Recent content by Mike Rys

When you repetitively smash a 19 oz. cue into a 6 oz. cue ball, all but the hardest leather will compress. The bottom of the tip is bonded to the ferrule so that's not moving. As it compresses the leather will widen at the top (mushroom). Your installer anticipated this and preemptively put a...

You can buy a red linen Phenolic pad that looks exactly like the Predator silencer pad. It appears to be same material. They are $5 each and no minimum. They are thicker than the Predator pad and will need to be trimmed down. I've installed several of these pads for customers that don't want to...

You can buy a red linen Phenolic pad that looks exactly like the Predator silencer pad. It appears to be same material. They are $5 each and no minimum. I believe there are rules against listing suppliers in this forum. If you message me, I'll let you know where to get them.

If you add a taper bar, you will need a new cross slide with an extra deck that has a spring loaded deck to engage the bar with a built in bearing. You will also need risers for the head stock, tail stock, and all steady rests.

I've used the original Tom M version of this pin for years on all my jump cues. The aluminum pin into a phenolic insert is more secure and lighter than using a Uniloc joint while still being quick to assemble.

Kielwood is a great choice for 1P. IMO no shaft connects you to the cue ball like KW. The feedback is great. I made a couple shafts for friend's McWorter and he loves them. He's a strong 1P player. I've made 31 inch shafts for a 6'6" customer. It had a 12.6 mm tip. It went with the 31 inch butt...

If you download the free Thread Pitch app, you simply compare your pin to image in the app (not my screenshot) and you'll know. Comes in handy when you left your thread gauge at home and someone asks if his pin is 10 or 11 TPI.

You've gotten a lot of good advice, I'll try not to repeat any advice. Have you measured the 150 RPM turn rate? Do you back off the spur collar for EVERY new blank that you put up and only position the spur AFTER after the dead center seats and the tailstock pressure is set? If the spur...

I love the smell of bocote shavings! I have a spreadsheet to calculate the effect of hogging out a cue. I don't use it much after getting Kelly's (far superior) CueBalance program. You should have patented your cue lengthening idea. .

John brought his cue by a couple weeks ago. It was a simple one piece bacote with a thick bumper held in with a screw. I had a 0.650 in. ribbed replacement bumper. The original bumper and screw was 0.2 heavier than the replacement bumper so it only needed to shed 0.43 oz. I bored a 5/8 x 1 inch...

If there are no metal rings, an inductive heater will make short work of it.

They both have nice textures. The Scotch texture is more uniform than the Spanish bull. If you like a glove soft feel, get the oil tanned Spanish Bull. The synthetic faux leather is great UNTIL it starts to outgas, soften and become gummy. It then starts to leave marks on your felt and clothing...

If it's the same size as the ones used on the cross slide, they are sold lots of places. Search for these: Square Nut: #10-32 Thread Size, Steel, 1/8 in Height, 3/8 in wide

You can quickly check the alignment by putting a dead center in the tailstock chuck and another dead center in the headstock chuck. Move the centers together to pinch a utility blade between them. If the centers are aligned, the utility blade will be suspended vertically and will be...

I can't see why adjusting the internal pots would cause a premature failure. When they failed, did you: Replace them as a pair? Add thermal compound between the part and the mounting surface? Buy the parts from a reputable US supplier?