Recommendations for House Cue Tips?
- Thread starter Corwyn_8
- Start date
Elkmasters are about the most forgiving, longest lasting and cheapest. They have been around forever. I grew up playing with them in the 60s.
Beat me to it. They seem like they used to be the standard for years and years.
I maintain about 80 cues at the pool hall with my pro shop and about 5 of the local bars around town. Tweeten seems to have changed the process on the Le Pro tips and it is my go to tip for house cues. I used the 13.5mm for well sanded and smaller shafts, and the 14mm for newer house cues.
I still get a few blow outs while trimming, but no where near as many as in years past.
I still get a few blow outs while trimming, but no where near as many as in years past.
14 mm house cues! Really? Is that what most house cues are now a days ?
Are they back to generally being OK tips, or is it still an Easter Egg hunt finding a good one? I used to play nothing but LePros until I had to change my tip 10 times to find a good one. Now I'm experimenting, but I'd probably go back to LePro and call it a day if they were somewhat reliable again.
On a good cue, I mean...not house cue.
Cut em down
Pretty sure he is using the 14mm and trimming them down after gluing, I think that is pretty standard install procedure. We are a Kamui authorized dealer and only stock 14mm tips.
Pretty sure he is using the 14mm and trimming them down after gluing, I think that is pretty standard install procedure. We are a Kamui authorized dealer and only stock 14mm tips.
House cues
If you really want a decent house cues for your ( Home ) I would buy McDermott lucky cues.
They are tons better then buying cues that come extremely warped.
The valley house cue seem to be some of the best quality.
I do several hundred house cues every year, Elk master is normal but I will throw a few triangles in on most orders or sales.
Only issue with elk masters is if your cutter is dull on your lathe it will make the tip fluffy.
If you really want a decent house cues for your ( Home ) I would buy McDermott lucky cues.
They are tons better then buying cues that come extremely warped.
The valley house cue seem to be some of the best quality.
I do several hundred house cues every year, Elk master is normal but I will throw a few triangles in on most orders or sales.
Only issue with elk masters is if your cutter is dull on your lathe it will make the tip fluffy.
Oh OK lol, I wasn't thinking installation - I was like Holy........ dey some bid ass cues !
Best money player I ever saw used a Brunswick 21 ounce house cue with a 14mm shaft as his main playing cue.
Because of him, every custom cue I ever ordered or played with for the next 30+ years were the same specs as his.
I still prefer fat shafts. I use a Predator 314-2 FAT shaft now and would order one in a 14mm if they made it.
As far as tips go, I used Le Pro tips exclusively up until a few years ago when the quality went to hell. I'd use them now if I could buy a box and be guaranteed they weren't crap.
Elk Masters are good for day-to-day guest house cues. If I was going to use one on my cue, I'd get one that was a Milk Dud.
I have never had nor used a lathe and have put tips on hundreds of house cues by hand and I prefer to use a 14mm on any diameter shaft and then cut/sand it down to size afterward.
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Just asking, but what's the pros & cons of using larger tip diameter? Aren't most of the professionals pool players using 13mm down to 11.5mm?
People will argue the merits of both, but "I" think the larger tip gives you more room to recover from a minor stroking error.
I play close to "center ball" (TOI) on almost every shot, if I am doing everything correctly for my style of play. I use English, as needed, but prefer to stay more on center and use the angles of the table to position the cue ball.
Other people prefer different angles and spin the cue ball more.
If you are playing center ball style, the tip diameter doesn't make any difference because you are hitting the center of the tip to the center of the cue ball, but if your stroke is a hair off and you are using a larger tip you have more tip to contact closer to the center of the ball than off to the side. The fatter shaft and wider tip also give "me" a better "sweet spot" feel for the cue ball. It feels more solid, like you are hitting the center of a tennis racket or when you hit a baseball really solid on with the bat.
If you are intentionally putting spin on the ball, you are using the edges of the tip and it really doesn't make a difference in tip size unless you are hitting the very, very, bottom of the cue ball. You will have a .mm less ability to hit the very bottom of the cue ball with a fatter shaft. Should this alarm you, I can draw the cue ball a table length or two with the fat shaft.
Watch the Taiwanese or Chinese players. Most of them play close to center as their style of play. Also, most of them use standard shafts (not LD) and, unless something has changed recently, they prefer 13mm shafts. The Predator 314-2 FAT shaft was created for the Taiwan market and it is 13.2mm.
It is what you get used to and feel most comfortable with. I started using a 14mm shaft back in the early 1970s and stuck with fatter shafts. I can put as much spin on the ball as anybody and I believe I have more control with it.
To each, their own. I'm sure there will be a lot of dissenting opinions. I've tried them all and I've stuck with what I like and play best with.
Aloha.
In edit: I'm not promoting or selling anything, but here is a reference where Predator backs up my statement about the Taiwanese players.
"The 314² Fat Shaft is the best option for players liking for that old-school, sturdy feel. Fat combines a thicker pro taper and a stiffer feel than the 314² with trusted Predator shaft technology to create the favored shaft of Taiwanese professionals."
http://www.billiardwarehouse.com/cues/predator/314-2_fat.htm
If you want to know why and when I changed to 14mm tips you can read the link below:
http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=240953&highlight=Herman+trout
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I use the SUPER PRO tips on all my house cues.
you can buy a box of 50 for $25.00 from prather or less from cue components if you buy in 100 at a time.
they are Red in color, layered Water Buffalo and are easy to install and they will last almost 2 to 3 years of constant play.
Dont need to be worked on after install they dont mushroom and they are a good quality tip that is medium to medium/hard.
hope this helps
mike:thumbup:
you can buy a box of 50 for $25.00 from prather or less from cue components if you buy in 100 at a time.
they are Red in color, layered Water Buffalo and are easy to install and they will last almost 2 to 3 years of constant play.
Dont need to be worked on after install they dont mushroom and they are a good quality tip that is medium to medium/hard.
hope this helps
mike:thumbup:
Thanks for that information, and I certainly enjoy reading all of your post.
Triangle, Le Pro, Elkmaster. Its all the same, house cues takes so much beating. It pains me to see people playing a whole night without chalk, slamming the cue aginst everything and generally mistreating the equipment.
I change quite a few tips on house cues every year and it's no difference in how long the tips last. On snooker cues I only use elkmasters.
I change quite a few tips on house cues every year and it's no difference in how long the tips last. On snooker cues I only use elkmasters.
Thanks all. I found a deal on Triangles and got a box of them.
It is amazing to me how beat up the cues I am re-tipping are. They are literally house cues, for my nephews' house, and far more dinged up after 4-5 years than my 30 year old cue. Also the tips were dried out to the point of crumbling off.
Thank you kindly.
It is amazing to me how beat up the cues I am re-tipping are. They are literally house cues, for my nephews' house, and far more dinged up after 4-5 years than my 30 year old cue. Also the tips were dried out to the point of crumbling off.
Thank you kindly.