Members humperdingle Posted May 14, 2013 Members Report Posted May 14, 2013 Hi, has anyone attempted to make their own pool or snooker cue tips? I have a really rigid piece of approx 6mm thick leather, and i'm thinking it would be ideal for re-tipping cues. An old cue is sitting waiting on me getting some suitable adhesive so i can try it out later. Just wondering if anyone has had success, or whether the single layer of leather may not be dense enough? Some of the more expensive brands seem to use multiple layers of thin leather. On the other hand, a lot of players favour a softer cue tip, as they get more reaction from the cue ball in terms of spin... Quote
Members BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted May 14, 2013 Members Report Posted May 14, 2013 Ya won't know unless you try it. Quote You laugh at me because I am different. I laugh at you because you are all the same.
Members thekid77 Posted May 15, 2013 Members Report Posted May 15, 2013 You should try it out bro!!! Many brands of tips are composed of only a single piece of leather, eg, Triangle, Le Pro, Elk Master, etc... Just speaking from experience, multi layered tips are prone to delaminating....if this happens, you have to hope that it is the top layer that comes off, or you're out a whole tip... Go for it bro!!! Quote
Members RiverCity Posted May 15, 2013 Members Report Posted May 15, 2013 I would cut a few and mess around with them. You might find pressing them in a vise will add consistency. Just stay away from loose grain flakey leather. Chuck Quote
Members humperdingle Posted May 15, 2013 Author Members Report Posted May 15, 2013 OK, well, I had a go at fitting one to an old, tipless cue yesterday and took it to the snooker hall. It actually wasn't at all bad! I didn't quite get the rounding right, but the 'sound' of the shot was more what I was looking (or hearing) for. I'll post a pic up later of the fitted tip. The leather came in a box of offcuts, and is one of the stiffest, thickest pieces of veg tan I've handled.. Almost as stiff as a similar thickness piece of timber! Thing is, each tip is literally 11mmx11mm, so even out of the offcut, i'll get 100 tips to play around with! Quote
Members thekid77 Posted May 16, 2013 Members Report Posted May 16, 2013 nice!!! post up some pics so we can see bro...sounds awesome!!! Quote
Members humperdingle Posted May 16, 2013 Author Members Report Posted May 16, 2013 Couple of pics - One just after i'd glued on the tip, and the other after i'd trimmed and sanded somewhat. It still needs tweaking, and perhaps a gel glue rather than a liquid one to prevent seepage. Not bad for a 1st attempt, and played / sounded pretty well. Might be a lot easier with an 11 or 12mm round punch! Quote
Members thekid77 Posted May 16, 2013 Members Report Posted May 16, 2013 Wow!!! That looks awesome...now I think i'm going to have to try that out one of these days Quote
Members shtoink Posted May 17, 2013 Members Report Posted May 17, 2013 I wonder if they are wet formed into a tip-shaped form? It seems like having the circular blank wetted and pressed would compact the fibers as well giving it the right shape. No clue on this one, I was just making a guess. Nice job on that, by the way. A great idea, too. Quote
Members humperdingle Posted May 17, 2013 Author Members Report Posted May 17, 2013 I've no idea how single-leather tips are manufactured, but they're usually pretty hard, so one would imagine they're compressed. This is an old club cue i'll never use, but just used as a trial as it had no tip. Once my playing cue needs a new tip, i'll have a go at another homemade one. Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.