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I was in the same boat a few years ago. I researched on-line and asked other pool repairmen what they would do. A Cuesmith lathe (I bought the mid size) will serve you better in the long. Right out of the box you will be able to do all you want. Now the bad news; save up for a good used one...

Crawf, your post got me thinking about the true hardness of a layered cue tip. I too am worried about whether I’m hitting leather or glue (think of the “click” or “tink” sound made by well installed layered tips). Hardened glue is not leather; makes a soft tip hit and feel like a hard tip. I’d...

Not to throw some shade on your choice of tips, but you have described the HARD US tips. I’ve installed dozens of Ultra Skin Soft tips and they were harder than Chinese arithmetic after a few hours of play. You wouldn’t believe the effort it took to cut one of the soft tips off after just a few...

I would love to get that month. The last SS I put on my Lucasi got so hard after a week of play (2 nights plus practice time), I could not cut it off by hand with a Lenox titanium blade. And it’s not just Kamui; many other mfgs tips do the same. Even the Zan on that cue now is playing much...

Yes, I have tried them. They are not tacky enough to grip the cue ball. If I used center english, no problem. Anything else, the miscues made it impossible to play pool. You can find them on the internet, but good luck.

Burnishing a soft layered tip is a good way to make it a hard layered tip in no time at all. Burnishing does help reduce mushrooming, but it does harden the layered tip. Pick your poison if you like a soft tip.

One additional thing to remember as you start with the new lathe; make sure all of your tool bits are sharp!! I use heat to remove an old or broken ferrule, or you could cut them down; using a dull bit to do this is a waste of time. A tip from Cueman that I use; Lenox titanium razor blades are...

I agree with Chris. I’ve had a large bore MS lathe for several years and love it. You could build cues with the right attachments, but the advise on learning repairs at home is spot on. If you could watch an experienced repairman install a tip or change a ferrule, you will be miles ahead of the...

Congratulations Chris, well deserved. Your equipment has allowed rookies to gain experience in cue repairs and now make some money on the side. Thanks for all the help you have given not only to me, but many others.

You can make your own from maple dowels available from Woodcraft. They have several different sizes; therefore you can cut them to the diameter you need. Easier to thread them too.

I’ve had a Mid Size Cuesmith lathe from Chris Hightower for over 4 years and couldn’t be more pleased. Short of building a cue, it does about any other work on a cue you might need. Even does house cue work too.

Thoughts from your experiences with different brands of cue balls and different tips would be greatly appreciated. I recently installed a Precision hard tip on one of my personal cues. I played for a few days on my son's table; don't know the brand of balls that came with it. Bottom line, when I...

Try a Madman tip. Not expensive and I have had great results using them. Check with Cueman here on the forum; that's where I get mine. Chris is a world of help when it comes to installing cue tips.

I only use SLOW speeds on a layered tip. Learned early on the higher speeds can melt the glue and basically make the tip worthless. The tip did not ribbon on cutting down to size of ferrule (I've learned that if the tip doesn't cut into ribbons, you most likely have a bad tip). I use Lenox...

I've had the EXACT opposite experience. One Very Soft was so hard I could have use it on my break cue! Try a G2 soft. Even a Kamui Brown SS is better than a Very Soft US.

Thanks Chris. Your Mid Size lathe works just like new after 4 years! I learned early on a soft layered tip was soft for a week or two. Now I know that soft tips are relative. Looks like I'll just recommend Triangles for those, who like me, want a soft dull thud sound from the tip. They may not...

Thanks in advance for any help on this. Attached is a photo of a (supposedly) Very Soft tip. When I started to shape the tip with a new Lenox titanium blade, it made the sound of a trowel scraping across a brick!! As you will notice, it DID NOT ribbon like other tips. In fact, I would say it...

Thanks Kim, your comments confirm what I have long suspected. In fact, I just installed a medium UltraSkin this morning as the customer was tired of soft tips turning into hard tips so quickly. I'll take your advise and recommend med tips from now on. As for storing tips, I got a tip several...

I have to second Cornerman's comments. I do the float test too. I have a Triangle on a Cuetec R360 and it has outlasted any Kamui I have installed. By that, I mean the Kamui was harder than Chinese arithmetic and would glaze over if you looked at it wrong. Triangle stayed the same over its lifespan.