How long should my tips last?

[pw98]

Chalking has no consequential relationship to tip wear.
I you do not believe that, then sit in a chair and really try to wear a tip down by chalking.
You will be sitting there for a millennia.
I mean seriously, think about it.

Chalk (master) is an abrasive. When an abrasive is applied to anything there is friction. How hard you push down on something with friction affects the friction force. The friction force causes wear to any substance.

Therefore, if you chalk lightly there is minimal wear. But if you grind chalk on hard there is significantly more wear.

 

[philly]

Chalk (master) is an abrasive. When an abrasive is applied to anything there is friction. How hard you push down on something with friction affects the friction force. The friction force causes wear to any substance.

Therefore, if you chalk lightly there is minimal wear. But if you grind chalk on hard there is significantly more wear.

Of course it is abrasive......incredibly minimally.
Have seat in a chair and chalk your new tip with master chalk and grind away as hard as you want.
Don't get up until your tip is worn down.
I'll do the same with a tip tool and grind away.
How many years will you be sitting in that chair?
I'll be done with mine in an hour.

 

[The_JV]

Then where is my tip going if I'm not shaping or scuffing it? Is the cue ball wearing it out?

compression

 

[Freddy Fuzzmore]

I use Elkmaster tips and they're usually good for about six months. The tip pictured is worn out as far as I'm concerned. Little cushion left to protect the ferrule. I've had a lot of miscues with this tip lately so off it goes and a new one goes on. Elkmasters are good and cheap.

 

[SmoothStroke]

You get a lifetime warranty if you don't use it.

 

[SmoothStroke]

I maintain my tips constantly, I don't care how long they last.
I play a lot of 3 cushion, use lots of english, and have no problem using the edge of the cue ball playing any game.
My tip is my connection and I make sure it's always perfect.

I stab it with a tip pick then roll it on a scuffer, if needed I use a sandpaper 1/2 moon file to fine tune
it, I then burnish it. I don't knock it down as it may sound, it's very little once you have it under control.
When you miscue do you look at your tip like the rest of the world or do you look
at your arm that you twisted and did the ole screwdriver stroke.

 

[Freddy Fuzzmore]

I maintain my tips constantly, I don't care how long they last.
I play a lot of 3 cushion, use lots of english, and have no problem using the edge of the cue ball playing any game.
My tip is my connection and I make sure it's always perfect.

I stab it with a tip pick then roll it on a scuffer, if needed I use a sandpaper 1/2 moon file to fine tune
it, I then burnish it. I don't knock it down as it may sound, it's very little once you have it under control.
When you miscue do you look at your tip like the rest of the world or do you look
at your arm that you twisted and did the ole screwdriver stroke.

When I miscue it's usually because I didn't chalk properly for the shot. Sometimes I'll get a tip that refuses to hold its shape. Those tips get worn down from reshaping so don't last very long.

 

[MattPoland]

Maybe a good question to ask that would help a lot of player is “How long do you go without miscuing?” It’s been maybe a month since I miscued last and two months before that. And I’m playing almost every day and quite a lot. It’s a standard you need to hold yourself to.

 

[soyale]

i been miscuing a lot lately on draw shots where i end up scoop jumping the cue ball. its really becoming irritating. I posted a thread in ask the cuemaker about my tip/ferrule getting penciled out last time i got a new milk dud put on, is there any way this has something to do with it? i assume it’s just my stroke but i’m curious if there are other factors. i try to keep a dime shape but it always seems to flatten down to a nickel or flatter. ive given up trying to shape it because i end up just tearing through the tip really fast. lately i’ve been just rolling the tip tapper around on it for holding chalk and trying not to look at it too much.

tip swap…. gone wrong???

hello everybody. I just got my tip swapped today and when i picked it up i noticed the tip seemed to be at a bit of an angle. i played with it today and had no problems, but since it wasn’t burnished very well i went ahead and rubbed it on some...

forums.azbilliards.com

 

[The_JV]

When you miscue do you look at your tip like the rest of the world or do you look
at your arm that you twisted and did the ole screwdriver stroke.

To be honest, I always look at my tip after a miscue. I want to see the after effects, and determine if it's the rare instance where I may need to pick at the surface.

That said, it's always a failure in either mechanics and/or I pushed the miscue limit. I generally go several months between miscues.

 

[SmoothStroke]

To be honest, I always look at my tip after a miscue. I want to see the after effects, and determine if it's the rare instance where I may need to pick at the surface.

That said, it's always a failure in either mechanics and/or I pushed the miscue limit. I generally go several months between miscues.

We all do, except 99.9 % blame the tip.

 

[The_JV]

i been miscuing a lot lately on draw shots where i end up scoop jumping the cue ball. its really becoming irritating. I posted a thread in ask the cuemaker about my tip/ferrule getting penciled out last time i got a new milk dud put on, is there any way this has something to do with it? i assume it’s just my stroke but i’m curious if there are other factors. i try to keep a dime shape but it always seems to flatten down to a nickel or flatter. ive given up trying to shape it because i end up just tearing through the tip really fast. lately i’ve been just rolling the tip tapper around on it for holding chalk and trying not to look at it too much.

I don't know if this is applicable at all to your situation, but something I noted during my last equipment adjustment.

I think like most humans, I'm able to sight horizontally better than on the vertical axis. Because of this, I tend to leave a little CB action in the bag when playing either straight follow or draw. I know I could hit higher on the CB if I really wanted to flirt with the limit. What I have grown accustomed to is developing a draw stroke by adjusting my bridge height. I'm a flat cue'r (relatively speaking) and only jack up on the ball if necessary for whatever reason.

So, to the point.... When I made a switch from a 12.5 shaft to an 11.6, I miscued badly on heavier draw shots for about an hour. What was happening was that I had grown accustomed to my bridge being at a given height for 'max draw'. Now that I had a diameter smaller shaft. The tip edge was striking the CB lower and subsequently flirting closer to the miscue limit. It didn't happen all the time, but when my mechanics broke down just a touch, the tip exceeded the limit and there's your miscue. Again, I don't aim for draw on the CB. Just adjust bridge height based on requirement.

Now you shaft diameter hasn't changed so I don't know if this is applicable to you. It's more likely you aiming contact to the CB with the horizon of your tip (now ferrule because of the penciling) and you're striking below the limit.

 

[philly]

99% of the time you miscue because you come out of the shot (even just a tiny amount), you come up a bit.
Sort of like the golfer that looks up slightly before striking the ball and causes a miss hit.
Of course we blame the chalk or the tip rather than ourselves.
That's what pool players do.
Some will blame everything other than themselves.
I blame myself when I lose a match.
I blame myself when I win a match too.
No shortage of excuses but they are excuses nonetheless.

 

[soyale]

99% of the time you miscue because you come out of the shot (even just a tiny amount), you come up a bit.
Sort of like the golfer that looks up slightly before striking the ball and causes a miss hit.
Of course we blame the chalk or the tip rather than ourselves.
That's what pool players do.
Some will blame everything other than themselves.
I blame myself when I lose a match.
I blame myself when I win a match too.
No shortage of excuses but they are excuses nonetheless

i assume it’s just my stroke but i’m curious if there are other factors.

 

[MitchAlsup]

Is it normal to wear a tip down in 3-4 months? I use the shaper and scuffer as rarely as possible, like twice, and as gently as possible removing as little material as possible. I shoot a lot, probably 2-3 hours a day, and that is usually practice, so the shot volume is much higher than in games, I'd estimate 150+ shots per hour.

At this rate: you should be getting 2+ years from a hard tip.

I get the impression that tips usually last a while. I'm wearing my tips down to under 1/16" around the edge where I feel like the end is near so I'll replace it before it goes kaput. This has happened with a Ultraskin Medium, a Kamui Black Soft, and an Elkmaster.

Use a harder tip.