Cue tip installation questions..

P

Pjaze

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Hi everyone,

I am in the process of buying some new tips for my cue, I have a predator z² shaft with a moori tip (I think 11.75mm diameter tip?). I have not replaced the tip before and the cue is nearly 4 years old, it only occured to me recently that this is probably not making life easy for myself. (A few thousand hours worth of play time atleast)

My question is - how hard is it to replace the tip yourself? I live in Perth, Western Australia and need to order the tips online, at ~$20 per tip I am worried I will screw it up, I will order 2 tips just in case, but if I screw it up twice, I will have to order more.

So should I try myself or just get a pro to do it for me? How much do they usually charge? And will a someone who changes snooker cue tips be able to do a 9ball tip just as easy? - Here in Australia very very few people play 9ball. (Up untill recently there was probably only 10 tables in my state)

I have found a supplier in Aus that does Kumai black tips, and after reading some discussion on this forum I have decided this is what I will go for, any recommendations as to the hardness I should go for?

ps. I hope this thread is in the right spot, I couldn't really find any where else that it fit.
 
Last edited:
If you've never done a tip replacement before just let a pro do the job. You can screw your ferrule and that is not a good thing to do. If you want to learn how to replace tips, buy a POS shaft on ebay and some cheap elkmaster tips and then practice until you master the procedure. Practicing tip installing with a Z2 is not wise.
 
DoubleD said:
A tip is a piece of leather glued to a piece of plastic and cut to shape/size of the plastic.

Sorry to say, but if you can't figure out how to do it without asking and think you might screw something up, you are not able to do it...no matter how much instruction I give you.

I installed my first tip at 13 years old without an instruction book, video, instructor or anything else. It is not rocket science.

dld
Click to expand...

Ok fair enough,
You answered my question. I will try it myself.

I was asking because I had a quick look on youtube and both videos the guy was using a lathe. I thought there might be some sort of art to getting it perfectly symmetrical etc.

If it is as easy as you so I will just do it myself.

I also didn't realise that they come with top squared and you shape it yourself, I was thinking it would take a steady hand to place it perfectly in the centre.

Cheers,
 
Zippo said:
If you've never done a tip replacement before just let a pro do the job. You can screw your ferrule and that is not a good thing to do. If you want to learn how to replace tips, buy a POS shaft on ebay and some cheap elkmaster tips and then practice until you master the procedure. Practicing tip installing with a Z2 is not wise.
Click to expand...


Ok now I am unsure again. I do have a POS cue at home I can experiment with though
 
Both the tip and the ferrule have to be sanded down perfectly Flat, its easy to do the tip with a flat surface and some sandpaper in the 100-200 grit, but facing (word meaning both surfaces Have to be Flat to bond properly with no gaps) the ferrule it's generally best to use a tool designed for this procedure, this tool is very inexpensive and will last your lifetime easily. I just looked at mine, I've had it for at least 30 yrs or more, the brand is Tweeten. Its designed to flatten and face the ferrule. From there make sure the tip your attaching is Larger than the ferrule, 1mm is plenty. Final trick, apply a relatively small amt. of superglue Gel to the tip/sanded side and touch em (both sanded surfaceds) together and rotate till both faced surfaces are wet with glue and put em together and center the tip on ferrule. Finally, vertically hold shaft with tip side down and let gravity drop it to a hard surface and as it bounces back catch it and don't let it hit twice, you've hydraulically pushed the glue outward and removed all possible air bubbles. Next center the tip as needed and set vertically to dry. Get new utility knife razors and use one and trim as needed Carefully by hand, it'll take ya awhile, but look how long it lasted. The rest is pretty much learn as you go, and keep ANY grinding or sanding tools Away from ferrule sides. Good luck, but get a sanding wheel thats designed for Ferrule facing/sanding. If you try and face the ferrule with a hand file only, your chances of success are near zero.
Good luck....
 
buy 14mm tips and cut it down after you have glued it to your ferrule and the glue has set...take your time and you can do it...the more you do the better you will get at it...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/CUE-REPAIR-...229?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27cd489b85

Also, if the pin size in your cue is available above, I can't recommend them highly enough for getting started! These go in a drill to spin your shaft making it easier to flush tip side to ferrule...also good for cleaning the shaft!


a word of caution though...when using these with sandpaper to flush the tip to the ferrule be careful of 2 things: don't get the sandpaper against the ferrule too much or it will become smaller than the shaft...

secondly, layered tips are tough to keep from over-heating when using sandpaper to flush the tip to the ferrule and will cause delamination...


sorry for the lack of organization in this post...

good luck to you!


Gary
 
i change my own tips, a good thing to have is one of those sanders that square up the ferrule. if your in the outback you might find one in the hardware store to sand dowels. it's a disk with a clamp for the stick to hold it at 90 degrees while you sand off old leather and glue.
after you square the ferrule, glue the tip on and rotate the stick and get it as centered as you can before the glue dries. its recommended not to use crazy glue but it works fine . some guys wrap a matchbook cover around the tip and ferrule to keep pressure on it while the glue dries thoroughly . i just leave the cast iron clamp from the dowel sander on the shaft for weight and balance it upside down (tip to the floor) for a couple of hours . then i use a trick i learned from the great Evian Johnson . i put the shaft in a phone book to hold it while i shape the tip and trim it back to the ferrule. you can spin the shaft easily in the book yet it safely holds it steady. when you get it trimmed back (i use really hard tips , Keith Hansen's black widow tips i like them better than anything , he is Pool__time on this forum) so i trim them carefully with a #2 20 cm barrette file. after i get it nice i use a steam cleaner to pop out any small dents in the shaft (dents instantly pop out when exposed to steam, unless the grain is cut, you can even use a tea kettle) and once it dries i shape the tip by spinning it in a tip shaper (like your starting a fire ) i chalk it every once in a while to see if there are any flat spots ( the shaper will not clean off the chalk where the tip is low or flat). once you get the proper round shape, sand the shaft with a 400 or 600 grit sand paper, finishing with the back (paper side) of the paper to polish the shaft then take a small dab of Vaseline to dress the side of the tip and make it a nice black
be careful to not gouge the ferrule or file it I use it as a guide to determine what is round or not . since i don't have a lathe i figure anything i do to the tip can be saved if i screw the pooch on the ferrule its a job to replace that only an expert can do i prefer for safety to leave the tip very slightly proud of the ferrule (less than .o1 mm) you can feel it with your nail but the naked eye cant tell its not dead even OR you can pay a tip guy 20 bucks to do it for you . but remember he just wants to do an acceptable job and get your 20 bucks you LOVE your cue.after a couple of tip changes you will do it once a year or so for yourself .
its not rocket science but it is craftsmanship. to practice i got a bunch of inexpensive buffalo tips and changed the tips on all the cues in my local bar (don't bother if there screw on tips) got a few brews for the favor as well good luck
 
If you decide to install yourself by hand I've posted previously how it should be done to get the best results. Just search for some of my posts. For example yoou can use a six sided socket to perfectly center the tip for glueing. Almost every expert that I know uses Loctite Gel superglue. Some of the old Moori's had to be primed with glue before they would adhere.
 
Last edited:
DoubleD said:
A tip is a piece of leather glued to a piece of plastic and cut to shape/size of the plastic.

Sorry to say, but if you can't figure out how to do it without asking and think you might screw something up, you are not able to do it...no matter how much instruction I give you.

I installed my first tip at 13 years old without an instruction book, video, instructor or anything else. It is not rocket science.

dld
Click to expand...

Pretty insulting response to the OP IMHO. He was just ASKING.

Having said that, doing a brake job on your car isn't "rocket science" either but I ain't lettin' no shade tree mechanic do my brakes.

To the OP...it is certainly EASY to do a half a$$ed job of changing tips and it is NOT easy to do it PROFESSIONALLY.

Pros use lathes to turn the tip down to the diameter of the end of the ferrule and if you don't do that right...and get it too HOT you can wreck the tip...especially on layered tips.

Also, getting the tip to "nickel" or "dime" radius is NOT easy to do CORRECTLY.

I don't know what a pro cue tech charges down your way but I don't recall ever paying more than 15 bucks which is a NO BRAINER as far as I'm concerned for a PERFECT job.

EagleMan
 
Thanks for all the replies guys,

I am going to get a pro to do it.

Someone that replaces snooker cue tips should be able to do my 9 ball cue without trouble right?

This thread has sparked my interest to give it a go though, so I will try on my spare $20 cue.


Thanks again, loving this site, so much good info and so many active users.
 
EagleMan said:
To the OP...it is certainly EASY to do a half a$$ed job of changing tips and it is NOT easy to do it PROFESSIONALLY.

Snipped for brevity....

EagleMan
Click to expand...

I think it's pretty easy to change tips with out the aid of a lathe once you've been taught how and practiced a few times. I've been changing tips for over 30 years from house cues to $5k plus cues. I would like to encourage the OP to develop the skill to do the job on his own.

With that said, I would as others have suggested work on cheap house cues or other cheap cues till you consistently get a good finished product
A few tools will make it easier.
  • Rapid Top Cue Tip Sander
  • Exacto Knife or Porper Big Shaver
  • 60-100 grit sandpaper for shaping the tip
  • piece of old belt leather for brunishing the sides
  • Loctite Gel
  • tape, i use painters tape to protect ferrule
  • a rubber band to hold the tip on while the glue sets
 
Last edited:
dr9ball said:
I think it's pretty easy to change tips with out the aid of a lathe once you've been taught how and practiced a few times. I've been changing tips for over 30 years from house cues to $5k plus cues. I would like to encourage the OP to develop the skill to do the job on his own.

With that said, I would as others have suggested work on cheap house cues or other cheap cues till you consistently get a good finished product
A few tools will make it easier.
  • Rapid Top Cue Tip Sander
  • Exacto Knife or Porper Big Shaver
  • 60-100 grit sandpaper for shaping the tip
  • piece of old belt leather for brunishing the sides
  • Loctite Gel
  • tape, i use painters tape to protect ferrule
Click to expand...

I use Loctite Super Control Liquid. I apply glue to the tip and the ferrule. I've never used the gel. Why is it better? I'm always game to try something new.
 
DoubleD said:
Ahhh, the death of the DIY rears it's ugly head again.

Every expert has one thing in common--they had a first time doing whatever they are experts at.

Maybe it is insulting. Maybe it is insulting to me that the OP can't figure out how to use the 'search' function on this site.

dld
Click to expand...

Sorry for insulting you dld :( I don't agree that there is something wrong with asking for help and tips from people who have done it before though. I bet if you did some research, and seeked some help from others you would have made an even better cue at 19 years old.

Fair enough though, I didn't think to search this site, although like I said I did have a look on youtube.

And I wasn't making this thread just to get help on changing the tips, I had a couple of other questions that are more specific to me.

Also I am not worried about my $20 tip, I am more worried about having to wait another week for another tip to be delivered.

- Anyway that was all pretty off topic.


Thanks dr9ball for the list, I guess trying to do it myself is going to cost me more than if I took it to a pro.
 
@chevybob
DD has summed it up nicely. The gell fills in the gaps and helps avoid air pockets between the tip and ferrule.
 
Good answer

Zippo said:
If you've never done a tip replacement before just let a pro do the job. You can screw your ferrule and that is not a good thing to do. If you want to learn how to replace tips, buy a POS shaft on ebay and some cheap elkmaster tips and then practice until you master the procedure. Practicing tip installing with a Z2 is not wise.
Click to expand...

I put my first tip on around 45 years ago, and have done a pretty good number since, but I still mess up occasionally. I've wasted tips and damaged ferrules. Without a lathe it's not easy to get that perfect job.

So I'll pay to have someone do it when it's convenient.

By the way, if you take a tip that you've purchased yourself to a cue maker to install, and they charge you more than $10 to install it, I think they're gouging.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top