Aloha all,
I used to work in a pool hall as a kid and one of my jobs was to help repair some of the cues that people abused. For the life of me, I can't ONCE remember EVER abusing a cue...even if I missed a high-dollar ball in a money game while I was drunk (but that is irrelavent to this story). One of the most frequent abuses was to bang the butt of the cue so hard on the concrete floor that the tip came flying off. I think part of the reason the tips came off was caused by the lack of "care" used when the tip was replaced and maybe glues which weren't as good as today.
Back in the "day", most pool halls didn't have fancy lathes and stuff to fix their stuff, so most of the "easier" repairs were done by HAND.
I had a "professional", with a lathe, put the previous tip (Le Pro) on this cue and it stayed on for a couple years, even though I was using it only as a break cue. Before it came off, I had already planned to change it because I wanted a bit more "ping" off the cue tip. I'd heard that White Diamond tips increases break speed by a few MPH and wanted to see if that is correct.
That all said, I sat down yesterday at the dining room table, while watching TV, and put a "few" minutes into putting on the White Diamond with my "tools".
- Fingers
- Glue
- Bit of sand paper (different grades)
- Emory board
- Masking tape
- Razor knife (did I mention my blade was dull?)
- Magic Eraser
It took a bit longer than I expected because my razor wasn't the sharpest and the White Diamond tip is one HARD SOB (compared to what I've ever used). All said, it was an easy job and I got to practice my "whittling" skills some more.
I took a picture to show my fancy setup in case anybody needs some learning. I hope this tip stays on...I read up on it AFTER I put it on and it seems that White Diamonds may have a tendency to pop off if not put on just "right" with the "right" type of glue. I sanded and scored the tip and ferrule and used Super Glue, so I hope it holds up.
I haven't "manicured" the tip yet, so you may see a bit of glue (look at my fingers) that needs tidying up. I didn't take a "final" picture because the battery on my cell phone was low, but I can assure you it looks "as good as, or better", than any "professional" job.
Did I say the White Diamond is one HARD SOB yet? It was a 14mm and I cut it down to 13mm with the razor. I will try it out this weekend when I get a chance to play again.
As soon as I buy some new razor blades, I'm going to put a TNT PRO on my old A.E. Schmidt Titlist cue to give it a test. I've never tried cutting a "softer" layered tip by hand, but I'm sure I can handle it.
If I ever buy some sort of "machine" to help me out, I may become DANGEROUS. I've managed to keep all my fingers (you can count them in the picture) doing it the "old school" way.
Rack 'em up!
I used to work in a pool hall as a kid and one of my jobs was to help repair some of the cues that people abused. For the life of me, I can't ONCE remember EVER abusing a cue...even if I missed a high-dollar ball in a money game while I was drunk (but that is irrelavent to this story). One of the most frequent abuses was to bang the butt of the cue so hard on the concrete floor that the tip came flying off. I think part of the reason the tips came off was caused by the lack of "care" used when the tip was replaced and maybe glues which weren't as good as today.
Back in the "day", most pool halls didn't have fancy lathes and stuff to fix their stuff, so most of the "easier" repairs were done by HAND.
I had a "professional", with a lathe, put the previous tip (Le Pro) on this cue and it stayed on for a couple years, even though I was using it only as a break cue. Before it came off, I had already planned to change it because I wanted a bit more "ping" off the cue tip. I'd heard that White Diamond tips increases break speed by a few MPH and wanted to see if that is correct.
That all said, I sat down yesterday at the dining room table, while watching TV, and put a "few" minutes into putting on the White Diamond with my "tools".
- Fingers
- Glue
- Bit of sand paper (different grades)
- Emory board
- Masking tape
- Razor knife (did I mention my blade was dull?)
- Magic Eraser
It took a bit longer than I expected because my razor wasn't the sharpest and the White Diamond tip is one HARD SOB (compared to what I've ever used). All said, it was an easy job and I got to practice my "whittling" skills some more.
I took a picture to show my fancy setup in case anybody needs some learning. I hope this tip stays on...I read up on it AFTER I put it on and it seems that White Diamonds may have a tendency to pop off if not put on just "right" with the "right" type of glue. I sanded and scored the tip and ferrule and used Super Glue, so I hope it holds up.
I haven't "manicured" the tip yet, so you may see a bit of glue (look at my fingers) that needs tidying up. I didn't take a "final" picture because the battery on my cell phone was low, but I can assure you it looks "as good as, or better", than any "professional" job.
Did I say the White Diamond is one HARD SOB yet? It was a 14mm and I cut it down to 13mm with the razor. I will try it out this weekend when I get a chance to play again.
As soon as I buy some new razor blades, I'm going to put a TNT PRO on my old A.E. Schmidt Titlist cue to give it a test. I've never tried cutting a "softer" layered tip by hand, but I'm sure I can handle it.
If I ever buy some sort of "machine" to help me out, I may become DANGEROUS. I've managed to keep all my fingers (you can count them in the picture) doing it the "old school" way.
Rack 'em up!
