Pool / Snooker Cue Tips?

[humperdingle]

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...

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

Ya won't know unless you try it.

[thekid77]

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!!!

[RiverCity]

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

[humperdingle]

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!

[thekid77]

nice!!! post up some pics so we can see bro...sounds awesome!!!

[humperdingle]

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!

[thekid77]

Wow!!! That looks awesome...now I think i'm going to have to try that out one of these days

[shtoink]

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.

[humperdingle]

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.

[shtoink]

I did a little bit of research on the topic of presses for the leather tip. I ran across was couple references, but mostly it was from places that sold a press and not about the "hows and whys."

The only other thing I found was information on different styles of tip shapers. I think that had to do with the large number of tips that come without any preformed shape. I also found out that there is some form of hardness measurement used to classify the tip for whatever purpose you desire. Not sure if it's a standard durometer or some other measurement type, though.

Here are two of the different presses that I found. Both of these are from the same place, but that type one seems to have an unreasonably high price tag on it. They sell it though the site for about $75, but it looks like a bunch of common stainless steel parts from a hardware store with a bit of rework done.

If I ever get a chance to make one of these up, at least I'll know who to send it to for testing...

[humperdingle]

Interesting... The making of cue tips isn't something i've thought much about :D

This company sells a 'nicer' looking bit of kit: http://www.piconecues.com/id10.html

[RiverCity]

Trust me, the tip presses are nice, but not needed. Just pressing in a vise will be plenty

Chuck

[humperdingle]

Trust me, the tip presses are nice, but not needed. Just pressing in a vise will be plenty

Chuck

Would it be safe to assume the best way would be to press small sections of leather, whilst wet?

[RiverCity]

Would it be safe to assume the best way would be to press small sections of leather, whilst wet?

Yes. Depending on your tip size, 11mm 12 mm etc, cut the blanks roughly the same mm or slightly bigger in diameter. It will spread to a larger diameter when pressed, so no need to go nuts wih worry about sizing a this point. Different people swear by different things to soak tips in. Water, milk and whiskey are some of the more popular options. The casian in milk can have a binding effect on the leather fibers to a small degree. Either way, vise it until its dry. Preferably between wood, or smooth jaws on the vise.

Here's a thread I did for a different forum about installing tips by hand. You can get by with only a razor blade, but if you play a lot, you can invest in he tools mentioned.

http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=51018

If using a razor blade to trim the tip, go slow and pretty much just shave the leather off. Don't try to chop it off.

[humperdingle]

Thanks for that - The tutorial is certainly very detailed.

I've been retipping using only a Stanley knife (box cutter) with a new or recently changed blade, super glue and a couple of fine papers.

I think some people think it's some kind of voodoo magic retipping a cue, but really it's about not rushing things.

[humperdingle]

Ok, using a vice, I rough-cut four pieces of 6mm leather, soaked in water for a couple of minutes, and left in the vice overnight.

What i'm left with are four discs of pretty dense-looking leather - Much closer to what i'd describe as cue tip material.

Thing is... I don't have any more cues to re-tip