Bought a Shore Type C-2 Durometer off of ebay to pre test tips before installing. Built a driver style tool with 8-32 pin to match the top mount of the durometer. Mounted it horizontally in a lathe tailstock with the tip on a flat face plate in the headstock. Held the tip back against the face plate until the dorometer tip touched and retained it in place. Advanced the tailstock quill until the duro base touched the face of the tip. Not getting repetitive measurments this way. Do I need to build a test stand to make this test? Bet some of you have already solved this without spending big bucks on a fancy jig. Go ahead... make me feel like a dummy with your simple cheap solutions... I put on 150+ tips a month as owner/qsmith at Family Q-Spot Billiards, Tulsa, OK. so any thing that eliminates installing a bad tip then having it come apart during sizing and shaping in the lathe makes my 82 year old heart happy.(LOL)
Durometer testing tip hardness?
- Thread starter ken ken quarter
- Start date
ken ken quarter said:
I am not sure about anyone else but on our Durometers we always had the base mounted firmly and the tip was placed on the base and the needle pressed down into the tip. We measured ten spots around the clock face and in the center and averaged them out to come up with a number that denoted the hardness.
We also had a hand held durometer that would give slightly softer results due to the inconsistencies of being able to hold it steady while pressing.
I don't install tips but I used to sell Instroke layered tips which is why we got the durometers in the first place.
I found that almost all of the tips we tested and installed ended up at around the same hardness level after just a week or so of constant play. That is for tips that weren't blown out during installation. If a tip was mushy right after installation then it would never end up hard. The fibers in it were separated and no amount of compacting would change it.
Anyway this probably doesn't help you at all so I will leave it to the experts.
A stand is a must. No accuracy from hand held. I've had experience with several durometer types, but not the one you have. IMO, the D type is best for cue tips. I've heard sometimes the A type has been used with success.
I've checked tips for many years using a D type duromerter. Mainly LePro, Triangle and Elkmaster. So that's where my experience comes from.
With all that being said, in the last few years even a durometer can't help separating the good Tweeten tips from the bad ones. The reason for this is that on some tips the outer part of the tip is MUCH harder than the inner part. That has not always been true. I believe the tanning process has changed, creating inconsistent tips. That's why I now only use layered tips... because they are somewhat accurate in their hardness ratings. All of this is JMO.
I've checked tips for many years using a D type duromerter. Mainly LePro, Triangle and Elkmaster. So that's where my experience comes from.
With all that being said, in the last few years even a durometer can't help separating the good Tweeten tips from the bad ones. The reason for this is that on some tips the outer part of the tip is MUCH harder than the inner part. That has not always been true. I believe the tanning process has changed, creating inconsistent tips. That's why I now only use layered tips... because they are somewhat accurate in their hardness ratings. All of this is JMO.
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Charlie Edwards said:
I've heard from someone in the tip business that instead of making the tips from selected parts of the hide, like the shoulders for instance, for economic reasons the whole hide is being used to make tips. This results in tips that look like a tip but will not function correctly. The fluffy, full of air Traingle tips, of which several are sure to come in each box, are an example of this.
Martin
Something to think about. you are using a needle to probe the tip. So in effect you are testing density. Hardness needs to be tested with a ball with x radius. What that radius is I would guess to be accurate would need to be that of a cue ball. I do not know this as fact just a couple of thoughts I have on the subject.