tips

whammo57

whammo57

Kim Walker
Silver Member
well I keep hearing about tapping, picking, scuffing, etc..................... if you have to do anything like this to your tip.......... you don't have a quality tip or you don't understand how tips work...................................... if you have a good quality tip..............and it is installed correctly........... you should only need to wipe it clean every few days with 220 sand paper.....................
 
I never do anything to my tip except shape it up and play with it till it needs shaping again then I use sandpaper to shape it up a little and go back to playing. Of course if it’s a new tip I might have to put it on the lathe to trim it a little but after that it’s only gets touched to shape it up. I do own a cue cube but I have no clue where it’s even at.
 
I admittedly never thought about sandpapering the surface of my tip
tho I seem to do ok with my last4ever tip tool, I will try it sometime
 
if you have a quality tip, the most important is to burnish it once in a while, not every day. this will keep the dome shape close to its original shape. if you study the chalk mark your tip leaves on the cue ball you will see when the diameter gets larger, you will need to reshape slightly. your tip should last years of everage play time. i get 5 years out of kamui medium, and i play 6 hours on sat. and sunday, every week.
 
most amateurs fart and fool around with a good tip, well before it is broken in. then they proceed to manicure and shape it untill it us too thin to even use. what a waste of money, with no result. most amateures go through all this tip maintenance , well before thy even can hit the cue ball in the middle.
 
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I use the chalk to keep my water buffalo tip tuned up. The abrasion of the chalk is sufficient to keep it in playing shape once it's the way I want it. Burnishing the outside with a $20 bill keeps it smooth and glistening.(just to remind the tip what we're after) Has never wanted to mushroom for me. Perhaps it's my 18 mph break.😉
 
220 Sandpaper is good to scuff, some people but tool and can not leave Tip alien until they destroy.

If you use a lot of side spin, you can fell the Tip start to slip when it need micro attention with 220.

Jmho
 
whammo57 said:
well I keep hearing about tapping, picking, scuffing, etc..................... if you have to do anything like this to your tip.......... you don't have a quality tip or you don't understand how tips work...................................... if you have a good quality tip..............and it is installed correctly........... you should only need to wipe it clean every few days with 220 sand paper.....................
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Days !?!

I typically go a month or more between diddling with the tip.

Also Note: Finger Nail files (the sandpaper ones) make excellent tip shaping tools.
 
Another view:

I Tip Pik my Ultraskin hard layered tip every day before playing, and never touch it with sandpaper except very occasional minor edge rounding. Daily picking doesn't hurt or wear down the tip. They still need to be replaced after several months to a year, but mostly because they compress over time.

pj
chgo
 
stunshotDAVE said:
you know how to properly maintain a tip.
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Yes, I like a nicely profiled dime shaped tip on my play cue and a nickel on my break cue.

Perhaps it is because I play with a hard tip (82 on the durometer) and break with an extra hard tip (88+ on the durometer).
 
MitchAlsup said:
Yes, I like a nicely profiled dime shaped tip on my play cue and a nickel on my break cue.

Perhaps it is because I play with a hard tip (82 on the durometer) and break with an extra hard tip (88+ on the durometer).
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Under the tutelage of Cole, I break with what I shoot with. Can't justify more velocity over more accurate. Shooter with precision strike will get it done.
 
I think your mileage may vary significantly with how soft/hard your tip is and what your experience/wisdom is.

I used to love the cushy hit of a Le Pro but they were mushrooming on me at a rate that had me constantly burnishing, shaping, scuffing, etc. I was trying everything because I was at the mercy of a high maintenance tip and really was not knowing what I was doing.

I also was just trying to compensate for a bad stroke and preshot routine. I’d shoot well and then miscue and suddenly feel like I needed to work my tip. God forbid I just chalk up and do better next time. No, I had to work away at it.

Now my fundamentals are better. I miscue less due to technique. I enjoy a nice stable medium layered tip. And all I do is wait until the next time I am at a major regional tournament (once every 3-6 months) and have the local on-site cue mechanic take a razor blade to it on the lathe to make it fresh.
 
whammo57 said:
well I keep hearing about tapping, picking, scuffing, etc..................... if you have to do anything like this to your tip.......... you don't have a quality tip or you don't understand how tips work...................................... if you have a good quality tip..............and it is installed correctly........... you should only need to wipe it clean every few days with 220 sand paper.....................
Click to expand...
Wouldn't wiping the tip with sandpaper be considered scuffing?
 
whammo57 said:
well I keep hearing about tapping, picking, scuffing, etc..................... if you have to do anything like this to your tip.......... you don't have a quality tip or you don't understand how tips work...................................... if you have a good quality tip..............and it is installed correctly........... you should only need to wipe it clean every few days with 220 sand paper.....................
Click to expand...

I don't even do that. Someone asked me how often I shape or scuff my tip, I thought about it, and said "well really never unless I actually feel I need to". Never do it as part of a regular thing. It's like the question about how often to replace cloth or the balls, when you need to do it, you will know it.
 
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