Do people cut chalk?

Pre-Flag Master

Pre-Flag Master

Cue Ball Man
Silver Member
I've seen some references on the AZ forum here about cutting chalk, but not too much details. I'm using this preflag Master chalk I got recently. It lasts longer - normally a good thing - but the "start holes" are drilled deeper too, so it is taking forever to flatten off the top. Plus I want to make it last even longer, since it's not made anymore. So I was thinking about cutting it down the middle making two pieces, each with exposed flat sides. Plus I seem to remember reading that other people cut chalk too. What reasons do people cut chalk - same thing I'm thinking? And how would one go about doing it? Seems like it would dull a knife pretty easily. I was thinking about trying a coping saw. thank you

Fatz
 
I think all you would accomplish is creating a mess.
A knife would crumble it and a coping saw would make a lot of dust.

So, one piece of chalk lasts 2 months, cut it in half, minus all the waste
and each piece will last less than one month. Not to mention all the wasted pieces that will break in two.

Some things are better left alone, as in, if its not broken, don't fix it.
 
Cutting the cheese is a different story.
Don't need a knife or saw for that one and the silent killer might shark your opponent.
 
I agree with DoubleD...chalk is chalk, and chalk is cheap. More chalk on the tip doesn't make it perform better. The majority of miscues come from a poor quality stroke, than not enough chalk. The real problem here is how the chalk is applied. If done properly (lightly brushing the tip) a new cube of chalk could be used for hours a day, and it would last for several months, without becoming worn out, or 'drilled'. Use it wrong (grind it on) and you can use up a cube of chalk in a day or a week.

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
 
if you want the top to be flat then just put it on a bandsaw and chop off the top 1/8".

I know the old preflag is great but whats the verdict on the new masters compared to the silvercup?

I like the silver cup better....

but I've been thinking about developing my own chalk (hell it would be fun tryin and making a mess at least lol).....i don't think it would be very hard to attain something in the consistency of the old masters imop.

-Grey Ghost-
 
Take a new piece of chalk, peel the label/paper off of it, get some painters tape (damn, this stuff has a LOT of uses) and scissors and make a new label/paper on the other end of the chalk (covering up the dimple), leaving about 1/4" exposed. You may have to take some medium grit sandpaper to it if it has glue residue on the part you're gonna use to brush the chalk on with.

Maniac
 
Maniac said:
Take a new piece of chalk, peel the label/paper off of it, get some painters tape (damn, this stuff has a LOT of uses) and scissors and make a new label/paper on the other end of the chalk (covering up the dimple), leaving about 1/4" exposed. You may have to take some medium grit sandpaper to it if it has glue residue on the part you're gonna use to brush the chalk on with.

Maniac
Click to expand...

well dam....thats sharp brother.....way to use your noggin

rep to you,
-Grey Ghost-
 
What I was thinking about was recycling old cubes, by shredding them somehow and recombobulating them back into new cubes. Cant be that hard.
 
What Scott said.

Change the way that you chalk. Don't drill like Mike Wong, but instead, wipe the chalk face across the tip as you rotate the cue until it is covered with chalk. leave the face of the chalk flat and very little (what falls to the ground) will be wasted.
 
Cinder blocks do work better than the rough edge of a bar box, that I used once to accomplish this and had to clean afterward.
 
Maniac said:
Take a new piece of chalk, peel the label/paper off of it, get some painters tape (damn, this stuff has a LOT of uses) and scissors and make a new label/paper on the other end of the chalk (covering up the dimple), leaving about 1/4" exposed. You may have to take some medium grit sandpaper to it if it has glue residue on the part you're gonna use to brush the chalk on with.

Maniac
Click to expand...

Thats whicked clever, right there. :p
 
I am a convicted "Driller" and have served time for it :)

I use the chalk until the hole is almost to the point where it will mark up my ferrule and then I just take a grinder or concrete pad and grind it down.

Works real well and the cube of chalk lasts much longer.

I have never heard of cutting chalk in half. Don't see a real advanage to that, but if it works for you, then great!!

Russ.....
 
I Cut for a different reason !!!! Here's a Tip I'll share

the chalk in the bottom of the hole (has moisture in it!! helps stick to your tip better than dry chalk!! So I cut the chalk down in size to use the chalk Ya already pd. for !!! So yes all those people who ask for the New piece- woops- use the worn pieces carefully. It has aged ,collected moisture and will stick better. mark
 
HollyWood said:
the chalk in the bottom of the hole (has moisture in it!! helps stick to your tip better than dry chalk!! So I cut the chalk down in size to use the chalk Ya already pd. for !!! So yes all those people who ask for the New piece- woops- use the worn pieces carefully. It has aged ,collected moisture and will stick better. mark
Click to expand...

well i would have thought that they were baked in the factory and i'm sure they are. But i just cut a cube of silver cup in half with a hacksaw and i could faintly see a slight color darkening towards the center of the cube indicating a possible higher moisture content.

i felt it and rubbed the residue b/t my fingers and really didn't notice any better or diff performance, thickness, grain...i did the same thing with a leather tip....no noticable diff b/t how it stuck to the tip....

if there is a moisture diff its so small its negligible and isn't making a diff.

unless if some of the stuff isn't dried when you got it or something.....im not really trying to cut up cases of chalk to find out either lol.

I wouldn't mind cutting mine in half tho top to bottom.....it would be easier to use imop to brush instead of trying to get rid of the hole in a new one. Plus the sides will still be there, except on one end.

Or i could just not give a dam b/c chalk is like $14 for 144 cubes. I could use wrighting chalk and get the same effect its all basically the same as far as performance goes b/t master and silvercup.....even alot of the tweetens triangle chalk is good.

-Grey Ghost-
 
if you let a piece of new chalk (which will be marginally dryer right out of the box) and old chalk sit in a room for a few hours they are going to contain the same amount of moisture.

old chalk may seem "wetter" because it has gone through many humidity cycles (inside, outside, in trunk, etc) and the chalk just isnt a structurally sound as it used to be (ie on a microscopic level its falling apart). So it may actually come off easier.

In any case, an old guy once saw me scuff my tip because I couldnt get the chalk to stick, he said stop that and taught me to wipe the tip off with a bar napkin, lick my finger and very lightly moisten the tip with my finger, then chalk.

works like a charm and it chalks well all night after that.

and fwiw, i prefer silver cup, seems "grittier" and easier to work with.
HollyWood said:
the chalk in the bottom of the hole (has moisture in it!! helps stick to your tip better than dry chalk!! So I cut the chalk down in size to use the chalk Ya already pd. for !!! So yes all those people who ask for the New piece- woops- use the worn pieces carefully. It has aged ,collected moisture and will stick better. mark
Click to expand...
 
Good pocket knife, garbage can, scrap chalk, cut paper. When it is down to dimple size wipe the top edges on your tip to smooth the edges....ready to go for a few hundred more chalkings. :thumbup:
 
I cut the top edges off the chalk cubes on a band saw when the depression gets to deep. I then have a wood spacer that I put into the chalk holder to bring it back to the original height. Cheap maybe? Frugal maybe? Just don't like wasting stuff that can still be used. I am from a Polish/German family and we never threw out anything that could be used.


My uncle bought a kielbasa for dinner. Cooked it and peeled the skin off. Used the skin that night as a condom. When he got done he left it in the bathroom until the next morning. Got up and left a crap, stuffed it into the skin and took it back to the butcher and told him that the sausage smelled like crap. The butcher agreed and gave him his money back. I learned from the best.
 
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