewall of the tip. Any lower than that and you run the risk of having troubles.
We are closed today and Monday, but call me Tuesday. I will be looking forward to your call!
Royce Bunnell
www.obcues.com