Tipping question (well the aftermath)

[Jay1]

I fitted a new tip on my cue yesterday and have to say I made a right pigs ear of it.

I'm fine with sticking the actual tip on after removing the old one, thats no problem. But once the tip is on I seem to mess it up by doing to much with it.

I bought some 10mm blue diamonds on the basis that my cue apparantly had a 9.5-10mm on when I bought it. On fitting the tip overhung the sides so as with advice I saw on a website somewhere I tried trimming it. BIG MISTAKE, this made the tip look really messy with some straight edges on, I wont be trimming again, I'll leave a mushroom next time.

The real question is though, how much should you sand/shape the tip. The new tip looked rediculously tall so in my eagerness I set about it with a tip file and some sandpaper. After a while I got a reasonably acceptable shape but it's still tall. The problem is though I think i've made a bit of a mess of the tip by oversanding it now

What do you guys do when you re-tip. Do you sand down at all or just leave the tip as it is out of the box and let playing flatten it down and shape it naturally.

Cheers

[cueman]

Depends on what brand it is usually. BD's are bigger than most and do seem quite big when new, I use Elks which are a about 1.5mm smaller in depth and I find bed in quickly. Secret is all in the preperation when fitting a new tip.
The problem with sanding on the top of the tip is you are pulling apart the leather fibres and are actually breaking up the tip. If you use a sand paper that is quite abbrasive it can mess up your tip altogether. I use a fine sandpaper, like a wet&dry type and gently shape the top but not too much, just enough to rough it up so the chalk will stick. The secret though is to take of as much as you want off the bottom of the tip. Be careful to do it on a flat level surface though, you don't want the tip being uneven.

Also trimming the tip is easier when you have taken the size down too. There is less leather to cut through, make sure you use a new stanley blade though, a blunt blade will make a mess of the tip.

[reverse_side]

that's right, if the sandpaper's too rough the fibres are ripped off and shredded slightly so that the next few shots will hit it like a rock on a marshmallow. It'll leave it very lob-sided and then you'll be tempted to sand it again!

I've used a tip straight out of the packet with a quick dust and in two visits got successive 50+ breaks, so it's possible to not stress too much and just enjoy the game. But, on average, a quick graze with medium grade to open the pores for loading it with chalk should be enough unless you've put it on unevenly.

A cunning baldrick trick is to give it a quick rub but then get an old ball and knock the tip down a few times and save having to play many shots waiting for it to "bed in". Trying to avoid many power shots would be a good idea too; less major traumas to have to worry about.

Mines a 9.5 mil and I put a 10 on too, I mainly just want the same amount overhanging all the way round; whether that's a large, small or negligible amount. if I've put it on dead straight, then I'll need less sanding to level everything up. If I basically bodged it and there's .5 mil on one side and none on the other then it'll be a longer than average before I get to play a shot!

the height of the tip can be a bit off-putting, but it doesn't take long to knock it down and the chalking of the tip actualy abrases it too.

a tip-pick can break down the clogged chalk as well as some sandpaper... but I've yet to use one though they look good.

enjoy the next chapter of your snooker journey Jay!

[GreenBaize]

I know you don't need all this but here you go .

Re-tipping your cue :


1 . Cut off old tip with a stanley knife ( be careful )
2 . Clean off old glue and remains of old tip. ( scrape with blade , or use the EDGE of a small file going in just 1 direction works best , never the flat of the file to flatten the top of the cue)
3 . Make sure top of cue and ferrule are level.
4 . level the bottom of the tip with the edge of a small file , or use sand paper putting on a level surface holding tip between thumb and forefinger.
5 . Apply glue to top of cue. ( super-glue gel is best if in a hurry )
6 . Place tip on glue and center up. Press down hard for about 5-10 seconds then wipe away excess glue ( leave the cue for about 5 mins before cutting )
7 . Turn cue upside down on cutting board and trim off excess tip to size of ferrule.
8 . Then use a flat file or sanding pads to shape the tip to a dome , filing from centre of tip to outside edge.
9 . Once the tip is near to complete use very smooth sandpaper ( 800/1000 grit wet and dry is good ) to smooth the rough sides of the tip and neaten the dome , making sure not to touch the wood of the shaft bellow the ferrule.

THEN.....

The tip must be played in before re-shaping (The tip is played in when the spongey feeling is gone and the tip seems to have stopped moving)
If the tip isn't played in enough when you go to re-shape it, you will find you will end up sanding it every few shots to get the dome back , and it will be down to nothing before you get it right.

Tips to bed in a tip, If you need to bed a tip in in a hurry like reverse side said you can use a ball to knock down on the tip, or find a wooden Mallet
and "gently" knock down on the tip with that.

Or you could buy a Mike Wooldridge super tip and not have to worry about all the messing about .

[Jay1]

I've just ordered 3 Elkmaster 9mm and 3 blue diamond 10mm so I can have another go at putting a tip on properly.

The general advice seems to be then to stick it on, give it a very light brush with sandpaper just to help chalk stick (rather than to sand down or shape) and then play it until it knocks in. Then if it needs shaping shape it from it's flattened state.

Are the Mike Wooldridge tips actually that good. I had read about them but was just worried it was a bit gimmicky. Surely if they were that good everyone would be using them?

[cueman]

Pretty much sums it up Jay. Obviously when you get more experienced at putting tips on you will learn from your mistakes and also you'll find what type of tip shape you prefer. Some players like the mushroom type, I prefer to have mine quite flush fitting to the ferrule. Same goes for people who like a very domed tip and others prefer a flatter tip, its all down to preference but you will get there in the end.

I don't know too much about the Wooldridge tips, I'd give anything a go once but I certainly think the price is a bit too much for a tip. Its only a piece of compressed leather at the end of the day, I'm happy with the Elks and most players use BD or Elk so why change.