Good tips on a breaker?

[Aten]

I've heard praises from the various camps regarding the tips used on a breaking cue... ranging from White diamond to samsara to water buffalo to phenolic etc. etc.

I've been thinking of investing in a breaker sometime in the near future, but I'd like to gather some opinions first on the various different tips. I've never really been a fan of phenolic personally (it always felt kind of strange to me upon contact) but recently I've tried out the white diamond on a variety of breaking cues and the feel is great.

 

[angldemn]

I haven't tried the water buffalo, but as far as the others, Samsara is my favorite for feel, power and accuracy.

 

[Blue Hog ridr]

http://www.piconecues.com/id4.html

Read what Joe Picone has to say about his White Diamond tips.
I like them myself and they aren't a phenolic.

Super Pro are inexpensive and do a fine job on either a break or jump cue.
I have never had a complaint on the ones I have installed for that purpose.

If you check over in the Cue Machinery forum, you will find good deals for the Mad Man tips.
He makes a playing, breaking and jump tip. I bought a few break tips but haven't tried them yet. The single layer break tip looks well made and I know they will do the job.

Joe Picone also sells a tip press made from air craft aluminum. I have been using his presses to make Milk Duds for some time now.
You might consider buying one and pressing some Triangles for your breaker. In the mean time, they also make great Milk Duds.
For the price of the press, you will pay for it in no time by pressing your own.

Myself, not a huge fan of phenolic either.

 

[The Renfro]

All phenolic is not equal... Find an authorized Predator repair center and buy a few of their factory BK2 tips.... The only thing close is the Mezz break tip which may very well be superior but not as easily accessible....

 

[riedmich]

I have tried different phenolic tips and also a white diamond. But the feel is some kind unnatural and I started to make very hard pressed milkduds. My favourite breaktip now is a very hard milkdud from triangel and between this and the phenolic ferrule I have a ultra hard pressed milkdud from an elkmaster. I have much better control and lots of force transferred to the cueball.

 

[gergs]

A while ago I got a hold of an Odega break tip and I don't think that I will ever stray. All around great break tip.

 

[jaycast16]

Check this one

http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=263015

 

[Maniac]

I haven't tried the water buffalo, but as far as the others, Samsara is my favorite for feel, power and accuracy.

Yep, and they work equally well on the jump cue too!!!

Maniac

 

[cuesblues]

In last week's break tip thread I recommended Tiger Ice Breaker however,
The Renfro exploded 2 of them, so I am now just recommending a real hard glue-on type...:smile:


I still like my Ice Breaker

 

[Maniac]

http://www.piconecues.com/id4.html

Read what Joe Picone has to say about his White Diamond tips.
I like them myself and they aren't a phenolic.

A couple years ago I purchased a few White Diamond tips. I liked them a LOT. Problem was, even after trying many different (at least 5) glues and different tip/ferrule sanding techniques, I could never get one of them to stay glued on to my shafts for more than a half-dozen breaks or so. They popped right off.

Do you (or does anyone else on here) know what glue and/or gluing methods Joe (or anyone else that has had success keeping these tips on their ferrules) uses???

I still have 3 of these tips and would use them IF I can find a way to make them stick.

Maniac

 

[m79a]

A couple years ago I purchased a few White Diamond tips. I liked them a LOT. Problem was, even after trying many different (at least 5) glues and different tip/ferrule sanding techniques, I could never get one of them to stay glued on to my shafts for more than a half-dozen breaks or so. They popped right off.

Do you (or does anyone else on here) know what glue and/or gluing methods Joe (or anyone else that has had success keeping these tips on their ferrules) uses???

I still have 3 of these tips and would use them IF I can find a way to make them stick.

Maniac

I've had that problem with the white diamond. After the last one came off and I couldn't find it i switched to a g10. I like it.

 

[riedmich]

A couple years ago I purchased a few White Diamond tips. I liked them a LOT. Problem was, even after trying many different (at least 5) glues and different tip/ferrule sanding techniques, I could never get one of them to stay glued on to my shafts for more than a half-dozen breaks or so. They popped right off.

Do you (or does anyone else on here) know what glue and/or gluing methods Joe (or anyone else that has had success keeping these tips on their ferrules) uses???

I still have 3 of these tips and would use them IF I can find a way to make them stick.

Maniac

I had the similar problem with phenolic tips and also other playing tips, especially when I used a 2-component epoxy glue. But since a couple of months I only use cyanacrylate based gel from Pattex and everything works now very reliably. But in my opinion most other cyanacrylate gel glues should be sufficient for that kind of glue connection.

Beside the glue itself I have an eye on the contact surfaces of ferrules and tips, they have to be absolutely plain, free of dust and fat (from your skin!) and not too smooth, this is my clear experience. And I sand both contact surfaces with sanding paper 80. Before applying the glue onto the tip I give ferrule and tip a few amount of spit and let it dry completely. (You can of course use a mixture of water and ethanol also, f. e. Whiskey or wodka ;-) ) While glueing them together I give maximum of pressure by using a clamp. With this method I never again had any problems with tips adhesion, and also not with my white diamond.

Hope my experience may also help you.

 

[OneIron]

A couple years ago I purchased a few White Diamond tips. I liked them a LOT. Problem was, even after trying many different (at least 5) glues and different tip/ferrule sanding techniques, I could never get one of them to stay glued on to my shafts for more than a half-dozen breaks or so. They popped right off.

Do you (or does anyone else on here) know what glue and/or gluing methods Joe (or anyone else that has had success keeping these tips on their ferrules) uses???

I still have 3 of these tips and would use them IF I can find a way to make them stick.

Maniac

Only had an issue with the White Diamond popping off on two cues. I suspect it was the ferrule material. One was an oriental import. I used 5 minute epoxy and let it cure for 24 hours. This was about a year ago and no complaints from the customer. I've used cyano gel on the others. My personal Mezz Power Break has a White Diamond applied with cyano and is used several nights a week by multiple players with no problems. I installed it about 3 years ago.

BTW, I don't like phenolic. White Diamond is the best IMO.

 

[bnall]

A while ago I got a hold of an Odega break tip and I don't think that I will ever stray. All around great break tip.

Odega all the way! I like it alot more than the samsara jump/break tip.

 

[Aaron_S]

I also had problems keeping white diamond tips on. I did find that two-part epoxies seemed to hold them on for a longer period of time than other adhesives, but they still would pop off eventually. Recently installed a Samsara tip on my jump/break, and I love it so far.

Aaron

 

[riedmich]

From a friend I heard that 2 component epoxy glues are a bit sensible if the mixture is not exactly as it should be. Having a bit too much or less hardner could change its characteristic a lot. This may be one of the reasons for a tip popping off after a while.

 

[hkbilliard]

Keeping a Diamond on

I have played with the White Diamond for several years and have installed many. I have found it to be a great product. It holds chalk very well and hits a ton on the break. What I find even better is that it is terrific tip for the jumpshot. It gets the cueball up quicker and with less effort than anything else I've tried. The set up I have found to be the most effective is a G10 ferrule with the White Diamond on top. The trick to keeping the tip on is to create a small shallow mortise in the back of the tip and a small tenon on the ferrule. This keeps any lateral forces at impact from popping the tip off. I use a Devcon 5 min epoxy for the adhesive and have not had a single tip come off.

Russell A.

 

[thefonz]

white diamond problems

i just CA glue my white diamonds on, leave them for a week before playing, they never come off.

the problem with cue tips flying off is from off centre hits. this can be alleviated by taking the tips down to a < 1/16" sidewall at a quarter radius, this limits the amount of shear force on the tip during an off centre hit on the cue ball.

 

[OneIron]

i just CA glue my white diamonds on, leave them for a week before playing, they never come off.

the problem with cue tips flying off is from off centre hits. this can be alleviated by taking the tips down to a < 1/16" sidewall at a quarter radius, this limits the amount of shear force on the tip during an off centre hit on the cue ball.

Very good point. A skilled player can break at 50% speed with a White Diamond and get great spread and control whitey. But the old ego always comes into play with some players. Break as hard as you can and hope you accidentally contact the center of the cue ball.

I also cut the tips down pretty low with a quarter radius. I occasionally get a player to question it but I tell them the tip will last almost forever with minimal maintenance.

 

[fathomblue]

I just purchased a nice, solid, but used Dufferin 2-piece house cue. According to the guy I bought it from, it has a White Diamond tip on it. I'll be using this as my breaker (hopefully).

After looking at this page: http://www.piconecues.com/index.html .......my tip looks exactly like it. So, it should be as the seller advertised.

But, the only thing Picone says is that the White Diamond is a multi-layer tip with "specially selected fibers".

My state league never mentions anything in it's rulebook about a break cue. The only mention even close to that is.....

....."The cue tip on any stick used to perform a legal jump shot must be composed of either a leather, synthetic leather or phenolic material."

Now, I'm going to get with my league president to confirm that the White Diamond is legit or not.

But, I'd like to compete in some BCA events at some point. Is the White Diamond tip legal for these?

Just what the heck are the "specially selected fibers" made out of? I know it's hard as hell.