My attempt at making a tip

[jimmymoller]

PM me your address and i'll have a couple in the post Saturday. Monday if the hangover is a real bad un from Friday night.

[Shockerz]

Jimmy...Looks really good, thank for posting.

You have a lot of heels there, no wonder you've never bought a tip!

I like the polish bit but would have a cardiac worrying if I would get it on the baize I think!

I winder how the big boys do the tips as they will be doing hundreds at a time rather than singularly, must have a large press?

Interesting subject though and nice to see people who've been doing their own thing for a while.

[jimmymoller]

Nowadays few people wear shoes with real leather soles and cobblering is a dying trade in fact it's been on the decline for years. My uncle went to work in a factory but carried on doing the repairs from a garden shed. When he did so that factory alone kept him busy with shoe repairs all weekend and an hour or so each night but even that died off and when he retired he was only doing the odd sole and heel once a fortnight or so. I do remember though the double doors to his shed often had a hide about 5ft* 4ft on the back that he'd cut the soles from so I imagine the same thing going through a roller type cutter to produce single layer tips. I really doubt the hide quality for tips would be anywhere near as good as they were for soles though. Even today a decent pair of Brogues will set you back a couple of hundred or so.
Shouldn't worry about the shoe polish yeah it's smudge if the sidewalls were not burnished first but do it right and it'd be clean enough to eat of were it bigger. Go ask any old soldier who knows how to polish boots properly

[itsnoteasy]

Used to love watching my dad bull his boots, with water and polish. Talk about being able to see your face in something.

[jimmymoller]

Hell I remember polishing me wellies for hours on end as a fireman and still being ticked off on parade the next morning and that was after wearing out a yellow duster before parade.

[Big Splash!]

haha, I'd bullshine my shoes with parade gloss for the ATC. My uncle simply used mask and aircraft paint in the RAF. No-one noticed a thing. I knew his trick and I'd still spit and polish for hours on end. What a plank.

[itsnoteasy]

You did the right thing Splasher, better to learn the craft than the cheat.
The old boys parade boots were a thing of beauty lol.

[Big Splash!]

You did the right thing Splasher, better to learn the craft than the cheat.
The old boys parade boots were a thing of beauty lol.

Not after a parade once the idiot in front marching out of time stood on them. Crack!

[Hello, Mr Big Shot]

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.

Very cool mate.

[jimmymoller]

Knew I shouldn't have gone on ebay looking for some weight. Got a kilo of lead alright for some £6 but two mins later i'd spent another £230 on another cue.

4 perfect splices of snakeywood though you have gorra love it aint yah?


Jimmy leaves the building singing:

OH TAKE ME IN OH TENDER WOMAN,
TAKE ME IN FOR HEAVENS SAKE,
TAKE ME IN OH TENDER WOMAN,
OOOH THE SIGHHHH OF THE SNAKE.


Name that artist and I might just post a pic of her when she comes.

[jrc750]

That would be Johnny Rivers ☺
What make of cue you buy ?
Edit : It's ok just found it, very nice looking cue indeed

[jimmymoller]

EH UP ! great deductive powers there Sherlock.:star:

Only one star though The Rivers version was a cover.

Go on google it if you must you deserve another star.

[jrc750]

EH UP ! great deductive powers there Sherlock.:star:

Only one star though The Rivers version was a cover.

Go on google it if you must you deserve another star.

Google is my friend ha ha ha , Al Wilson 😆
Northern Soul classic (apparently )

[itsnoteasy]

My favourite record of all time, yep Al Wilson, Sighed the snake.
https://youtu.be/2Vjfw7UHl_E

[jimmymoller]

No. another cover version.

Al Wilson's version was the first I heard and for me its always the first you hear that's the best, but you have to go back another 5 years to 1963 to find the original.