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**hotpot** · 12 September 2010, 09:17 AM

Blue Diamons as with many pressed tips are usually soft after shaping and take time to bed in until they harden up and you can feel them more .

Laminated tips are usually hard from the off and some like the Talisman medium feels almost too hard and becomes a little softer and nice when played in .

Different people will like different tips but i,m a big fan of laminated and there is a good choice to choose from now .

**abhi147** · 12 September 2010, 09:27 AM

Thanks Hotspot
I am going to play for 3-4 days and see how the BD tip feels
I played abt 4 hours yesterday and after every frame it lost shape and became flat

I am going to try talisman soft soon
Is there a specific way of fitting, cutting or shaping a lamited tip? Or you just fit it like the elks and BDs?

**hotpot** · 12 September 2010, 09:40 AM

Just fit like normal , A lot of laminated tips come in 11 mm so there will probably be a bit of overhang . Most will turn the cue upside down and lean the tip on a hard surface and carefully trim off the overhang , turning the cue as you do so until its flush .

Myself i like an overhanging tip so i just fit and shape .

**hotpot** · 12 September 2010, 09:47 AM

Here is a very useful tip guide that was put on here by one of our members ADR 147

http://www.inertiasystems.co.uk/ADR147TIPGUIDE.pdf

**cueman** · 12 September 2010, 09:58 AM

The problem with pressed tips is they can be inconsistant in quality, even in a box of 50 I'd say probably at least a quarter will be different to the others.

I recently have put 2 elks on my cue and found that it was messing my game up so much, my timing was out, I was struggling for position and really feeling in a slump of form. So I thought I'll put on another tip, and I have gone back to a BD after 6 years or more of Elks and straight away this tip was a good un and my game is back to where it should be.

Thing is with tips you can get bad uns', even if you try 2 or 3 you can still be unlucky to find the quality isn't what it should be and no amount of bedding in will satisfy you. IMO a tip should bed in at least after 2 sessions of play, if not then the likelyhood is that it never will. You may be able to adapt but you instinctively know when you've got a good tip on your cue so don't be afraid to chop and change until you feel confident in it.

Not all players are of a standard that they will know but if you know your game you should be able to feel a tip within a couple of sessions.

**Terry Davidson** · 12 September 2010, 11:59 AM

With Elks and Blue Diamonds I always use a hammer and lightly tap them for about 3 or 4 minutes to harden them up and then do my final shaping. When I used those tips I found that was a quick way to harden them up before a match and they played pretty good.

When I bought a box of either of these tips I usually found about 20 of the 50 were 'spongy' and wouldn't harden up at all and I would toss them. The way to tell is to drop them on a hard flat surface and if you get a 'clock' then the tip is good but if it's more of a dead 'thunk' then the tip is spongy and toss it.

Since I've switched to the layered tips I still use a hammer but for a shorter period of time just to bed them in and then do my final shaping. I have an Aurora layered tip on my cue right now and it's playing really well

Terry

**abhi147** · 12 September 2010, 02:39 PM

thanks for the info.
Terry how are talisman compared with the aurora tips

**Acrowot** · 12 September 2010, 03:57 PM

The Talisman soft seems very, very hard and I have been told that they always are.
:snooker:

**poolqjunkie** · 13 September 2010, 04:18 AM

Personally, I think with a soft tip, you have the chance of getting one that lacks elasticity so once it is compressed, it does not recoil quick enough for you to feel that spring you need to play a lot of side and deep screw and shots like that. So, it is not always try that a softer tip is better for screw in my opinion.

While with a hard tip, you migh feel that the ball bounces off the tip too soon, not giving you enough time to feel that the tip is staying on the ball long enough for you to get the "feel" and control you need.

I believe if the tip does not feel "right" it will affect how you stroke the ball because when your tip makes contact with the cue ball you may not feel completely comfortable (like when you said you feel like it was a spong at the end of your cue) -- very often that would result in the player changing certain aspects of his stroke trying to compensate(e.g. if you feel that your tip is like a spong you may try to hit the ball harder, which may result in a more jerky cueing action...etc). So, it is very important to have the right tip on your cue.

I believe a good tip needs to have the right amount of elasticity so it does not bounce the ball off right away like a rock, nor does it just compress like a sponge upon impact. It is my strong belief that the hardness is not as important as the elasticity and firmness of a tip.

If you like the MW super tip, which is a very good tip, I would suggest that you stay with it.

**abhi147** · 14 September 2010, 04:33 AM

I tried playing with BD tip for 2 days but still the tip felt too soft and i could not get any power onto the shots

So I changed the tip to Talisman Medium and it was like i had found heaven. Perfect tip right from the start though just 10% softer would be ideal which I sure the Talisman soft will be.
Amazing tip, i didnt face any issues applying deep screw or side either
But heres a small problem that i had. When i chalk the tip most of the chalk fell down Tnd after 2 power shots i could see the tip.
The side applied on the cue ball was pretty less compared to other tips
Is this how the Talisman works or is it a bad tip?
Have only playd for like 2 hours so may be the tip might get better after some sessions?

Gonna try the Talisman soft next

**Freddie Ng** · 28 September 2010, 05:36 AM

Hi everyone,

I would like to know how we determine/know that a layered tip is good or bad before placing it on our cue? Are there any ways to help to select good ones ?

Thanks,
Freddie

**Acrowot** · 28 September 2010, 07:38 AM

For you Freddie, that is a good question. I would also like to know and also know what a couple pf posters have said about colouring the tip instead of chalking it.

I have been using a cue with a Talisman soft on it, until Trevor sent my new cues with Elks on them and I prefer the Elk of the two. The Talisman is so hard. Trevor says he can pick the good tips from the bad in a box of Elks.
:snooker:

**Freddie Ng** · 28 September 2010, 11:22 AM

Acrowat,

Was reading through threads about tips, come across Terry's post that advise on how to select tips. Was wondering can we do the same for layered tip?
Never heard of colouring the tip instead of chalking it.. How does it works ?
I use BDiamond at first, find it doesn't suit me.. then switch to layered. Never try Elk or Talisman before, but heard from some lads too that only a few Elk tips is good in a box.

Cheers
Freddie

**abhi147** · 28 September 2010, 07:45 PM

Update and problem again

I couldnt get along much with the talisman soft because of the chalk problem so I switched to elk but it was a nightmare.

So I switched to Talsiamn Soft. Sanded it nicely started playing. 15 minutes later the tip is shiney as hell and when I chalk the tip 90% of the chalk falls down and the colour of the leather is visible as if like the scalp of a bald man
I did the sanding 2-3 times but after every 15 minutes the tip will become shiney and stop holding chalk

Surprisingly i didnt miscue on scre or side shots had decent breaks but was too scared to attempt any deep screw shots because of the chalk

I would love to stick to the talisman tips but am really scared to attempt deep screw or extreme side shots beacause of the chalk problem

Please help

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