L.S. Dennis
Well-known member
I used to press my Le Pro tips in a vice before installing them and shaping them, not sure I'd want to try it with a layered tip though.
Pressing cue tips
- Thread starter gbs52
- Start date
Ah....I've done that and I guess that explains the condescending look from the tasting room staff...
I'm going to go against my better judgement and explain why it's a terrible idea to press layered tips and why people are not loving your suggestion.
1. Pressing tips is normally preceded by soaking, often in hot liquid like milk or sometimes water. For a tip consisting of several layers of skin glued together, I think you'll agree soaking it in hot liquid isn't a good idea.
2. Most high performance layered tips are made with pig skin, which is softer and more elastic than other alternatives. That was the reason why layered tips were invented in the first place. Making a single layer tip of pig skin that lasts is not easily done, so layering was invented in order to make it possible. If you COULD compact the pig skin by pressing it, you would destroy the good qualities of it. I don't think that is necessarily the first thing that happens when you press it, though. You'll also find layered tips made out of other kinds of skin, such as water buffalo. Typically these tips are cheaper and harder. It's pointless to ruin an expensive tip when you can buy a cheap water buffalo layered tip that would be exactly what you wanted. It's nonsensical at best.
3. For a single layer tip, pressing it will make it harder, cut down on mushrooming and stabilize the hardness. Breaking in a LePro for example, will often involve having the hardness change drastically, having to trim down mushrooming and constantly reshaping it. Pressing it will bypass this to a large extent, giving you a consistent and durable tip from the start. For a perfomance layered tip, the best time is when it's new. There will be some mushrooming, but the tip will be grabby, holding onto chalk like there is no tomorrow. It will feel springy and lively. After a while it will start to glaze, harden in some spots more than others, maybe even delaminate. Usually, though it will just start to feel increasingly "dead" and need more scuffing to hold chalk. The "break in" period is in fact the best period of such a tip. Trying to bypass it is just silly. If you don't care about tip life so much, a way to get a layered tip less springy (if that is what you prefer), is to remove some layers, making the tip thinner. It will last shorter, but you won't compromise the integrity of it, and it will be more compact and less mushy, while still retaining chalk. OR YOU COULD JUST BUY A HARDER TIP! I don't get why you won't do that?
4. Pressing the tip may break the glue bond between layers and cause delamination. IMO it might also cause "glazing" or spot hardening, which will both destroy chalk adhesion and cause miscues.
5. The whole idea of a layered tip (other than the pig skin thing) is also that they are consistent. Many layers of skin sort of "averages" out the hardness and you get less variability from tip to tip, as long as it's a quality brand. Trying to influence the hardness is not only more difficult but also entirely silly, as you have 1000 brands to chose from and finding one that suits you should be a piece of cake. Not only that, but once you found it, the next one you buy will likely be close to identical. Instead you want to buy one unsuited to your needs and spend money and time on changing it, no doubt giving less consistent results than a factory would? That could make sense with a tip costing a few cents made at a factory with poor quality control, less when it costs 30 dollars and supervised by experts.
As for rude responses, try going on a mechanics forum and ask why you can't replace your brake pads with liquorice, or on a dentists forum and ask if it's a good idea to DIY dentistry on yourself with a dremel and and an inspection mirror. I bet the responses won't all be polite.
Last edited by a moderator:
Why are you trying to change what the manufacturer makes. i suspect they
know more about making a tip than pool players do.
Every tip I’ve ever used has gotten harder with more use. I’m not saying press them or not but I haven’t found one that’s consistent from beginning to end. What do you think happens after 10 shots, 100 shots or a 1,000 shots? The tip compresses! Im going to put a layered tip in a vice an see what happens. I’ll get back here in a week or so.
Yes, all tips get harder with use. You could compress a layered tip, probably. BUT there is no real upside to it, while it may wreck the tip completely.
There are 1 million hard layered tips. Many of them are cheap, as a grippy, elastic tip that lasts is much harder to make than something dead and wood-like. Many of these tips can be had for single layer tip prices. I only play with pressed LePros these days, but back when I used layered tips, the very last thing I'd do is press them. Hard layered tips are a dime a dozen.
Thanks for all the info. I appreciate it.
As the question asked. Is this something anyone does? Or is this not a good thing as will it damage the layered bond?
I saw on this site where someone said they compressed their layered tips from 8mm to 6mm. So it got my curiosity up. Went back trying to find that thread but couldn’t. As many are just curious not that I intended to do anything.
Never had a problem pressing layered tips. I only do it if they are known for mushrooming. Most layered tips barely bulge instead of mushrooming, so I find it not needed. It changes the way the tip plays. But the tip will play like that in a month or so anyway so pressing speeds up the process and cuts down on the side bulging out. Just don't over do it with to much pressure and a few seconds is all it takes. Leaving over night in a vise does very little.
Flakeandrun
Well-known member
I press single-layered tips, which I use for snooker only.
Layered tips I trim, but don't press. But then I'm playing with Hard rated tips for pool related games to begin with.
cue components offers a pressed and milk-soaked elk master tip-
Non layered.
really nice tip too.
"I did try to press a layered tip-
but didnt play good at all.
If you like layered tips
TOM HAY- ULTRA SKIN BLACK-
EXCELLENT QUALITY AND SERVICE.
Tips play great -INSTALLED-NO BREAK-IN REQUIRED!
Why roll the dice like that? These guys want to press a tip then go knock yourselves out. You'll have ZERO consistency. Press five tips and they will all be different. Ultraskins come in REALLY soft(ProSoft) to REALLY hard(HH) and everything in between and they are VERY consistent. Price: THREE bux. Go ahead and fk up a $20 tip.