Looking for some tip preferences and advice

buffalofloyd

buffalofloyd

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Hello all,
I been playing pool for around 13 years now and I have always used the same tips for my cues. I have either used a Triangle, LePro, or Moori. All of them have been the medium tips too. I have decided to only play with the Moori mediums now. I have never tried the hard tips. My quandry seems to be the mushrooming problem which has been common to all of us I presume. I really like the Moori medium for hitting quality but I still get a large mushrooming effect like this...



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Everyday I reshape it with the tip tool and take out the mushroom but it comes back after only hitting a couple balls. My question is, is this totally unavoidable or is it just the hardness of the tip? Do the hard Moori's do this as well? I'm looking for a good layered tip that will not mushroom (or at least very minimally) and is in the medium range. Any suggestions are great.

Cheers,
Jim
 
After reading the type of tip you like, without reservation, I would highly recommend the SNIPER tip. Life will be good.

Let me know if I can help with the installation, providing a tip, or a recommendation of a competent cuemaker/cuerepairman in your area.

Gene
 
As far as off the shelf tips, I've always been a Sniper fan, but recently because they were sold out, I tried a Kamui soft tip, and I can't say enough great things about it. I've got Snipers on order, but I'm so happy with the Kamui, I may not even use them.
dave
 
I have no doubt that a lot of miscues come from the soft, rounded edge we call the "mushroom".

Moisture, humidity, etc have an impact on tips. It's very important to not only shape the edge, but to burnish it. I have an attachment for a drill and burnish the edge with leather. Some people also use a sealer on the edges.

In this case, you could also have a dud Moori. I've been using an Everest or a Sniper for several years and have not had the same problems with recurring mushrooming. They might need to be shaped every few months. My tips typically last a year or so.

I would estimate that the Moori medium is comparable to a Sniper in terms of hardness. I've found that Tiger's laminated tips are more consistent from tip to tip than any others. Their whole process, from leather selection, to their specially built presses, to their glues, to their environment, is geared toward consistency. If you saw their press set up and the care they use, I think you would be very impressed.

Because a tip change is like any change in equipment, it takes some time to adjust, I want my tip to be consistently manufactured in the first place.

Chris
 
sniper tips are great they hit a ton with little mushrooming on the sides the more you play the harder it gets.
 
Almost every moori I have seen has mushroomed. My Talisman on my OB-1 is great and my friends sniper is doing well too.
 
The Moori will mushroom (as will almost all tips) but once you trim off the excess, it will be good to go. Like Tokyo-dave, I used to use a Sniper but recently tried a Kamui tip and really like it. I'm using a MS right now, and although I've only used it for a couple weeks, like the way it plays. It also trims and burnishes very nicely. I also like Talisman tips, but have had unusually bad luck with them; out of 4 I've used, 1 delaminated after a month and another delaminated a few hours after I got the shaft from the manufacturer.
 
When I install a tip for my own personal use, I put a slight conical taper on it. After I apply a brown furniture marker to the edge I put a drop of Duro gel super glue on the edge and burnish it at high speed on the lathe. I've found that no matter what brand of tip, the above really helps prevent mushrooming.

When I install a tip for a customer I always ask if they want me to do the same for them and most everyone says yes, and they like the results.

I recommend burnishing the edge of the tip often. Dip you finger in water and then run your finger around the edge and then burnish it with a leather pad till it gets a nice high gloss shine.

As far as what's the best tip...there is no one best. It depends on what you like in terms of performance and feel. I like Triangle, they work well for me. OTOH, I love installing expensive high end tips (more $ for me)! Like they say...whatever floats your boat. :)

Fats
 
I think if you got a hard Sniper tip your would be killing two birds with one stone. First off, you would be trying something new, a hard tip, which you might love. Second off, Hard tips last longer than soft or med tips, plus its a Sniper soooo it prob would last a hecka long time.

Anyway, that mushrooming is nothing... My friends tip comes over the ferruel like 1/2 inch lol.:p It looks llike someone glued a penny on top. Its pretty funny.
 
Try a Sniper tip, but be sure to have a competent cue repair person or cue maker install it for you.
 
BillPorter said:
Try a Sniper tip, but be sure to have a competent cue repair person or cue maker install it for you.
Click to expand...

I totally agree with this. A cheap tip and a do-it-yourself installation makes as much sense as owning a Porsche and putting cheap tires on it. The tip is the single most important component affecting a cue's performance.

Yes, I know it's hard to mentally justify paying $25 - $30 for a quality tip professionally installed, but a quality tip will last so much longer, will mate properly, and will lessen the chance of damage to the ferrule.

I used to do my own tips but realized it was an inferior job compared to a professional.

Chris
 
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Thanks for all your responses thus far. They have really helped and I have decided to try a sniper tip and have it professionally installed. Hopefully it will gel with my game nicely and minimize the mushrooming effect.

I really think that not having the Moori professionally installed has something to do with it the mushrooming for sure. Had it been done propery I believe it wouldn't have been so bad. Maybe if it had been sealed on the sides of the tip?

Anyway, the sniper seems to be the recommendation amongst most of you who had responded so far so I will give it a whirl. Keep the responses coming and I will surely let you all know what I think of the sniper once I start playing with it.

Cheers,
Jim
 
Cuedog said:
After reading the type of tip you like, without reservation, I would highly recommend the SNIPER tip. Life will be good.

Let me know if I can help with the installation, providing a tip, or a recommendation of a competent cuemaker/cuerepairman in your area.

Gene
Click to expand...

Thanks brother, I'm taking you up on that offer. I need a good reliable professional that can do the job right.

Thanks again,
Jim
 
the only negative

The only negative I have heard about Sniper tips is that they may become much harder over time. Of course, just about all tips compressed and become harder over time. But the Sniper tips start out playing pretty soft (despite durometer results), so they may becomre harder than you like after a month or so. Mind you, this is NOT from personal experience, but from second-hand reports.
 
As far as I'm concerned, I'm just as happy with the new Kamui as I am with a Sniper. The only thing that causes me to lean a little more towards the Kamui is that compared to the Sniper, they're so much easier to install. Snipers in my opinion are the most difficult to install.
I do my own tips by hand, and a Sniper is a chore like cutting the grass or something that you put off for a day when you really have the time for it. The Kamui goes on, and shaves much cleaner and is easier to burnish.
dave
 
I tried a sniper and didnt care for it at all. I thought it was to soft and springy, and seemed to have no feel through the cue? Ive been shooting with a tiger m and love it so far, as said before, there all about consitency they all play very close, and ive had NO mushroming! Ive allso tried the kamui m and it has a "ping" every time i hit the ball. I know its not just my tip/cue, as i have talked to others with the same prob.???? Maybe its just the M, i seen that people with the S dont seem to have the same prob.
 
i've used moori (one of my favorite), talisman, tiger, triangle, kamui to name a few good tips but nothing beats a modified elkmaster soaked in milk and compressed...my last one lasted for months up to a year, it never mushroomed and not a dent from miscueing... it holds it tip curvature shape well... i still have stacks of moori left in my can but i'm now into this modified elkmaster tip. jst my 2cents
 
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BillPorter said:
The only negative I have heard about Sniper tips is that they may become much harder over time. Of course, just about all tips compressed and become harder over time. But the Sniper tips start out playing pretty soft (despite durometer results), so they may becomre harder than you like after a month or so. Mind you, this is NOT from personal experience, but from second-hand reports.
Click to expand...
With all do respect Mr. Porter, I wouldn't confuse the Soft "feel" they provide the player, with the durability. One reason the Sniper does not mushroom (or rarely mushrooms) is because of a process they use called Vaculam. It eliminates the air within the leather and between the layers.

Theoretically, if the air is eliminated in these key areas, and the tip is pressed properly along with choosing the right leather to start with, (boar's hide) you end up with a tip that is compacted prior to the first ball being hit. This seems to eliminate mushrooming, for the most part.

I'm no scientist. I can't break down the molecular structure for you. but what I do know is, I have installed literally hundreds of these tips with only about 5 to 10 failures. They are consistent to say the least.

As far as these tips being "soft and springy", I would have to say that is the first time I've heard them described that way. My guess is that Cueman86 either got a bad tip job where the installer inadvertently caused some delamination, or he may simply like firmer tip. Not disputing your judgement, just a guess.

Gene
 
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