Pressing LePro Tips?

[Jennica]

Hi, in the "You have to read this....." thread someone said they pressed LePro tips. I don't understand what this means (sorry, I'm a newbie at this). How would you do this, why do this, and what effect would it have? Thank you. Jenn

 

[pooltablemech]

I made a little collet type thing that the tip fits in. Then press it in a vise............In the thing I made, it doesn't just flaten it. It flatens it but keeps the same Diameter. Instead of just squishing it flat. The reason I do it is because it doesn't mushroom out as bad when you play with it. And it makes it alittle harder........IMO!

 

[jayz]

I have used LePro tips over the years and have sometimes gotten tips that are too soft for my taste. Unfortunately they are not all uniform in hardness and I don’t think any brand is, but some brands are better than others. I now use TAD cue tips and have found his tips to be more consistent. The TAD tips that are labeled “hard” and “medium hard” have been playable immediately (without that breaking in period) and they have not mushroomed. I find I have more feel applying English and it “grabs” better with a hard tip, but the trade-off is the occasional miscue if you forget to run a file over the edge of the tip periodically.

Compressing a tip in a compressor (a special tool made for compressing tips) will harden the tip but caution is advised on the amount of torque and the length of time it is left in the compressor because there is hard, and there is too hard.

I have been told there are some Filipino players who use Elk Master tips (a softer tip) after soaking it in milk and then compressing it. I don’t know the specifics of why or how long but I'm guesiing it may have something to do with chalk adherence (milk soaking) as I suspect the tip is fairly hard after that process. I don’t know of any good players who prefer a soft tip.

 

[dr. Jun Villon]

I put my own tips. Le pro seems to be my favorite tip because its cheaper and plays well. I dont like the idea of pressing tips. IMO, if you press the center, you are putting mass on it, since the original shape of the tip is semicircular, It is common sense that if you flatten the tip by pressing it, there is more mass at the center and there is least mass on the sides. Then after putting this flat tip on and shaping it, IMO, you will have a very hard center and a soft side. Talk about inconsistency in a tip! How often does a player hit the ball dead center on his tip?

 

[dr. Jun Villon]

With this tip, you try then hitting the ball low, the side of the tip impacts the cue ball more than the center of the tip. what happens? Its not pool anymore, its now GOLF!

 

[jayz]

I put my own tips. Le pro seems to be my favorite tip because its cheaper and plays well. I dont like the idea of pressing tips. IMO, if you press the center, you are putting mass on it, since the original shape of the tip is semicircular, It is common sense that if you flatten the tip by pressing it, there is more mass at the center and there is least mass on the sides. Then after putting this flat tip on and shaping it, IMO, you will have a very hard center and a soft side. Talk about inconsistency in a tip! How often does a player hit the ball dead center on his tip?

Compressing a tip in a compressor (a special tool made for compressing tips) will harden the tip but caution is advised on the amount of torque and the length of time it is left in the compressor because there is hard, and there is too hard. The tool has a steel concave top section and a flat bottom steel section which compresses the tip uniformly. However, with the inconsistencies in the hardness of tips to begin with, compressing a hard tip may result in a tip too hard. Years ago, I dropped tips held a few inches above a table top and listened to the sound as they hit the table to determine which one was the hardest. There is a discernable difference in the sound. That may sound excessive to some, but back then if the breaking in period of a new tip took too long or never attained the hardness I desired, that may be the difference in winning or losing my money.

I have played with a tip that looked good on the outside, but through its performance and the feedback in sound I got when I hit a ball, decided to change it. When it was removed, it broke open and came apart (LePro). Having said that, I have played with LePro tips for years with good results. A tip with air pockets or defects inside may look okay outwardly, but a good player can tell the difference in playing characteristics. After a normal breaking in period, a hard tip should have a sharp edge on it.

I'm sure there are other pool players who are just as meticulous when it comes to their tip preferences.

 

[halhoule]

Re: Re: Pressing LePro Tips?

Plato responds sir: You take a small piece of wood, take a large drill bit and bore a hole in the wood so a small metal ball bering, the size of a small marble sinks half way down inside the hole, seal it with super glue. Take a vise, put the wood in the vice and put the tip on the ball bering, then close the vice, the bering presses down into the middle of the tip like a l/l6th of an inch making the center of the tip now very hard.

PERSONALLY I PREFER USING A "BALL BEARING."