elk master tips

I haven't used an Elkmaster tip in years, but I'm thinking guys like to press them so they hold their shape, yet still have the "softer" striking surface to grip the cue ball. All this talk recently and over the last few years in these forums makes me want to try to press one and see how it plays.
 
I have a bunch of 25 year old Elk Masters sitting around I've never found much of a use for. In my experience, they have even more variability than LePros. None of the pressing methods mentioned have any method of measuring the compression used. That coupled with the initial variability leads me to believe that you'd never end up with two tips that hit quite the same.

(Doesn't mean I'm not curious and though. I'll probably experiment too.)
 
manwon said:
I have never heard of anyone soaking Elk Master tips in milk, in the old days road players use to soak non-layered tips in milk. They would then press them until dry. Why they did this or what purpose the milk served I have no clue.

Manwon
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I would guess that the milk breaks down the leather fibers, allowing it to be compressed even more. When it dries, it's "remolded" into a more compressed tip, as someone else suggested.

IMO, these super compressed, milk-soaked tips play much like other hard tips. Before today's laminated tips, I don't think this method was bad at all. Today, you probably could find a tip that feels exactly the same right out of the box.

Fred
 
L. Salazar said:
Elkmasters are my choice because...
a. They are infused with Master chalk
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They're not really infused with Master chalk. They tumble the Elkmasters in Master blue chalk to smooth out the rough edges. That chalk remains on the surface only.

"The Elk Masters as well as some others are tumbled in an abrasive material in a process similar to rock polishing in order to smooth out the rough edges. The abrasive material is Masters Blue Chalk, which gives the Elk Masters its distinctive outer blue color. But, according to Nemecek, they aren’t “impregnated” with chalk. That’s not what the tumbling does. The tip is already a blue tinge because of the blue Chromium. "

http://forums.azbilliards.com/showpost.php?p=441204&postcount=21

Fred <~~~ or so I read
 
For years I use to soak EM's in clear laquer. Sandwich them between two metal plates in my vice. You can control the compression (providing tips are the same height) by the amount you turn the vice handle. I varied cure time in the vice, but a day in warm conditions worked well. Doing this also helped to bond the leather fibres so when you finished them they did not get the fuzzies. They still hold chalk very well and provide a firmer hit. Your mixture may vary.

Rod
 
Klopek said:
I don't care how much you press an elkmaster, it's not going to cut it for jumping with a full length cue.
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Theres a player at Chris's Billiards in Chicago who jumps with his 60 inch long, approximately 19 ounce heavy, Ed Young cue upon which is installed an Elkmaster tip. I've seen him do it a number of times.

Flex
 
ragbug74 said:
I haven't used an Elkmaster tip in years, but I'm thinking guys like to press them so they hold their shape, yet still have the "softer" striking surface to grip the cue ball. All this talk recently and over the last few years in these forums makes me want to try to press one and see how it plays.
Click to expand...

I recently prepped an Elkmaster tip the way someone wrote some of the Filipinos probably do it. I took a hammer and pounded it over and over. Not so hard as to try to break it, but to just whack away. The first one ended up cracking on the glue side, so I did another. Put it in a paper towel so it wouldn't bounce away and and hit it with a medium power hit (whatever that is...) like I was hammering in a nail, and after about 50 hits stopped doing it. Installed it and have played with it probably 40 hours so far.

How's it play? Great, IMHO. It rarely miscues, and because of that I've become a bid lax in chalking it, not a good habit to get into, I know. Is it consistent? Yep. English? Tons of it. Feel? Someone the other day shot some balls with it and described it like this: "It feels like you have an eraser on your cue." That's a pretty good description of the feel: like an eraser. Gotta love the way it plays... When shooting a soft draw shot, no fear of a miscue, a gentle touch does it.

Try it, you'll like it.

Flex
 
Flex said:
Theres a player at Chris's Billiards in Chicago who jumps with his 60 inch long, approximately 19 ounce heavy, Ed Young cue upon which is installed an Elkmaster tip. I've seen him do it a number of times.

Flex
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Flex, please see my response to a similar comment much earlier in the thread.
 
Klopek said:
Flex, please see my response to a similar comment much earlier in the thread.
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For some reason I didn't see your earlier clarification when I posted my comment. Sorry about that. Getting over a ball closer than 4 inches away with a full size cue with any tip is no joke either.

Flex
 
I've tried others, but I just love the soft feel of the Elkmaster tip. It's what I grew up using and it feels natural to me.
 
Cornerman said:
I would guess that the milk breaks down the leather fibers, allowing it to be compressed even more. When it dries, it's "remolded" into a more compressed tip, as someone else suggested.
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A little googling reveals the secret: milk contains casein, a pretty strong adhesive. Indeed, Elmer's white glue was made with casein until polyvinylacetate came along. PVA doesn't spoil.

Here's a recipe for making milk glue by separating casein-laden curds from the whey (yes, Little Miss Muffet was sniffing glue! :D )

Coincidentally, this chem lab experiment protocol was written by a teacher at my old high school!
 
How to soften tip after installed?

How can I soften a med-hard LePro that is already installed?
Mash it with a tip-pik?
Put a drop of milk on it?

DougT
 
Klopek said:
I find it very hard to believe Earl uses elkmaster. If you watch any of his matches the sound his tip makes sounds closer to phenolic, like a pressed sumo tip or some other hard water buffalo tip. Earl also jumps with his playing cue, I don't care how much you press an elkmaster, it's not going to cut it for jumping with a full length cue.
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I bet his elkmaster is pressed. Then they are not that soft. Plus, if he uses a cuetec shaft, the stiffness would allow him to easily jump balls.
 
DougT said:
How can I soften a med-hard LePro that is already installed?
Mash it with a tip-pik?
Put a drop of milk on it?

DougT
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Cut it off with a razor blade.


Just kidding Doug. I may have a pressed elkmaster for you to try, if you like.
 
pressed elkmaster

MFB said:
Cut it off with a razor blade.


Just kidding Doug. I may have a pressed elkmaster for you to try, if you like.
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That's good, Mark. Then can I soak it in milk?

But I think not a bad idea. I have been scuffing and picking this thing, but miscue with it more than anything I've ever used.

If you had an pressed elkmaster, I would try it.

Doug
 
Don't the damn thing in milk.

PM sent.




DougT said:
That's good, Mark. Then can I soak it in milk?

But I think not a bad idea. I have been scuffing and picking this thing, but miscue with it more than anything I've ever used.

If you had an pressed elkmaster, I would try it.

Doug
Click to expand...
 
After reading all of this and needing to change the tip on my backup cue, I decided to try the Elkmaster/hammer method just for laughs. No soaking in milk or urine.

I bought a new 13mm Elkmaster at the Chinese equivalent of about $0.40, brought it home, put it in a paper towel and hammered it on each side about 40 whacks. After that it was between 13.5 and 14mm diameter. Mounted it on the cue, trimmed the edge, shaped to dime radius and burnished the edge with a piece of leather. Playing surface was "fuzzy."

Took it out for a two hour practice session tonight and DAMNED if it didn't play great. Takes chalk well, tons of spin and good control.

It may mushroom out or fall apart tomorrow, but tonight it was a real surprise.

I did this after remembering that when Ronnie Alcano was here for the IPT qualifier in June, he told me that he was using Elk Master tips. We did not talk about preparation or anything, but I decided that for the price, and after all this discussion, it was worth a shot.
 
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