A Tip installers ultimate challenge

straightline said:
How does the wood not smash?
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The Janka hardness scale for wood has maples between 850 and 950 with birdseye maple at 1450. The Bocote in the Russian Pyramid cue at eBay posted above and selling for $1900 (and $200 for shipping from Ukraine) has a rating of 2010. Black hornbeam wasn't on the list I saw but I am guessing it is hard, too.

Janka Hardness chart for Exotic Wood and Domestic Wood | Bell Forest Products

Janka Harndess is a quick way to compare exotic wood and domestic wood.
www.bellforestproducts.com www.bellforestproducts.com

Black Hornbeam:
Wood Black hornbeam.jpg
 

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Black-Balled said:
And please note the taper of the tip.

I wish that was the norm for new tips but pool guys don't wanna do that
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I believe you were talking about this second photo Black-Balled added to his post when he edited it and that the side of the tip is sanded down a lot.

You like that because of what? Fewer miscues especially when shaft is jacked up?


Tip w. side sanded.jpg
 
Paul_#_ said:
I believe you were talking about this second photo Black-Balled added to his post when he edited it and that the side of the tip is sanded down a lot.

You like that because of what? Fewer miscues especially when shaft is jacked up?


View attachment 809364
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By the time it musrooms out all the way it's flat like a normal tip. I don't do this but it's the reasoning I've heard in the past.
 
Tronpocket said:
Recently I've taken up the daunting task of servicing the cues for a small Russian pyramid club.
They used to do their own tip work by hand, almost every cue in the building was damaged or missing the tips and ferrule so I offered to try it out...
I like a challenge anyway.

I've been doing pool and billiard cue tip install for the last 10 years and I'm considered one of the better installers in my area with a great customer base and about 200 tip jobs average done a year not including the house cues.
After thousands of tip jobs I've almost never had a tip that came off under normal usage on pool / billiard cue.
Break tips included.
And I'm always refining my craft.

But these pyramid cues... good lord.

To begin with....
The game is inherently brutal on the equipment.
25oz cues, large heavy balls. ( bigger then billiard) and most amateur players just slam the F#@& out of the ball, Every shot is a break shot.

I've been Putting on triangles (requested and recommended) ,
The surfaces meticulously preped, no rush, little trial and error experimenting with different glue and whatnot and I'm at about a 50 percent that the tip lasts the week.

They get fresh tips, don't break them in properly and just Beat the hell out of them slamming balls around the table.
The tips flatten ( as expected for a single layer leather) or get broke in unevenly and expand breaking the glue bond, they hit new tips off the edges, bang the cue on the table...
just brutal.
I did replace alot of mushroomed deformed and cracked ferrules from them as well.
Now I don't charge them allot for the work. its more a personal challenge.
Like 5 bucks a tip Average.
Maybe 20 for a ferrule replaced.

I've installed a few kamuis med/ Hard for them on some of the housepros cues and haven't had a problem... probably because the take care of thier equipment and play a more finesse style of play.

So I'm open to suggestions, or if anyone here has a similar experience with pyramid cues.
I might need to change the ferrule material to something different Or go almost ferruless with a pad.

This year I'll go to the SBExpo and get a variety of affordable hard tips to try out,
I'm considering trying a bulletproof synthetic playing tips on a couple cues, see how they hold up. But they are not cost efficient if they fly off after a week..or month even.
Other then that I either have to just take the good with the bad or relinquish my duties to someone who might not care as much a I do about customer satisfaction.

Also, if you ever get a chance to play the game, try it out.
I try and go every couple weeks as it's like 30p.h. for a table it get expensive.
I describe it as..
Frustratingly Fun.

Hit em straight, Tronpocket
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Contact Koda Sports. They are the wholesale distributor for Bulletproof Recoil tips. Let them know you are a tip installer.
 
Disclaimer I've never touched a pyramid cue...

I second the suggestion for Water Buffalo. I used to put them on break cues for customers in the day's before specialized break cue tips. They install super easily (don't become an accordion sponge), and seem to last.

Are you in the USA or Russia? If USA, try Loctite 454 if buying from an industrial distributor, or Loctite Ultra Gel Control if buying from Home Depot.
 
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