The game of pool (or billiards) is actually varied. There are many different games that can referenced when referring to Pool/Billiards. No matter the game, you need more than just physical and mental focus and coordination to succeed. While the most important tool is your natural skill and training, it is also very important to have a good cue that you are comfortable with. In addition to choosing a quality cue, you also need to keep that cue in the best condition possible. That will inevitably mean that you will have to occasionally replace your cue tip. This article will aim to shed light on exactly how you can do this.
A Solid Replacement: Pre-Planning
So, you’re either an avid pool player who has just broken the tip of your cue or you’re just someone who is “hands on” and wants to replace your tip on your own. While we recommend finding a good “cue mechanic” to take care of your cues, doing your own tip repair work is not as intimidating as it first may appear to be. Research and understanding are crucial to anything you want to do, just think about placing online sports betting @betus, this is also something you’d probably want to research thoroughly before diving in. Regardless, you’re at the right place because you’re about to learn all there is to know about replacing pool cues.
The first thing you’re going to want to do is determine whether the pool cue is truly damaged. You can easily do this by taking a look at the tip, if you see it is lifted or cracked in any way, then it is clearly damaged. However, a good tip to consider is that even if it doesn’t look severely damaged but is very thin and looks like it’s on its last leg, you will probably want to replace it anyway. If you’re in a situation where you’re getting ready for a big tournament or your friends are headed to the local pool room for an evening around the table and you’ve just realized that all your tips are looking grim, then you’re in luck because you can make the changes yourself.
Once you’ve determined the damage, you need to get yourself prepared. The best thing to do is set up a workstation where you can cut, sand and glue things down without getting in the way of anyone at home. If you have a working bench you can set it up in the garage or the garden. This is a good idea, as this process can get a little bit messy. Get the cues lined up that you need to fix, find some strong adhesive, get a few pieces of sanding paper, find a blade of some kind, or a knife if that’s easier. Get your hands on something to pull down on the cue and that’s about it. These are all the steps involved, before you actually get to the replacement, so once you’re here, you can start with the actual job.
All in a Day’s Work: A Quick Replacement
Now that you have everything in order and prepared, you get to work. You’re first going to want to remove the old tip from the cue. The tip is attached to the ferrule, which is that small, often white or yellow, looking part that joins the tip with the rest of the cue. Now, your job is to get the tip off, without damaging the ferrule. So, get a sharp blade, angle the cue away from you slightly and then try to cut the tip off as carefully as possible. If the tip is still rather thick, you might need to cut it off in slices, as you would cut cheese, until you get the tip off completely.
Once the tip is off, you can honestly just discard it. Try to get a soft piece of sanding paper and smooth down the ferrule as well as you can. You want that piece to be as straight and smooth as possible, after all, it’s where you’re going to be sticking the new tip.
Get your new tip, which is often a piece of leather or cork, and place a small dollop of glue to the back. Don’t worry about adding too much glue, it will ooze out anyway and you can scrape it away. Place the tip on the ferrule, with the glue, and push down hard. Remove excess glue and then get a piece of leather or rope, tie it around the newly glued tip and pull down, so that you really press the tip onto the ferrule. Most adhesives take about 15 minutes to dry but read the instructions on your adhesive bottle just in case.
Now that the glue is dry, you can get to sanding. You’re going to want to sand around the edges of the new tip, as the sides will probably be sticking out a bit as gluing it down the dead center is very tricky. So, just sand around the edges until you get each side flush against the ferrule. If there is too much sticking away, then invert the cue, take a blade and try to cut off any extra pieces of the tip. Next, you can take a piece of leather and shape the tip to your liking. Pool players will debate all day, as to whether the tip should be shaped to the radius of a dime or a nickel. We won’t try to answer that question here. That is left to other places. If you’re finding it difficult to shape your tip, then you can always consider adding a tiny bit of water to help the process but do not add too much as soft leather often soaks up water and you do not want that to happen, as it would ruin all your work and you would have to start all over again.
As Easy as ABC
As you can see, replacing a pool cue tip is not as hard as you might think. The most important thing is to ensure that you have all the important tools at your disposal and have them prepared from the get-go so, that you’re not lost trying to find your sand paper and then your glue. Make sure you have it all set up before starting.
Replacing your own cue tip takes time and practice. As easy as the job sounds, it does get easier the more you do it so do not judge yourself or your skill based solely on your first time. You’ll see that after a few times, the process gets much easier.
