Can a soft tip be hardened while on the shaft?

[336Robin]

I forget what I posted previously but if the idea is to stiffen the tip, just slather super glue gel on it.
If the idea is for a tip that stays pliable, Tad used to market a non laminated tip that retained it's shape and was playble to the ferrule - ish...

Super glue would do it perhaps a lot more than I want, and it might get glassy, which I don't want, but I get your point.

Thanks for Tad tip. I will pass that along to a friend who is finding it tough to find a tip he likes.

I didn't find a Tad website, so where you getting those tips?

 

[straightline]

Super glue would do it perhaps a lot more than I want, and it might get glassy, which I don't want, but I get your point.

Thanks for Tad tip. I will pass that along to a friend who is finding it tough to find a tip he likes.

I didn't find a Tad website, so where you getting those tips?

These became available in the 90s at one of the rooms I frequented. I don't recall if they were special order or not but they weren't the two per card ones. If you contact the son, he'd know the deal. Try JJcue. He has the most google returns.

 

[Mensabum]

Elk Master.....put a tip on...tap the tip on concrete...when it gets to the hit you want...go get it re-shaped....I have seen that process done.

IIRC there used to be guys that made milk duds...soak a Le Pro or Elk Master in milk...then press in a vice....(never seen that done but heard about it)

That all seemed to go out the window with the intro of layered tips...

I prefer those to any layered tip in the market. Talk to pooldawg8. He makes the best duds in town!!

 

[Mensabum]

Someone here said burnish it. So I did. This is not an Elkmaster. Its quite absorbent. I put candle wax
on the side by rubbing and then used a tool on the sides.

I can tell by looking that the sides are starting to develop, but it might need another time or two to
get them right. The camera didn't show the sides building much. it doesn't accordion like you mentioned,
but it sure is starting out soft. I don't mind as a long as it stays together.

View attachment 740669

That looks like a lost cause, but try moistening the sides and burnishing the crap out of it w a piece of leather!! Over and over until it shines like a baby's ass!!

 

[straightline]

Super glue would do it perhaps a lot more than I want, and it might get glassy, which I don't want, but I get your point.

Thanks for Tad tip. I will pass that along to a friend who is finding it tough to find a tip he likes.

I didn't find a Tad website, so where you getting those tips?

Superglue does shell over but that's superficial. I use the store stuff but experiment with the slow set pro stuff if you like.

 

[336Robin]

That looks like a lost cause, but try moistening the sides and burnishing the crap out of it w a piece of leather!! Over and over until it shines like a baby's ass!!

It's starting to come up a little now. There is another pic a few frames back from this one. As it beats in, I think it will be fine.

 

[dendweller]

Elkmaster tips are very soft and quality can vary alot within a box.

I bought a scale and started weighing them, when I put on the heaviest in the box they are really pretty hard and don't even think of mushrooming. They do vary though, the lighter ones trim like a bad triangle.

 

[336Robin]

If you want to experiment... Dilute Elmer's Glue with water, soak the tip, press and let dry under pressure.

But I take a sharp knife to poofy tips and start over. I assume you mean it is starting to come up like an accordion. I don't trust those. Maybe glue will help.

I put coffee creamer (enough to cover the curvature of the tip) in a shot glass and put the tip in the shot glass standing up in the kitchen
for 2 hours it absorbed the creamer. I dried the tip with a paper towel and put the shaft in case so the tip is facing down and played with it a week and wanted it to hit a little harder and did the same operation 1 more time.

Each time I did this process the tip got a little harder until it reached my desired hardness and lost no ability to grip the cue ball.

Plays very well so far.

I liked the elmers and water idea, but coffee creamer worked fine.

 

[Fitzz47]

People don’t you know if you burnish your tip with a Hundred dollar bill,you will never miss a shot again.

 

[1pocketguru]

hard tip, soft tip. doesn't matter at the end of the day. ask the doctor of pool, he busted that myth.

A soft tip will is less prone to miscue and will hold chalk better though. I think Hard tips are good for break cues.

 

[336Robin]

A soft tip will is less prone to miscue and will hold chalk better though. I think Hard tips are good for break cues.

Efren uses Elkmaster Medium press and is my point.
Does anyone ever see him miscue?

The tip I conditioned is harder after conditioning but on the surface has plenty of grip.

 

[Mensabum]

Someone here said burnish it. So I did. This is not an Elkmaster. Its quite absorbent. I put candle wax
on the side by rubbing and then used a tool on the sides.

I can tell by looking that the sides are starting to develop, but it might need another time or two to
get them right. The camera didn't show the sides building much. it doesn't accordion like you mentioned,
but it sure is starting out soft. I don't mind as a long as it stays together.

View attachment 740669

Sponge?? WTF??

 

[Mensabum]

Coat the walls of the tip with some saliva before burnishing. It's an old school trick that was known even to Minnesota Fats.

Take a lighter to that thing. Burn off the tip a bit and use spit on the sides. Then burnish the crap out of it with heavy paper, matchbook cover, leather, whatever floats your boat. Keep working it until it shines like a baby's ass!!

 

[Mensabum]

tap it a while, then spit and burnish the sides with a dollar bill and it will stay fine.
or some superglue on the sides will do the job but be careful.
play ability and looks can be two different apples.

He could get one of those tip tools with the burnisher on it. I have one. Works pretty good. Or did B4 I switched to bulletproof tips. It's retired now, like me. Lol.

 

[Mensabum]

Elk Master.....put a tip on...tap the tip on concrete...when it gets to the hit you want...go get it re-shaped....I have seen that process done.

IIRC there used to be guys that made milk duds...soak a Le Pro or Elk Master in milk...then press in a vice....(never seen that done but heard about it)

That all seemed to go out the window with the intro of layered tips...

Pooldawg8. Milk duds. They rock.

 

[straightline]

I use super glue on EMasters to render them shapeable. Burnish with spoon.

 

[maha]

when i put a tip on i leave it as it was big and flat and shoot with it for awhile. this hardens it down first. and you find out that you can still shoot as good with this 14 mm monster at the end of your shaft. so tips are not that important as many think, and you get to see how well just a flat tip will work.

then cut the sides down to almost the ferrel and round the tip a tiny bit and shoot more. you will find you shoot as good as ever.
later on shape it as you like. works for full and laminated tips.
i like having as much as the whole vertical portion as i can keep. most like it smaller.

 

[jasonlaus]

So you’re spending your hour and a half between matches at a tourney and decide to reshape your tip.

Ooops! The top layer popped off and now there’s only two layers on the side to the ferrule. That makes for some bone jarring shots; there’s nothing to compress when the edge makes contact. You have plenty of warning when that solid tip is getting too thin on the side.

I played lePros down to the ferrule for 20 years and never had "bone jarring shots" as a matter of fact, that's when they played their best. Many times I'd have the tip cut in half out of the gate.

 

[jasonlaus]

Here it is. Spreading out a little, but it appears to be playing in ok.


View attachment 740596

Looks like junk

 

[jasonlaus]

I put coffee creamer (enough to cover the curvature of the tip) in a shot glass and put the tip in the shot glass standing up in the kitchen
for 2 hours it absorbed the creamer. I dried the tip with a paper towel and put the shaft in case so the tip is facing down and played with it a week and wanted it to hit a little harder and did the same operation 1 more time.

Each time I did this process the tip got a little harder until it reached my desired hardness and lost no ability to grip the cue ball.

Plays very well so far.

I liked the elmers and water idea, but coffee creamer worked fine.

View attachment 790068

That actually looks good, can't believe it's "fixed"