Old school - First let the glue get tacky and then put the new tip on. Then we would turn the cue upside down and lean it in a corner with all the weight on the new tip. Leave it there overnight and the tip was on good the next day. Then we would shape the new tip. Worked for me a few dozen times. I did this many times right in my motel room. All I needed was glue and several grades of sandpaper. I used a matchbook cover to do the final burnishing of the tip and ferrule. When I was done it looked like it was done by a pro on a lathe. I don't think I ever had a tip come off, not even once. Mostly used Tweetens glue. Oh, and I used a sharp knife to remove the old tip. I would sand down the top of the ferrule by holding the cue upside down and turning it on a piece of sandpaper set on the floor.
I know this all probably sounds crazy to many of you, but we had to improvise when there was no one around to change tips, which was most of the time. No Joe Blackburn or Guido Orlandi or anyone else around in those days. And most pool players wouldn't trust some guy in a poolroom to work on their cue. I saw Greg Stevens change a tip in the back of his Cadillac limo. He had all the tools back there, and did a very professional job.
Before there were tip tools, I would just buy a four way file at a hardware store. Still the best tip too in the world in my book. And they would last forever. I probably only bought two in my life. I think I finally lost the first one somewhere.