My attempt at making a tip

[Neil Taperell]

Wow . unreal for a 1st attempt . i'm very impressed .

[j6uk]

good story jimmy, would like to see a pic of a finished tip and the leather heals

shock keep casing it, you may find as you start to get it right youll end up being able to produce s/m/h/xhard tips

[Big Splash!]

I've been using my own home made tips for years. Tried many of the "brand names" but never been impressed by any of them except elks. Yeah Elks them cheap ones which everyone here says there are only a few in a box that are any good. I had a box of 50 years ago and aint found a dud yet and there are only 7-8 left now.

The leather I use has a bit of a tale behind it... Just after the war a box literally fell off the back of a lorry. This guy picked the box up legged it round the corner, opened it and found it full of womens leather heels. Later he gave them to my uncle who was a cobbler. My uncle used them but a lot were still in his workshop when he retired in the 90's. (Women aint worn the type of shoes they were for since the 50's) He then gave me what was left, I bought a 10mm dot punch and get 6 tips out of each heel. They are cowhide, feel like an elk but just brown obviously.

Perhaps the secret is 60 odd year old English shoe leather from. ( Air dried of course )

Everything needs maturing. :biggrin-new:

[itsnoteasy]

Arghh, Jimmy I thought you were going to tell us the secret of making them lol. I think it's more the modern Elks that have a variation in them, as far as I know everyone loved the old Elks, that's why there is such disappointment in them now.

[Hello, Mr Big Shot]

Well not only did I soak them in cold milk, I forgot about them the next day and pulled them out of the curdled milk. I carried on as sometimes by accident you learn something different.

If it had have work then they would have been Shockerz stinky tips!

Cold is fine, and skimmed. 24 hrs is good. But you don't want to put layered tips in milk!

[Shockerz]

I've been using my own home made tips for years. Tried many of the "brand names" but never been impressed by any of them except elks. Yeah Elks them cheap ones which everyone here says there are only a few in a box that are any good. I had a box of 50 years ago and aint found a dud yet and there are only 7-8 left now.

The leather I use has a bit of a tale behind it... Just after the war a box literally fell off the back of a lorry. This guy picked the box up legged it round the corner, opened it and found it full of womens leather heels. Later he gave them to my uncle who was a cobbler. My uncle used them but a lot were still in his workshop when he retired in the 90's. (Women aint worn the type of shoes they were for since the 50's) He then gave me what was left, I bought a 10mm dot punch and get 6 tips out of each heel. They are cowhide, feel like an elk but just brown obviously.

Perhaps the secret is 60 odd year old English shoe leather from. ( Air dried of course )

Nice story mate. I get of story's from my old man about the war and they're all interesting. I'll have to see if he's got any leather!

[Shockerz]

Wow . unreal for a 1st attempt . i'm very impressed .

Thanks mate. The tip looks good and plays pretty poor. A bit of a reflection of my snooker.

[tomwalker147]

I'm very impressed mate good first attempt!

[Shockerz]

I'm very impressed mate good first attempt!

Cheers Tom

[jimmymoller]

Here's my leather.



Theres two types 4.5mm and 5.7mm in thickness and until now I've only ever used the thicker smaller heels which were the ones off the back of the lorry. The larger thinner ones I've always considered too thin but last night I gave them a try and it seems fine as you can see below.

Just for reference a 10mm talisman has a thickness of 4.6mm


Using a hammer needs only 4-5 blows to the dot punch on the thinner but 3 times as many on the thicker ones and just to show you how hard I was hitting it heres my tip board in two pieces now




The perticular dot punch I have is a 10mm but if anyone wants to try this for themselves an 11 or 12 would be better, theres more trimming involved but this punch has a slight taper to it so with the thicker leather it's coming out at about 9.4mm

I dont see any advantage whatsoever in laminated tips except for the pockets of the sellers. They dont last any longer (thickness being the real factor to lifespan). Nor do they hold chalk any differently just because they have layers, and although mushrooming may or may not be reduced if you simply burnish the sides of a one piece tip that will stop any mushrooming.

If you want a tip to retain more chalk simply use a more abrasive sandpaper. It's just common sense there will be more space for the chalk to lie in. 180 grit works fine for me. Them pick things are just another gimmick forget them.

Burnishing the sidewall isn't essential, few actually bother as mushrooming is pretty rare. I've only had one mushroom tip and it was one I shaped purposely when i saw Peter Ebdon playing with one. Quite usefull if you want a bigger tip than your ferrul. To burnish you merely need another piece of smooth leather and use as you would if sanding it'll smooth the sidewall. The burnishing leather has to itself be smooth or it wont work. These heels are ideal as one side is smooth the other rough.

A little dab of ordinary black shoe polish on the now smooth sidewall and buffed with a yellow duster just for looks, chalked, and we have the finished results.





(Methinks I went over the top with sanding/shaping the thinner tip it should be thicker than the pic shows)

Hardness

I think they are simlar to an elk but cant give you any number as yet. I've bought a durometer recently but the reading all depends on the pressure you appy and doing so by hand you end up with massive variations. I didnt mind spending £15 or so for a durometer but I'm not paying another £150 just for a stand and a lever that gaurentees the same pressure. So i went to B+Q yesterday and for £6 I bought some wood and steel rod with a bit of drilling cutting and bodging I'll make a stand that'll do the same thing.Just need some weights about 2lb is ideal so if anyones got any gimme a shout.

Cobblers...

Next time your near one just ask if they have any leather cuttings (from soles or heels) they'll probably let you rummage in their bin for some. There's guys selling offcuts on ebay too and a punch will cost you about £3-£4

Afterthought... Next time i think I'll try fitting the dot punch in my power drill and see if that'll work, save all the hammering.

[jrc750]

Very impressive work there

[mikeyd100]

Very impressive work there

I will second that - good show.

[j6uk]

like your work jimmy, keep the documents coming..
when you think you start getting it right, will you be up for letting some go?

[jimmymoller]

Cheers lads.

Actually I'd like someone else's opinion of them.
Anyone who will promise some feedback shortly after trying and again say after I dunno say 10 frames who pm's me can have one of each for free with free postage too.

edit: Better make that the first ten people just in case there's a conspiracy to bankrupt me.

[j6uk]

i'll have some of that if your offering