Sniper tips

"Tink" sound in new tip

Hi All,

Tom linked me in to the thread. That "tink" sound as many have mentioned is caused by a small air pocket or small area under the tip or pad where glue is not present. I do all of my tip work on my 1200 pound metal lathe now, did it for years on a Porper until I realized that it wasn't facing the ferrule off dead flat. It did a pretty good job but "dead flat" is a whole different story. Since switching to the big lathe for tip work, the possibility of the "tick" sound is completely eliminated. Have your local cue repairman do your tip work on a metal lathe, the difference iin results is astounding!

Best,
Mike
 
I have 3 shafts with sniper tips, 1 installed by me and the other 2 by Jacoby. NONE has a tink sound, they have a softer 'thud' feel that I like.
I also have 2 shafts with Kamui tips that are definitely louder than the snipers. Hope this helps :)
 
gregoryg said:
I have installed quite few Sniper tips, all who got them, LOVE THEM! When I install any tip, I pre-press them with a vise, circumvents the mushrooming after hitting balls and gets rid of the break-in period. Just a way to make it easier on the customers, no changes from the beginning. Just make sure to break the glaze every few hours so the chalk grabs.[/QUOTE]

I have a relatively new Sniper tip and it does seem to "grow a hard glaze" on it. This is just my 3rd tip in my short-lived illustrious career :wink: and I hadn't seen this before. I figured it was best to hit it with a tip pik every once in a while, and it does seem to help.

And no funny noises either for me Mully. You surely gotta get that tip off - 'cause even if it's mental, it'll affect your game. BTW, I had a referral for the install - A sharp guy named David Bucholtz in High Point (D & D Cue Repair) - although his home base is H. Point, he tours @ the country with his trailored workshop. He did mine on his lathe in his basement. Never 'shroomed on me in the least.

Thanks to the posters for reinforcing the strong recommendation to get the best tippers to do your work on a lathe.
Click to expand...
 
Monto P2 said:
I Think the tip has not been pressed properly,If pressed properly they will never make tink sound.By the way how is your new case mully.I am also about to order one,my turn has come just not sure about the design yet:)
Click to expand...


I went to a different pool hall tonight, one with much better lighting away from the tables, and checked out my new tip. One side of the tip isn't glued down. There's the "tink" sound. Man, these tips are 15 bucks apiece over here and that one is down the toilet.
MULLY
glad I have one more
 
Pancerny said:
Hi All,

Tom linked me in to the thread. That "tink" sound as many have mentioned is caused by a small air pocket or small area under the tip or pad where glue is not present. I do all of my tip work on my 1200 pound metal lathe now, did it for years on a Porper until I realized that it wasn't facing the ferrule off dead flat. It did a pretty good job but "dead flat" is a whole different story. Since switching to the big lathe for tip work, the possibility of the "tick" sound is completely eliminated. Have your local cue repairman do your tip work on a metal lathe, the difference iin results is astounding!

Best,
Mike
Click to expand...

Yeah, it would be nice if there was someone around here that has a lathe but there is no one. To have it done on a lathe I'd have to send it somewhere and the shipping costs etc... just aren't worth it to me. I should have done the damn thing myself but it was 2 in the morning and I just wanted to get home so I asked him to do it while I waited.

Like I said, he does it by hand but he always does real good work. I've seen hundreds of his tip jobs and, not to toot my own horn, but I think I change tips really well and I approve of his work. If I didn't he wouldn't be touching my cues. This was just one miss out of many good jobs.
MULLY
 
Tip installation...

Sorry to hear your tip didn't get installed as well as it could have. At least it was only the tip not being glued right instead of something worse! Snipers seem to be very well received by all of the people I know that have tried them.
Just saw your subsequent post. I installed tips without a lathe for over twenty years, people all thought I had one because of the quality of the installation I did. Finally got a lathe, and now they are a lot simpler to install, a lot easier on the fingers too!
 
Last edited:
mullyman said:
Ok, so I picked up a couple of Sniper tips this weekend and had one put on the spare shaft of my SouthWest. The reason I did this is because my Scruggs came with, what I believe, are Sniper tips and it plays great so I thought I'd toss one on the old South and see.

Anyway, I had a guy put it on for me last night and when I went to hit a few balls with it I noticed 2 things. One, it's really soft. Is it going to harden up? The tips on my Scruggs aren't anything like this. Second, it's making a little "tink" sound when I hit a ball. It sounds like a tip sounds when the tip and ferrule have a spot of air between them. The guy that put it on said that's how they sound. He said they are expensive tips but the quality is basically shit. That sound is probably the layers smacking together. So, my question is this......are these things consistent with anyone else's experience with Sniper tips? Will it harden up and lose that sound or should I just give up now and go back to Moori?
MULLY
Click to expand...

It is possible that whomever installed it, ripped the lamination. A Sniper should not feeL soft, it is Medium/Hard.

Lightly push on the side of the tip and look for movement, if there is any movement, they jacked up the install.
 
Last edited:
Are we all talking about the exact same Sniper tip? Don't they make multiple hardness? (To me, mine feels medium hard, FWIW)
 
Sniper tips...

That's the beauty of Sniper tips, medium hard density with the grabbing power of a soft tip. Last way longer than a soft tip too.
 
KoolKat9Lives said:
Are we all talking about the exact same Sniper tip? Don't they make multiple hardness? (To me, mine feels medium hard, FWIW)
Click to expand...

they only come in one hardness
 
wet the tip during the install!

I've had Snipers on several shafts over the past two years. None made the sound you describe. Of course, you now know that the sound was caused by an improper install. Cue guys often hate to install Snipers because to do it right required wetting the tip, and re-wetting as required, to keep it moist as you trip and shape it. A local custom cue maker (Dick Neighbors) has installed all of the Snipers I have used and always wets them during the install. One other thing, I believe a tip can SOUND soft while being physically hard (as measured by a Durometer). For sure, Snipers have a muted sound, but they don't wear down or mushroom like a soft tip would.
 
Sniper Tips

I have been using Sniper tips exclusively for about 4 years now with great results. First have the tip taken down 20% when put on cue, now it plays like a broken in tip. Secondly never sand or use a scuffer on a sniper as the layers just rip off, this is what the tip pick is for it goes through the thin layers and allows chalk to accumilate in the picked holes within the tip and you have layers of chalk build up. It works for me.
 
scenario said:
I have been using Sniper tips exclusively for about 4 years now with great results. First have the tip taken down 20% when put on cue, now it plays like a broken in tip. Secondly never sand or use a scuffer on a sniper as the layers just rip off, this is what the tip pick is for it goes through the thin layers and allows chalk to accumilate in the picked holes within the tip and you have layers of chalk build up. It works for me.
Click to expand...
With all do respect, this advise is backwards. A tip pik should not be used on laminated tips because of the invasive nature of them. All that is needed to maintain a laminated tip is a scuffer to reshape it, and a tapper to remove glaze and rough it up to accept chalk.

Gene
 
mullyman said:
It was done by hand. This guy has changed tips for me quite a few times and I've always been happy with the work he does, but, I've changed a lot of tips in my life and I know there are times where it doesn't go on just right. I'm not questioning his ability to change the tip as much as I just think this one isn't on right.
MULLY
Click to expand...
Looks like you were right Mully. I wasn't questioning your guy's abilities either. If someone installs tips on a regular basis, there is bound to be a couple out of a couple of hundred that don't take. Glad this was a simple fix.

Gene
 
mullyman said:
Ok, so I picked up a couple of Sniper tips this weekend and had one put on the spare shaft of my SouthWest. The reason I did this is because my Scruggs came with, what I believe, are Sniper tips and it plays great so I thought I'd toss one on the old South and see.

Anyway, I had a guy put it on for me last night and when I went to hit a few balls with it I noticed 2 things. One, it's really soft. Is it going to harden up? The tips on my Scruggs aren't anything like this. Second, it's making a little "tink" sound when I hit a ball. It sounds like a tip sounds when the tip and ferrule have a spot of air between them. The guy that put it on said that's how they sound. He said they are expensive tips but the quality is basically shit. That sound is probably the layers smacking together. So, my question is this......are these things consistent with anyone else's experience with Sniper tips? Will it harden up and lose that sound or should I just give up now and go back to Moori?
MULLY
Click to expand...

The sound could be a delamination in progress (glue between layers failing), which sounds the same as an air pocket created during a bad installation - it's pretty much the same thing at a different location.

If so you'll eventually lose part or all of the tip.

I don't know Snipers, but have been through both problems with other layered tips.

pj
chgo
 
snipers are the nuts, but like with every kind of tip once and a while you just get a crap one.

Ben
 
Cuedog said:
Looks like you were right Mully. I wasn't questioning your guy's abilities either. If someone installs tips on a regular basis, there is bound to be a couple out of a couple of hundred that don't take. Glad this was a simple fix.

Gene
Click to expand...

From my experience, a tip installer that has been doing them for a long, long time can be a little stubborn about altering/modifying/improving their technique to install a Sniper. Laminated tips, especially Snipers, are more sensitive to trimming/installing. Ya gotta be gentle with them ;)

With regard to the nature of Sniper leather, it is a must to use freshy sharpened blades, moisten the sides and top of the tip to trim/shape, and do this on a lathe. No hand trimming!
 
sniper

Patrick Johnson said:
The sound could be a delamination in progress (glue between layers failing), which sounds the same as an air pocket created during a bad installation - it's pretty much the same thing at a different location.

If so you'll eventually lose part or all of the tip.

I don't know Snipers, but have been through both problems with other layered tips.

pj
chgo
Click to expand...
Hi Mully. I just put a brand new sniper tip on my southwest. And my shaft sounded exactly like what you told. The above quote is exactly what happened. Fortunately i had ordered 2 tips from seybert's .after i change to second tip it sounded perfect. I called seybert's to ask and they said this is common with sniper tips.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top