Changing My Own Tip

[Mike in MN]

I was actually just noticing that! I was initially looking through the Kamui site and they had some notice about not selling directly to the public, so I didn't even think to look around for them.

I have only played with a triangle (or whatever comes on lucasi standard) - and Talisman medium; which is now in need to replacement. I'd like to try a bunch of tips - including moori, kamui and sniper; and probably a few others. The Everest that comes on the OB-2 shaft is of interest as well. (since i'll likely be getting one soon)

Ahhh, so nice to hear you say that. It's an AWESOME tip. I've been playing with it for about three years now and I just can't bring myself to switch to anything else. I have a handful of different tips sitting in my drawer at home (Wizard, a couple different kinds of Milk Duds, Sniper) waiting to get in on the action, but I can't stray from the Everest.

 

[perspicaz]

I do my own tips... but then, I have no one here in Spain I would trust to do them. If I had a good local cuemaker (like Jim Buss) I would have him do them.

You can get pretty awesome results by hand, but a good repair person will ALWAYS perform beyond what you can do by hand.

Nothing wrong with learning to do your own tips, but practice on a junk shaft first (it is easy to damage your ferrule if you are not careful).

 

[Secaucus Fats]

Changing a tip, and doing it right isn't all that easy.

Take the cue to a reputable repair guy. It's your only cue and you don't want to fux it up.

If you want to learn to do it without a lathe, which IMHO just won't cut it, practice on a couple of beat up old house cues and see how that goes.

 

[bobroberts]

Ahhh, so nice to hear you say that. It's an AWESOME tip. I've been playing with it for about three years now and I just can't bring myself to switch to anything else. I have a handful of different tips sitting in my drawer at home (Wizard, a couple different kinds of Milk Duds, Sniper) waiting to get in on the action, but I can't stray from the Everest.

Stay with the Everest if you like it.i recently had a milk dud installed and it sucks.The C.M i use said you can't make a cheap tip better and he was so right.

 

[8Ball48043]

Heres the best thread that I have come across.

http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=51018

THAT is a GREAT Thread! Thanks.

 

[shamadam]

THAT is a GREAT Thread! Thanks.

Thanks, I thought so too. Thats why I subscribed to the thread, and had
no problem linking it here. BTW, if anyone is interested in doing their own
tips a bit easier, I have a Willards classic tipper/trimmer and about 50 tips
that I would sell, or maybe trade. Just an offer. You could probably make
your cash back by doing 20 or 30 tips.

 

[Bob Jewett]

Here's how I do it. You can find the few supplies (apart from the tip) at any hardware store.

The hard part is getting the old tip off and the pad (see Lou's post) clean and flat. Take your time. The last step of cleaning the pad is to scuff it with sandpaper. You need to be careful not to round the edges of the pad.

Select a tip. It should be a larger diameter than the pad. Sand the bottom of the tip to get to a flat, glue-able surface.

Using Scotch Magic tape, build the shaft up to the same diameter as the tip. Be careful to get the tape up to just barely below the level of the pad.

Apply Super Glue gel to both surfaces, spread with a bent paper clip, press on and squeeze and turn, centering the tip by making it match the Scotch tape all the way around. I then keep pressure on the tip for about 15 minutes by putting it tip-down on the floor with some weight on top.

Remove the Scotch tape. This should remove any extra glue.

With a very sharp knife, carefully trim the tip to be almost even with the shaft. Take your time. (Or try the trimmer Lou mentions, but I've never used one.) Don't trim it too far -- the final trimming is next.

Wrap one layer of tape around the ferrule just up to the pad. Assemble the finishing fixture from typing paper, a square block of some kind and #220 (or so) sandpaper as shown:

The plain paper should be wider than the sandpaper and taped to the table. Move the block so that the gap between the block and paper is just wide enough for the tip to contact the sandpaper but not the ferrule.

Rub the tip on the sandpaper while rotating the shaft. As the sandpaper fills up, slide the sandpaper to get a new part. Continue until the side of the tip is even with the ferrule. The stop-point is automatic since the paper and the tape around the ferrule will keep you from going too far. You may want to switch to #400 sandpaper towards the end. You can elevate the joint end of the shaft a little with a towel to get a slight bevel on the side of the tip.

Shape the crown of the tip, perhaps with the remaining good surface of the #220. Burnish the side of the tip with your usual method. Remove the protective tape.

Needed: Knife, sandpaper, glue, tip, Scotch Magic tape, small, square block, paper. You can substitute a CD jewel case for the block.

 

[Baxter]

I do my own tips, it's not really that hard at all, just takes a little bit of time. The shaft I use on my playing cue is custom turned to 11mm, with an 11.5 tip (small hands, feels great). Needless to say, every tip I put on overhangs my ferrule by quite a bit. I use a razor and carefully trim off the old tip, then use sandpaper to sand off all the old glue. Lightly sand the bottom of the new tip to rough it up a little bit, then apply your glue (I use generic cue tip cement, never had a problem with it) to the bottom of your new tip and the top of the ferrule. Center the new tip, and press it down firmly for 20-30 seconds or until it won't move. Take your cue (butt and shaft), and stand it as vertical as possible in a corner tip down overnight. 24hrs after the work was done your tip should be set. I never try to cut the excess off. I use a benchgrinder to carefully sand off the excess (only if there is considerable excess, like a 13-14mm tip on my 11.5mm ferrule), then use a standard sandpaper file to file down the rest until it is even with the ferrule. Then use your shaper of choice (I have a QT Bowtie and a Willard dime-radius, the Bowtie works fast, the Willard is more precise) and shape it to your preferred shape (dime or nickel).

 

[Baxter]

Or just listen to Bob. His wealth of knowledge is far superior to mine.

 

[gunzby]

If you don't mind spending a little money I suggest you get in touch with Todd Schultz (ts&b on here) about one of his cue lathes. They are very reasonably priced and you can do your tips, shaft cleaning/waxing/burnishings and more with it.

The main reason why I suggest going this route is because tips like Moori, Tigers various tips or Kamui are expensive so if you screw em up doing it by hand you are out that money. With a lathe there is much less chance of screwing it up. Here is the link to his list of lathes. I have the beginner lathe, but will be asking him about upgrading soon.

http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=191598

*edit* I use glue supplied by CueComponents.com which is a rubberized super glue and it works great. Before that I used Gorilla glue which also worked well. I also order my tips from CueComponents.com, but I do tips for other people on the side....very rarely now that my job has pretty much cornholed me into working 60 hours a week at night and cut 1 to 2 of my days off a week, but hopefully it will all turn around soon so I can play more than one day a week.

 

[bradsh98]

if you really want to get some good practice in and not screw up a bunch of house cues at someone else's establishment... Walmart has quite a variety of cues for under $10 (Just make sure you get one with a glued on tip and not a screw on tip)... You could buy one of those and skip out on all those fancy tools that everyone tells you that you'll need that you really don't. Get a box of cheap tips (LePro, Elkmaster, etc.). Don't get the Walmart tips though. Absolute Junk!.... I used to do tip replacements before I met my cue guy. It's really not as bad as people make it out to be. I actually enjoyed doing it. Get yourself an assortment of sandpaper, ranging from 400-1200. You can get finer if you want, but you really don't need to. Keep in mind, you don't want to sand the ferrule any more than you absolutely have to, but to get a quality job, it's a must. Only use the coarsest necessary to get the job done. If you don't need to use the 400, then don't. Maybe just stick with the 600, then move up to 800, then 1000, then 1200. You dont even have to step up that far if you don't want to, but I always did, as I had the resources available to me to do so. You can follow the instructions given in that link and do a fine job. I always used Loctite Gel superglue. I never used clamps to hold pressure on the tip or any of that garbage that will destroy a shaft though.. I always held the tip in place with my thumb while watching tv. 10-15 minutes passes before you know it. That's really all you need. Just make sure that when you do a tip replacement, you don't sand beyond the ferrule onto the shaft. Doing so will wear the shaft down faster than the ferrule, since the wood is softer than the ferrule material.

As for your new tip on your playing cue, I might suggest something from Tiger Products. I've played with several tips and found Tiger tips to be most consistent. Moori tips mushroom badly, much like single layer tips. Kamui tips play pretty well and don't mushroom bad. I like the Tiger Everest and Tiger Sniper best (Unfortunately, they have that irritating red, tip replacement line that I'd like to have cut off prior to install). The Emerald played good for the first couple of hours, until it compacted and hardened up. Then I couldn't keep from miscueing with it. Mushroomed quite a bit too.

I hope I've given you some useful information. Pay no attention to those that tell you that 400-600 grit sandpaper is too coarse for your cue. They don't know what they are talking about. Talk to any reputable cue guy and see what he says. Just be mindful to not use too much pressure when sanding. Let the paper do the work.

 

[mullyman]

1) I've heard that superglue is NOT the glue you want to use (I actually didn't even know that the tips were glued on, lol). I saw one mention of Gorilla White - is that the preferred glue?

Don't know why anyone would say that. I've been using it for 20 years and never have had a problem. I guess some people see a glue "Made for cues" and have to use it. Super glue works just fine.
MULLY
just don't overdo it