Video I just made: "How to replace/install a cue tip yourself"

arnaldo

arnaldo

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Video I just made: "How to replace/install a cue tip yourself" (all links work now)

(Updated -- ALL LINKS WORK NOW.)

Yesterday I uploaded to youtube a strictly not-for-profit, 24-minute home video instructional I made for all the players in our local community’s Billiards Club. Many had asked me to teach them a DIY way to replace their own tips. The majority of them play with moderate- to medium-priced production cues.

Link to my Youtube video (How to replace/install a cue tip yourself):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UHlJUye9zI&feature=youtu.be

Link to the printable instructions: http://tinyurl.com/pkqlssz

Link to a photo of the free loaner kit I fabricated/assembled for the Club: http://tinyurl.com/mgcxcjl

(One of my wife’s very sturdy (Imelda Marcos-like) shoeboxes became a perfect housing for the kit.) I milled a piece of ¾ MDF to provide slots for the tools, and set that on some firm 2-inch insulation Styrofoam as sub-base riser.

The video; the printed instructions; and the complete loaner kit enable all our local players to readily achieve a very solid and professional result at home. Full instructions are also contained within the kit as to the use of its simple tools for easy tip replacement.

The instructions also include details of how the players can easily order tips online from a variety of vendors (with free shipping) then conveniently receive any choice of layered or single-layer tips in their mailbox, generally within 3 days.

Btw, due to a very compact workbench lighting setup (a drafting table fluorescent), for this demonstration camcording instead of a full-length shaft I used only a foot-long shaft & ferrule portion of one of the old garage sale house cues I bought many years ago for a dollar each.

Using only the 2” by 2.7” camcorder view screen as a monitor (while simultaneously voicing the instructions) presented minor difficulties in always have my moving hands and the kit’s tools somewhat professionally centered on the screen but I'm generally pleased with the usefullness of the resulting solo-produced video.

-- While thin instant glue (rather than gel version) is my general preference, I readily acknowledge that some compositions of cue tips and ferrules (ones I haven't used) reportedly do glue together better with the thicker (gel) version – mostly for chemical rather than mechanical reasons. That said, I've personally never had a thin-liquid-glued, double-primed tip pop off or come loose.

-- I know that pencil sharpener-type devices to trim tip overhang flush to ferrule do exist, but unless used with a lot of caution they do pose the risk of biting far enough into any tip to instantly destroy it.

-- As you’ll easily hear during the tip-overhang trimming with the razor-sharp utility knife’s blade, the excessive thumping sound on every stroke is the result of the hollow-core door which was my makeshift worktable (atop my table saw) for camcording purposes.

-- To preclude any slick magazine slippage (as seen on the video) during tip overhang trimming, I’ll definitely now provide our billiards club members with a few sheets of heavy cardboard (framers’ mat board) whenever they borrow the DIY cue tip replacement kit. Most folks possibly wouldn’t have that type of cardboard at hand, which is why I demo-ed the trimming with commonly available old magazines.

Arnaldo (“R.C.” youtuber)
 
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Using a dollar bill and spit to burnish your tip is where you lost me...

Scrap leather or even a leather belt will yield better results that a dollar bill. Not to mention you practically just spit on a dollar bill.
 
That is a very good video. You do it old-school, just like me.

It takes a bit of time and some TLC, but if you do it right it comes out just fine.

The only thing people have to remind themselves is not to RUSH...especially when applying the glue and using the razor knife. I've hurried things before and would up with glue on my fingers and elsewhere that I had to clean up later. And razor knifes are very sharp and will take a slice out of your ferrule (and your finger) if you aren't paying attention. Take things slow and easy.
 
HawaiianEye said:
That is a very good video. You do it old-school, just like me.

It takes a bit of time and some TLC, but if you do it right it comes out just fine.

The only thing people have to remind themselves is not to RUSH...especially when applying the glue and using the razor knife. I've hurried things before and would up with glue on my fingers and elsewhere that I had to clean up later. And razor knifes are very sharp and will take a slice out of your ferrule (and your finger) if you aren't paying attention. Take things slow and easy.
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Thanks for your reply Hawaiian. Completely agree with you about not rushing. I was especially mindful of not making the process edited, demonstrated, or "narrated" in any manner that made it seem a rush-able procedure, so that first-time tip installers (meaning virtually all of the Club's players) fully understood each step, and most important -- would have an excellent, safe and encouraging tip installation result.

And a secondary thanks for allowing me to happily infer that the video link is fully functional now with the insertion of the (security) "s" after the http letters.

Arnaldo
 
I do not recomend using a file, when replacing a cue tip.
Take a razor blade and hold it agains the ferrule and cut the tip flush with the ferrule at an angle.
Use 1200 and 2000 grit sandpaper to tidy up any imperfections, apply bees wax on the side of the tip and burnish with paper or leather.
 
Kim Bye said:
I do not recomend using a file, when replacing a cue tip.
Take a razor blade and hold it agains the ferrule and cut the tip flush with the ferrule at an angle.
Use 1200 and 2000 grit sandpaper to tidy up any imperfections, apply bees wax on the side of the tip and burnish with paper or leather.
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Kim: If you should ever helpfully make a video on the tip installation subject (or write instructions on the subject) intended to tutor first-time installers, do not *ever* convey to them that they should handle a razor blade in that manner!

Fine for your (I'd assume) very experienced hands, but inhumane and senseless for inexperienced ones. Not to mention the considerable potential for legal liability.

I think I correctly infer that your post speaks of a handle-less, single-edge razor blade -- which is what you'd likely demonstrate and narrate about in your hypothetical video and which your written instruction as posted here would predictably convey to a reader . . . very likely resulting in injury to themselves.

Arnaldo
 
arnaldo said:
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Kim: If you should ever helpfully make a video on the tip installation subject (or write instructions on the subject) intended to tutor first-time installers, do not *ever* convey to them that they should handle a razor blade in that manner!

Fine for your (I'd assume) very experienced hands, but inhumane and senseless for inexperienced ones. Not to mention the considerable potential for legal liability.

I think I correctly infer that your post speaks of a handle-less, single-edge razor blade -- which is what you'd likely demonstrate and narrate about in your hypothetical video and which your written instruction as posted here would predictably convey to a reader . . . very likely resulting in injury to themselves.

Arnaldo
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You can use the one on an x-acto knife if you want. Just make sure you have the blade far enough out, so that the handle don`t interfere with the tip ferrule.
Using a box cutter razor blade is fine too, but as you say, be carefull!
The best solution is to buy one of these:
M309011a.jpg

It`s called a Kiridashi kogetana and it`s perfect for the job.

Check out this thread: http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=365580&page=3

You can see some tips i`ve done and the tools I use.
 
Kim Bye said:
You can use the one on an x-acto knife if you want. Just make sure you have the blade far enough out, so that the handle don`t interfere with the tip ferrule.
Using a box cutter razor blade is fine too, but as you say, be carefull!
The best solution is to buy one of these:
M309011a.jpg

It`s called a Kiridashi kogetana and it`s perfect for the job.

Check out this thread: http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=365580&page=3

You can see some tips i`ve done and the tools I use.
Click to expand...

Any chisel ground blade will work and can be found relatively easier than looking for a Kiridashi.
 
If a complete beginner is your target audience I would definately NOT recommend the "double priming" method. You are nearly guaranteed (at least a newcomer is) to get a very uneven surface on the bottom of your tip which WILL result in a tip coming loose, an edge not being flush, or just popping off completely. You should at the very least recommend giving the tip a final sanding to flatten it out as much as possible. The most important step in applying a tip is making sure both surfaces are perfectly flat.

The best method I've ever used in applying a tip to a ferrule is very simple. Just score a few lines with a razor blade on the bottom of the tip and on the top of the ferrule. You only need a few lines criss crossing using very light pressure on each surface. I've never had a tip pop off doing this.

Also "gel" style superglue (not liquid) is actually key. It gives you more set time to position your tip, and does not dry as brittle. Plus your tip wont soak it all up like liquid will do so you do not need to prime it at all giving you a better direct leather to ferrule bond.
 
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Arnaldo SchwarzenTipper.

Well done video. Need them vids out there because people keep asking for them.

I got a Buddy that will hand tip his cue with less tools than the average person has.

To look at it, you would think that it was done on a lathe.

But, he will also come to play in a bar and tip one of the House Cues for himself to if he takes a mind to. He keeps most of that stuff in his pocket.
 
Good information, but you'll get 10 times as many views if you edit it down to six minutes or less. 24 minutes is too long to expect to hold people's attention...the video was at the 8-minute mark when you gave the first instruction. The rule-of-thumb is to only say what the listener absolutely needs to know to move on to the next step. Unless they absolutely need it, cut it out. Be ruthless.
 
It's like changing your own oil in your car. You don't save that much and you get better results when it's done by a professional.
 
bdorman said:
Good information, but you'll get 10 times as many views if you edit it down to six minutes or less. 24 minutes is too long to expect to hold people's attention...the video was at the 8-minute mark when you gave the first instruction. The rule-of-thumb is to only say what the listener absolutely needs to know to move on to the next step. Unless they absolutely need it, cut it out. Be ruthless.
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Doesn't apply at all to this particular instructional video, its well-considered format, and the original players for whom it's intended.

I'll mention that I've given more than 170 free playing lessons (to beginners and intermediates -- both single players and couples who play) during the past 11 years that I've been coordinating the billiards club in my community. As with any teacher of virtually any creative craft or occupational/sports skill, you develop early-on a good feel for exactly how information has to be parsed out, and your lessons thereby prove to achieve excellent, readily verifiable results.

The video has been well received, appreciated, and verifiably well-absorbed. I thought to post it to a wider public audience for whatever benefits it may hold.

I look forward to any brief pool instructionals you may eventually offer to youtube viewers for their benefit as you proceed enjoyably beyond your present 3-year exposure to our wonderful sport and accumulate useful insights and tips to pass on to interested players at any level.

Arnaldo
 
DIY Tip Replacement

No offence but there was no close up of the job after you got done.......:mad:
Why not, are you afraid of us really seeing your work....


First, pool tables are not good work benches and a knife and glue is a no no when getting it around a pool table.

Second, this work should of taken place on top of a hard piece of wood.

Third, shit can the knife and use a flat wood chisel that you sharpened yourself on a stone.

Forth, I couldn't see how flush you got the tip trimmed to the ferrule.

Fifth, if you spit or used any kind of water or moisture on a layered tip, that would be the last tip you would install for me..............
Moisture is a layered tips worst enemy.......................................
Heat is its second enemy..........................

Sixth, I use about 4 or 5 big rubber bands to hold the tip tight while the glue dries.

When you replace a tip It should look like this.


And yes that was done with a lathe .
The ferrule is Ivory, I think it looks great.

Personally I have never seen anyone replace a tip by hand and do it as professionally as if a lathe had done it.
Not saying it cannot be done, its just I haven't ever seen it.

Ps I also like using a fiber pad between the ferrule and tip
 
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mortuarymike-nv said:
Personally I have never seen anyone replace a tip by hand and do it as professionally as if a lathe had done it.
Not saying it cannot be done, its just I haven't ever seen it.

Ps I also like using a fiber pad between the ferrule and tip
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Its like anything else, it depends on whos doing it. I know several guys that do shoddy work with a lathe.
Chuck
 
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