Making milkdud tips

I'm sure PoolDawg8 has the recipe. You could try asking him or do a google search.
 
Yep, Dawg has it down pretty well, altho, I believe he has his special way of doing them and doubt that he will tell.

I have used both Le Pro and a Triangle as they are also a single layered tip. They make a good hard tip or for breaking.

Most use an Elk Master.

Soak in Milk for approx 24 hrs. I have tried heating the tips and milk in the micro wave to speed up the process but you have to be careful not to heat them too much as they will mess up on you real quick.

Best to take your time.

Before I had a couple of the Piccone Presses, (well worth the money BTW), I used a small smooth jawed hobby vice.

I use a C Clamp with the presses.

It takes a bit of guess work if you are using a press as you can't see exactly how much you press the tip.

With the hobby vice, you can see.

You should have a cheap set of calipers anyway. I believe the desired thickness is .180.

I take them out of the press, maybe they are still a little wet and let them air dry for another 24hrs.

Mine are decent but not consistent so usually have a supply of Dawgs Duds in the tool box anyway. They are cheap and last a long time.

I have had them on for over a year, but considering that they are so inexpensive and even cheaper when you make them yourself, I will change them out every 4 to 6 months anyway.

I will ask Joey for his thickness guide. .180 is the desired thickness but you can press them a little more and or not as much for a softer tip.

I use 2% milk but have read where people have used other concoctions like Elmers Glue with the milk etc.

If you use Chocolate milk they do not turn black like a Kamui.

I was going to try Beer some time, but don't like wasting good beer.

Nope, pretty simple.

I believe that you can still buy Joe Piccone presses on EBay. If not, I think Joe has a web site that you can Google.

For the price of one press, you can have a lot of fun with it.

I still have one of Dawg's Duds on. That one has probably been one for well over a year and other than maybe the odd scuff, never have to worry about a mushroom or having to re shape them.

You can but a box of Elk Masters for cheap, so if you blow a few up, it won't hurt your feelings.

I have a few times pressed them too hard. I just re soaked and re pressed them.

Also do a Search for Milk Duds on AZ. There has to be a ton of threads and you might get a few different suggestions.
 
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Do the tips expand in width when you soak them?

In other words, if I were to use a 14mm ID pipe, closed at one end and threaded for a 14mm threaded rod at the other end...would the tip expand so that I couldn't fit it in the pipe?

Or, is this not a good idea? Just press it in a open vice and let the sides expand?
 
Not so much.

If you're using a Piccone press, you do have to push them in as it can be a tight squeeze. But designed to compress them down and not outward.
 
Do the tips expand in width when you soak them?

In other words, if I were to use a 14mm ID pipe, closed at one end and threaded for a 14mm threaded rod at the other end...would the tip expand so that I couldn't fit it in the pipe?

Or, is this not a good idea? Just press it in a open vice and let the sides expand?

14 mm tips are aprox 14.25mm... usually.

Dale
 
can be fun to play with if you like to tinker

Making your own milk duds is cheap and interesting to tinker with if you like to play around with things.

I have used whole milk or cream, couldn't tell the difference. Warm milk or room temperature, again no difference I could tell. I use milk dudding to make my tips more stable, I don't like them hard so I compress them back down to stock height or a little less, I forget what that is now.

A little advice concerns tip selection. Single layer tips in general and Elkmasters in particular are cheap enough that I prefer to cull them. I measure height just as a quick check, they are usually pretty consistent. Then I weigh them. Weight varies a great deal. In my last box of fifty I got three or four that were very light, about six or seven that were light, and all but three or four of the rest clustered tight around two medium weights. The ones that were very close to the same are the ones I dudded. Three or four tips were very heavy and I wanted to try them both plain and after dudding them but never got around to it.

I feel like the dudded tips are at least as good as layered tips and superior in some ways. A good single layer tip is good for most of the thickness, I haven't always found that true of layered tips.

Hu
 
Yep, Dawg has it down pretty well, altho, I believe he has his special way of doing them and doubt that he will tell.

I have used both Le Pro and a Triangle as they are also a single layered tip. They make a good hard tip or for breaking.

Most use an Elk Master.

Soak in Milk for approx 24 hrs. I have tried heating the tips and milk in the micro wave to speed up the process but you have to be careful not to heat them too much as they will mess up on you real quick.

Best to take your time.

Before I had a couple of the Piccone Presses, (well worth the money BTW), I used a small smooth jawed hobby vice.

I use a C Clamp with the presses.

It takes a bit of guess work if you are using a press as you can't see exactly how much you press the tip.

With the hobby vice, you can see.

You should have a cheap set of calipers anyway. I believe the desired thickness is .180.

I take them out of the press, maybe they are still a little wet and let them air dry for another 24hrs.

Mine are decent but not consistent so usually have a supply of Dawgs Duds in the tool box anyway. They are cheap and last a long time.

I have had them on for over a year, but considering that they are so inexpensive and even cheaper when you make them yourself, I will change them out every 4 to 6 months anyway.

I will ask Joey for his thickness guide. .180 is the desired thickness but you can press them a little more and or not as much for a softer tip.

I use 2% milk but have read where people have used other concoctions like Elmers Glue with the milk etc.

If you use Chocolate milk they do not turn black like a Kamui.

I was going to try Beer some time, but don't like wasting good beer.

Nope, pretty simple.

I believe that you can still buy Joe Piccone presses on EBay. If not, I think Joe has a web site that you can Google.

For the price of one press, you can have a lot of fun with it.

I still have one of Dawg's Duds on. That one has probably been one for well over a year and other than maybe the odd scuff, never have to worry about a mushroom or having to re shape them.

You can but a box of Elk Masters for cheap, so if you blow a few up, it won't hurt your feelings.

I have a few times pressed them too hard. I just re soaked and re pressed them.

Also do a Search for Milk Duds on AZ. There has to be a ton of threads and you might get a few different suggestions.
If you don't want to waste good beer soak them in Coors Light:wink:
 
I just put a 3/16 or 5/32 steel bit in the vise jaws and squeeze the soaked tips to that size. Very consistent! I also use 15mm triangles in whole milk.
 
I would like to thank everyone for the great advice, I am going to try it out, I will keep you posted how well I did or how I screw up.
 
You won't mess anything up. Don't worry about it, its called Tinkering Around. BTW. How are you planning on pressing them for your first try?

If you don't want to waste good beer soak them in Coors Light

Hahaha. Training Beer.

I'm talking Molson Canadian Buddy. The Real King of Beers.

At one time, I was going to try Breast Milk but couldn't find enuff donors. I got kicked out of the Maternity Ward at the Hospital.
 
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You won't mess anything up. Don't worry about it, its called Tinkering Around. BTW. How are you planning on pressing them for your first try?



Hahaha. Training Beer.

I'm talking Molson Canadian Buddy. The Real King of Beers.

At one time, I was going to try Breast Milk but couldn't find enuff donors. I got kicked out of the Maternity Ward at the Hospital.

This is how my day should start. Nice to laugh first thing thing in the morning:smile:
 
I have tried a few different methods to see what works for me and how much spin / grip I can get compared to a laminated tip.

The video at the bottom shows a Polish snooker player using one for the first time with very good results so I can't be far off the right shape. Am trying a harder batch now as he prefers that sort of feel.

Milk Duds

Since this article I have been trying different ways to compress Elks so I don;t have to do them one at a time but that's another story!

Interesting topic though.
 
Just out of curiosity, having never used an Elkmaster or a milk dud, what does the soaking and pressing do for the tip to make it better?
 
I've been soaking them in milk or half/half, letting them dry, then pressing with a heavy c-clamp.
 
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