Hammered Tips

Don't you hate it when you need a new tip?  Your cue is hitting as sweet as ever and you just know that a new tip isn't going to play the same.  It takes a while to "pack down" the tip.  Then it mushrooms & you have to trim the overhang.  Then it packs down some more.  And mushrooms some more.  Finally, you find that sweet hit again, only to realize it's time for a new tip.

Well, there are a couple of solutions.  

The easiest fix is to use a layered tip.  Layered tips are a little more expensive but they are pretty stable.  They hold their shape well & rarely mushroom.  Of course, that's because you have almost as much glue there as you have leather.    And all those layers create more opportunities for something to go wrong, too.  All it takes is a little separation between 2 layers and you have a "click".  Sometimes they come that way...sometimes a miscue will do it...and sometimes it just happens.  And even when they are working fine, many people just don't like the hit of a layered tip.  

I heard stories about a cuemaker who kept a steel plate next to his recliner so he could bounce a newly installed tip against the plate while he watched TV.  I'm sorry but this just doesn't seem like a very productive method.  And I imagine the constant tap, tap, tapping would drive your family insane in short order.  But the idea was planted, so I built a little gizmo that held a shaft between a die spring and a fast acting piston that would tap that tip 1750 times a minute.  Well, it kinda worked but it still left me feeling that there had to be a better way.

Then I heard that some people just hit the tips with a hammer a few times to flatten it out before they installed it.  That would work.  I guess.  Somebody improved on that by putting the tips in a vise and compressing them, sometimes after soaking the tips in a plethora of liquids ranging from milk to urine.  I'm not sure if only biologically secreted fluids met the criteria but I don't really want to pursue that thought any farther. 

The problem with the hammered or compressed tips was knowing how much was enough.  In a good hydraulic press you could compress a 1/4" thick tip down to 1/16" thick.  The problem was you ended up increasing the diameter from 14 mm to 100 mm.  This meant you always had less than consistent results. 

Finally, I came up with a simple fixture that allowed me to compress the tips while containing the diameter.  By keeping the diameter at 14 mm, the tip doesn't compress quite as much but all the compression is going in the right direction.  I leave the tips under pressure overnight & they retain their shape very well.  You start out with a thinner tip than normal but it doesn't pack down nor does it mushroom.  Sometimes I'll add a fiber pad beneath the tip to make the thickness more familiar to the customer.  Best results are with Water Buffalo, Triangle and Triumph tips.  Elkmasters are just too spongy and Le Pros aren't worth the effort.  And I don't bother compressing layered tips because the whole point is to get away from a layered tip anyway.  The best part is that you start out with that sweet hit from the first time you chalk your new tip!

From left to right are a WB water buffalo, a Sumo water buffalo and a Triangle tip.
As you can see, the diameter isn't increased nor has anything destructive happened to the tips.

This gives another perspective on the change in thickness of the tips.

A good view of the sides of the tips and the before and after thicknesses.


A Follow-up: 
After doing this a while, I found that this is not the cure-all I'd hoped it would be.  A junk tip will still be a junk tip - just a harder junk tip.  Even compressed, some still show a tendency to "accordion" after taking a cut on the OD.  I've experimented separating my Triangles into "floaters" and "sinkers" - as some have suggested this will eliminate the bad tips from the good.  It doesn't work.  I've had some floaters that were fantastic & some sinkers that were also fantastic.  Leather grain appearance isn't a foolproof indicator, either.  I suppose I could check the original tip hardness but I suspect that won't prove anything because a compressed tip that's junk will definitely test harder than an uncompressed tip.  But it will still be junk.  Sometimes, it just means you will have to install 2 or 3 tips until you get one you're happy with.  But...the tip you finally settle on will be nicely packed down for that good ol' broke-in feeling.  So while this doesn't salvage every tip in the box, it isn't a waste of time.

And a Sketch:
While this isn't rocket science, I'll post my design for a simple tip press that can be used in a bench vise.  I made a cylinder that is open at both ends & I insert a piston from each end.  If your cylinder has a shoulder on one end, you can easily remove stubborn tips by putting the cylinder in your lathe's 3 jaw chuck while using a push rod mounted in your tailstock as a press to eject the tips.  The shoulder negates the need to clamp tightly on the cylinder but allows the cylinder to resist the tailstock while the tips are pushed through.  None of the sizes is critical but I find that the 9/16 bore will accommodate all those 14mm tips that are crooked or oversize.  BTW, you can do 4 tips at a time with this press.  Have fun & please remember where you found this :-)

hint: click on the black box above

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