How much does it cost to put a tip on!

[Flex]

This thread is getting funny, funnier by the post. Some feel the prices charged are outrageous however others won't install tips because it isn't worth the bother.

One thing to add, when you think that the cuemaker is gouging at a tournament or big event, remember he is usually paying a large cut to the people putting on the event. The same is usually true when someone who doesn't own a pool hall works there. Even with "inflated" prices they usually make considerably less for each job they do than they make doing the same job in their shop.

Hu

No doubt, if someone is doing tips at a tournament and he is paying a rental fee for access to the premises to set up his equipment, charging more is expected. The market at the tournament will help him see if he is charging too much, although any businessman will already have figured out if his prices are worth it. Pretty simple: if the prices are too high, he won't have much work. There's basically no such thing as too low, unless he is inundated and can't do all the work. Does that ever happen? The man will set his price and those who are desperate will probably pay him what he wants. That's why those who foresee problems will likely have more than one shaft with them... as most do.

 

[Flex]

I understand that I could make a "poor man's lathe" to do tips. But, unless I am going to do tips for others, it would still be years before I would recoup even a small investment. As I have no intention of doing tips for others, it just isn't worth the time and the trouble. After all, I'm only getting one or two tips a year, at most.

If I wanted to do tips for others, it would be worth the investment to buy one of the smaller repair lathes and charge the going rates for tips.

My only extra cost to be able to do tips for my shafts was to buy a 5/16 X 18 bolt at the hardware store for less than a quarter and cut the head off. That, inserted into my already at hand 3/8" drill, and threaded into the shaft with the same thread, and spun, shaped and so on is basically just an enjoyable use of my time. Tip shapers and so on I already had, plus an exacto knife, etc. etc.

By the way, my tips don't pop off... Can't say that about some I've had a "professional" install for me.

 

[Purdman]

I understand that I could make a "poor man's lathe" to do tips. But, unless I am going to do tips for others, it would still be years before I would recoup even a small investment. As I have no intention of doing tips for others, it just isn't worth the time and the trouble. After all, I'm only getting one or two tips a year, at most.

If I wanted to do tips for others, it would be worth the investment to buy one of the smaller repair lathes and charge the going rates for tips.

Rich R., Purdman here. I purchased a Hightower lathe back in 2001. I believe I paid about $1,800 for it. The thing has paid for itself 5 times over. I did a Planet Pool tournament for 1.5 days and took home $900. I have done this several times. Tips are easy. Actually, making but plates, cleaning shafts and polishing cues makes money too. I have bought cues with broken butt caps for $150, made a new one and turned around and sold the cue one week later for $375. The retail on the cue was $600. I have also done a pretty good job of finishing cues. I paid $50 to have a Moori tip put on my cue at the US Open back in 2001. I had two done, that's why I purchased the lathe. Now I buy Moori tips for $10 and install them for $35. Never had a complaint about my pricing. It ain't as diffficult as one might think. I also keep my cues in great shape.
Don

 

[mworkman]

I used to put my own tips on all the time. Then I went with the morri tip and I had to have someone else put it on because it came in at 14mm. I tried putting one on, used the ultimate tip tool to shave off excess. I think I will go back to the Lepro because it comes in 13mm and I can get em on pretty straight.

 

[feldz23]

Did the 35 bucks he wanted to install the Moori include removing the old tip? The repairman at the pool hall I play at charged me 20 bucks just for an estimate to replace my tip What is his disposal fee for the old tip ?

 

[Flex]

Did the 35 bucks he wanted to install the Moori include removing the old tip? The repairman at the pool hall I play at charged me 20 bucks just for an estimate to replace my tip What is his disposal fee for the old tip ?

Didn't you know that chalk causes cancer and the old tip must be disposed of as hazardous waste?? Don't wanna get sued now.... And those HAZMAT guys wanna be tipped too!

 

[SCCues]

Rich R., Purdman here. I purchased a Hightower lathe back in 2001. I believe I paid about $1,800 for it. The thing has paid for itself 5 times over. I did a Planet Pool tournament for 1.5 days and took home $900. I have done this several times. Tips are easy. Actually, making but plates, cleaning shafts and polishing cues makes money too. I have bought cues with broken butt caps for $150, made a new one and turned around and sold the cue one week later for $375. The retail on the cue was $600. I have also done a pretty good job of finishing cues. I paid $50 to have a Moori tip put on my cue at the US Open back in 2001. I had two done, that's why I purchased the lathe. Now I buy Moori tips for $10 and install them for $35. Never had a complaint about my pricing. It ain't as diffficult as one might think. I also keep my cues in great shape.
Don

Don, I also bought a Hightower lathe quite a few years ago for the same reason you did and I worked with a friend of mine in his cue shop to learn everything I could about cues. I mostly do shaft work and linen wraps on cues and from reading this thread I haven't been charging enough for my work. I've been installing Moori tips for $25 and I thought that my price was too low. I remember when having a Moori installed at the US Open ran well over $50 because 2 fellows I met from Columbia, SC dropped their 2 shafts off and said to put Moori tips on both shafts and when they came back to pick them up they almost fainted when they were told the price. If I remember right it was $120 to put on 2 Moori tips and they got into quite an argument with the repair man (I don't want to mention his name because he's a great guy). They ended up getting a good discount because they weren't told the price up front even though they didn't ask.

 

[sde]

I do a majority of the local cue repair in my area. I install between 100-150 Moori tips a year. I charge $25 and that includes getting nicks out of the shaft and cleaning and sealing the shaft. I have not had a complaint in 6 years and they keep coming back (never ever sand a shaft to remove nicks). This is just Moori's alone, I do the same with standard tips and charge $15. I am told that the $25 is on the low side and have considered raising my prices but so far I haven't.

If you decide to raise your prices you will not here a complaint from me. I believe I have told you that you should charge more, especially considering the great job you do of reconditioning the shaft with each re-tip job.

Steve

 

[bob_bushka]

Well, let me see, you give me your shaft and I screw it up somehow....mmmmmmm....I suppose you want a new shaft huh or can I just give you back the shaft with the tip you provided. I don't think anybody doing cue repair is going to have much empathy for your situation. I have had people bring me shafts with the tips already glued on and they want me to shape them for them. I do this out of courtesy but I also inform them I won't do it again. If I chuck something in my lathe I am taking responsibility for it and the misapplied tip that was on their shaft, they expect me to replace now. Tell you what...next time you want your oil changed take your own filter and oil into Jiffy Lube and see what they say and what they charge you.

 

[JLW]

To the original poster, I say check out Mueller's and buy yourself some inexpensive supplies for putting on tips yourself. That way, you can put on any tip you want any time you want for next to nothing. And there's no waiting.

Maybe part of the problem is that players are shelling out thousands of dollars for cues nowadays. Then they're afraid to touch them for fear of ruining their value. I say, a cue's for playing with, and putting tips on is part of the fun of having your own cue.

 

[TheBook]

I just had two shafts retipped with Tiger tips. One shaft needed a ferrule and tenon replaced and the other just a tip. It was $50 and the guy also cleaned the shafts plus picked up and delivered them to my house.

Ask around. There is usually someone that does that kind of work and most local players know who they are.

 

[Tommy-D]

> I wouldn't have a problem putting on a tip provided by the customer,and long as that tip is something WORTH putting on. I've had a guy bring me 3 shafts for tip installation,and the tips he provided were about the speed of those you see in the 9.99 "home tip repair" kits they used to sell at K-Mart. I told him I'd put them on for 10 bucks a piece,but in a week he'd be back to spend another 30 when those come apart the first time he breaks with them,and he let me install mine. I still only charged him 10 bucks a piece,ate the cost of the tips,and made a customer for life,with 300 bucks worth of repairs since then. Since then,I've gone up to 15 for a tip and shaft cleaning,tip is guaranteed for life,with 2 exceptions. If the cue is left in a vehicle,it gets hot or cold and the tip comes off,it's on the customer,or if the cue is dropped,and I can tell if either happened. Any other reason for the tip coming off is my fault,and usually the result of bad glue. Very few of those make it out of my sight by the way. I grip the tip with a pair of pliers before I start cutting and make sure the glue bond is as strong as it will ever be,even a little movement the tip comes off. I reface the ferrule,re-sand and seal the back of the tip,break out a fresh bottle of glue,and start over. I don't do enough volume in repairs to warrant wasting as much glue as I do,but in such a small area where no one but me does any kind of quality work,word would spread much faster if I starting having tips pop off. All the hack-jobs sent out by the other 2 people in a 30 minute radius from me all come to me to fix their incompetence,and I mean that. I've had one of those guys melt a Predator ferrule,and tell the customer to take it to me. Another guy had the tenon broken completely off the shaft on his Predator,same repair guy tried to take the whole tip off and a facing cut at the same time,and the cutting force snapped ferrule and all right off,20 minutes later I had it trying to explain how it happened to a customer fuming at someone else. He has the Porper suitcase repair lathe,the other guy in my area has the small-headstock Deluxe CueSmith. His work isn't much better. Tommy D.

 

[despotic931]

Wow I had my own sniper tip installed, and a new ferrule put on another cue including a lePro tip on that one all for 20 bucks including shaft cleaning.

 

[cueman]

I went to get a tip put on at a local hall today during a tournament and wow. I brought my own tip in to have them put it on and they said oh we cant do that we only put on our own tips. Well ok i said how much. To put on a moori they wanted 35 bucks. you can get a moori for 12 bucks so they are charging 23 or so for about 5 minutes of work. they are making a killing.

who here puts on their own tips by hand. I do this from time to time on cheaper sticks, take me awhile to get it as good as they can do it on the lathe though.

When you see someone at a tournament they usually had to pay just to set up. Take Valley Forge Super Expo. A booth there costs $1000 plus $150 for electricity. The Hotel room is almost $130 per night plus tax. Expenses to be there putting on those $35 Moori tips for four days is somewhere around $2500 if they lived fairly close. So they have to put on over 100 tips to break even. I charge $25 to put Moori tips on at my shop. I charge $30 if I am out. Always look at the expenses that person had to pay to bring you that instant quality cue repair service.
Chris
www.cuesmith.com
www.internationalcuemakers.com

 

[krbsailing]

$15 to $25 is cheap!

I wouldn't put on a LePro or Triangle tip for less than $15 .....time is $$$ gents

 

[BlackDragon]

Where I am, theres half a dozen pool halls where the owner retips my cues. Even providing a tip if I don't have one. The last time, my tip was thin and the guy looked at it and replaced it. I never asked him too, he just wanted to make sure I had a decent tip on my cue. Never been charged. Go figure. I think thats because the managers see it as an ancillary service which entices the player to return to that venue as there are many venues that one can choose to play in.

 

[arsenius]

I had a moori installed for $15 the other day, tip included. He used a knife, a file and sandpaper. No lathe is needed. It looks just as good as any other tip I've ever had put on and it only took 15 minutes or so, same as with a lathe, including letting the glue dry.

Why do people insist on using those things to do tip work? I personally have had a shaft ruined when a lathe was used for tip work, and it sounds like other people here have too.

 

[Mystick Cue Fan]

I had a moori installed for $15 the other day, tip included. He used a knife, a file and sandpaper. No lathe is needed. It looks just as good as any other tip I've ever had put on and it only took 15 minutes or so, same as with a lathe, including letting the glue dry.

Why do people insist on using those things to do tip work? I personally have had a shaft ruined when a lathe was used for tip work, and it sounds like other people here have too.

I've had many ferrules ruined because of hand tips jobs. I'll take mine to a lathe over anything else anyday.


Tony

 

[arsenius]

I've had many ferrules ruined because of hand tips jobs. I'll take mine to a lathe over anything else anyday.


Tony

Sounds like there is no failsafe solution then!

 

[arsenius]

Sounds like there is no failsafe solution then!

I should actually add something about the knife this guy uses. It's a chisel ground blade. Completely flat on one side. You know which way this type of knife is going. It is used in some types of cooking for that reason (I think sushi chefs use it). You can put it flat against the ferrule and push it into the tip. I wouldn't trust someone to use a razorblade or the like.

Right tool for the job.