So I have a Question about the Le Pro tip.. I have been using them for years.. Why are they so inconsistent from tip to tip?
Le Pro?
- Thread starter runoutsRme
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Asked the same question my self. After several boxes where 85% we unusable, the last box I purchase was probably 70% usable. Still not great QC but better.
On the plus side, the good LePros's are great tips. They're just hard to find.
Asked the same question my self. After several boxes where 85% we unusable, the last box I purchase was probably 70% usable. Still not great QC but better.
On the plus side, the good LePros's are great tips. They're just hard to find.
I put a new le pro on, then shave 1/4 - 1/3 off. Seems to be where the best portion of the tip is, For Playability..
Le Pros are cheap but quality is not consistent.
I can use either Triangles or Le Pros. Realize that some batches are defective. Because those tips are inexpensive I always buy several boxes with each box bearing a unique lot number. I usually end up trashing whole boxes of defective tips but the really good ones are superb.
I install by hand. To center the tip on the ferrule I place a 14mm tip in the bottom of a six sided 14mm socket. The tip fits the socket snugly. I'll use blue painter's masking tape around the cue shaft so that the shaft end fits snugly also. After the glue is set the overhang is trimmed with a utility knife. Most people screw up by holding the tip crown down against a table when trimming so that the tip won't come off or spread like an accordion. I trim the overhang with a whittling motion and observe the tip sides to look for possible spreading. If I see spreading I cut the tip off and try another.
It seems to matter where you buy tips. My impression was that I was receiving better quality tips when I ordered from Atlas Billiard Supplies which is in Chicago where Tweeten is located. That might just be my imagination but I received a couple of boxes of great Le Pros from Atlas.
I can use either Triangles or Le Pros. Realize that some batches are defective. Because those tips are inexpensive I always buy several boxes with each box bearing a unique lot number. I usually end up trashing whole boxes of defective tips but the really good ones are superb.
I install by hand. To center the tip on the ferrule I place a 14mm tip in the bottom of a six sided 14mm socket. The tip fits the socket snugly. I'll use blue painter's masking tape around the cue shaft so that the shaft end fits snugly also. After the glue is set the overhang is trimmed with a utility knife. Most people screw up by holding the tip crown down against a table when trimming so that the tip won't come off or spread like an accordion. I trim the overhang with a whittling motion and observe the tip sides to look for possible spreading. If I see spreading I cut the tip off and try another.
It seems to matter where you buy tips. My impression was that I was receiving better quality tips when I ordered from Atlas Billiard Supplies which is in Chicago where Tweeten is located. That might just be my imagination but I received a couple of boxes of great Le Pros from Atlas.
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LePro tips
Recently reshaping a LePro I installed for a friend which had mushroomed as bad as I've ever seen. While working on it (on a dedicated lathe), it essentially disintegrated. Replaced it with an Emerald which he loved. I see lots of posts about very low percentage of good LePros in a box. What layman test/s can be used to determine playability before going through the trouble of installing a bad one? Thanks.
Recently reshaping a LePro I installed for a friend which had mushroomed as bad as I've ever seen. While working on it (on a dedicated lathe), it essentially disintegrated. Replaced it with an Emerald which he loved. I see lots of posts about very low percentage of good LePros in a box. What layman test/s can be used to determine playability before going through the trouble of installing a bad one? Thanks.
When ya get a box go thru em, you'll probably find 8-12 Good tips. Look at the facing side and look for it being smooth, almost like chocolate, separate those from the rest. Tap em on the counter and look for a crisp sound. If the tips have a muffled sound, I'd not use these and set them aside with the rest. These tips are normally your best ones in the box. Next take the rest and tap em on the same counter and see which ones sound off the same as the good ones, these are the others you'd keep, the rest, sell em to a pool room or someone who installs tips for that room. A good LePro after install and then being cut from the sides, will curl much like chocolate when shaving off a chunk with a razor. Make sure you bevel cut them inward with a good burnish. You'll have a tip that will be good for at least three months of play at 30-40 hrs a week. If the tips on the cue for more than a yr, ck it, it may dry out and cause miscues, if it's two yrs, remove it (I'm in Dry CO). A good lepro chalked properly will not miscue, but if you are miscueing, you've got a fundamental in your game that needs attention, now.
runsout
they are organic, not synthetic, so as with any organic material its all slightly different in some way.
great example, maple shafts, some are more dense, some have straighter grain, but most will play a bit different than the next.
if you really want to stay with le pro, i would suggest a milk dud.
they are organic, not synthetic, so as with any organic material its all slightly different in some way.
great example, maple shafts, some are more dense, some have straighter grain, but most will play a bit different than the next.
if you really want to stay with le pro, i would suggest a milk dud.
I purchased a box of Le Pro from Muellers, While at Super Billiards Expo in 2010.. After getting home, I opened the box, Every tip was so hard, they could have passed as phenolic.. I threw them to the side for House cue repair jobs.. It was like they had been wet/damp..
I use the Porper tip cutter/shaper, like $15.. It will cut the overhang, flush with the ferrulle, I do taper the tip, to prevent extreme mushrooming also..
Why did you install a defective tip for a friend? Answer--When you trim with a lathe you do not get the feedback you need to discover whether the tip is defective or not. The same is true when the installer installs by hand but presses the tip crown to a table while trimming overhang. If you will observe the tip side while trimming the overhang with a whittling technique you will know whether or not you have a good tip.
Got one soaking right now!
I bought my last box from Nielsen's aka joerackem on eBay about a year ago,that particular box was made in 2010.
I understand everyone has different results and luck from box to box,but I haven't had a single one go bad during install and the only user complaint I've had was a customer that said it was too hard for his liking.
A month later he said he got used to it and loves it.
I've installed 22 out of that box so far,and I do press them before installing.
I might even try one myself. Tommy D.
I understand everyone has different results and luck from box to box,but I haven't had a single one go bad during install and the only user complaint I've had was a customer that said it was too hard for his liking.
A month later he said he got used to it and loves it.
I've installed 22 out of that box so far,and I do press them before installing.
I might even try one myself. Tommy D.
that just takes a bad tip n puts milk in it
AKA--Milk Dud
I soaked a Le Pro in Vitamin D milk for actually about 32 hours.. I took it downstairs and put it in the shop vise.. I squeezed it what I thought was too far so I backed it off a bit..
After this dries, I will put it on a house cue to see what happens..
Will it then be a Butter "Le Pro"
I soaked a Le Pro in Vitamin D milk for actually about 32 hours.. I took it downstairs and put it in the shop vise.. I squeezed it what I thought was too far so I backed it off a bit..
After this dries, I will put it on a house cue to see what happens..
Will it then be a Butter "Le Pro"
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My thoughts exactly. Wonder how milk could help a tip that started out mushy inside? Gonna try it though just for fun.
Le Cheese Pro
I am gonna try this milk dud on one of the house cues later, I will post results here..
I am gonna try this milk dud on one of the house cues later, I will post results here..
My thoughts exactly. Wonder how milk could help a tip that started out mushy inside? Gonna try it though just for fun.
I soak them in milk to soften them up so it makes it easier to press them as far as i can go, what i do is use a worn out Willards Nickle Radious tip tool so the tip can keep the Dome shape while it drying under all that pressure. When i place one on my cue it plays just has hard as Morri Med and Wizzard Med layerd tip like i said its been on for 3 months no mushroom no reshaping done yet playing about 25 hours a week.
Allmost the same way as people make Elk master Milk Duds.
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aka, Le Pro-milk dud
I shot 8 racks of 8 ball. I notice it plays like the tip is at the end of it's life. If this was even a good tip to begin with!!
I have Elkmaster, In the vise right now.. See if it stiffens them up a bit. Only way to know is try!!! :thumbup2:
I shot 8 racks of 8 ball. I notice it plays like the tip is at the end of it's life. If this was even a good tip to begin with!!
I have Elkmaster, In the vise right now.. See if it stiffens them up a bit. Only way to know is try!!! :thumbup2:
I was doing cue repairs locally for several years, (I quit now
)... I absolutely hated installing lepros and triangles. Total junk tips in my opinion. You never knew when they were going to turn into a sponge while cutting. And I read and tried all the advice here about ways to find the good ones from the bad. None of the methods I tried were reliable in preventing installing a bad one. I also sheared the tips during install with a fresh utility knife blade, which is generally accepted here as one of the best ways of installing a tip, and minimizing the chance of damaging it.
Also, this is not a new problem. I started doing cue repair around 2000, and they sucked then. There are also lots of threads in the ask the cue maker section about this. When some of the cue makers with many years of experience write about this issue, they have said these tips have sucked for as long as they can remember, from the 1980's at least, to the best of my recollection from those threads.
)... I absolutely hated installing lepros and triangles. Total junk tips in my opinion. You never knew when they were going to turn into a sponge while cutting. And I read and tried all the advice here about ways to find the good ones from the bad. None of the methods I tried were reliable in preventing installing a bad one. I also sheared the tips during install with a fresh utility knife blade, which is generally accepted here as one of the best ways of installing a tip, and minimizing the chance of damaging it.Also, this is not a new problem. I started doing cue repair around 2000, and they sucked then. There are also lots of threads in the ask the cue maker section about this. When some of the cue makers with many years of experience write about this issue, they have said these tips have sucked for as long as they can remember, from the 1980's at least, to the best of my recollection from those threads.
The best part of a LePro is the last 1/2 if you can get that far without it screwing up in some way. I used them for around 40 years and almost always cut a little less than 1/2 off. LePro's have always needed more touching up than other brands. About 10 years ago they really started getting bad. I've used Triangle now for about 10 years or so and am happy with them. Johnnyt