Benefits of quality balls
- Thread starter MooseKnuckle
- Start date
I was answering the question in the OP, not making a statement of all ball sets produced.
Something we can agree on, Lou
Started working at a pro shop when I was 12...when I developed a swing...my boss had a
lot to do with that...I started using top golf balls...usually Titleist...
..my buddy’s felt that was a big expense....I told them that if I ended up in the rough...
...I wanted to know that I was responsible for putting it there.
#1 answer for me. Cheap balls can play inconsistently due to inconsistent weights and sizes, even extremely small differences are noticeable with experienced players. Not so noticeable with occassional weekend players or people that haven't put in thousands of hours playing with a good set of balls.
lolYears ago a friend of mine got his first table. He went out and bought a cheap set of brand new balls from Kmart for around $35 while I put Simonis cloth on his table. The table played slow compared to every table I'd played on with Simonis, including mine. He wondered if we should've replaced the cushions. I told him it wasn't just the speed off the cushions, but something overall was just off. CB reaction was different, the balls didn't break well, etc... I went home and got my set of Brunswick Centennials and we rolled those puppies out and that table came to life, played great, excellent speed, excellent cb reaction, etc... He took the cheap balls back to Kmart and I ordered him a set of Centennials.
RoadRash57
Registered
Why do people pay the huge premium for Brunswick Centennials when they’re essentially Super Aramith Pro balls with different graphics?
Right.:thumbup:
If you have a quality table then I'd look at it from this perspective. Would you purchase a new car and then when it came time for the second set of tires, would you put a cheaper set on, or not? Not everyone can afford Michelins, but this ball set you get, unless it's bouncing on concrete, or hitting steel when it goes off table, will out live YOU. If your table is an off brand home table then yeah I'd probably save a few bucks.
It is fairly simple, A lot of us grew up playing on them and prefer the look and the graphics of the Centennials.
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Because they can and want too. Maybe also trying to break the time-tested fact that "pool players are the cheapest SOB's walking the face of the earth". Just ask any room owner if you disagree.
The difference in real word prices is only around 100bux, maybe less. Considering how long they'll last that's not much. I grew up with them and prefer the look. That simple.
#1 answer for me. Cheap balls can play inconsistently due to inconsistent weights and sizes, even extremely small differences are noticeable with experienced players. Not so noticeable with occassional weekend players or people that haven't put in thousands of hours playing with a good set of balls.
Years ago a friend of mine got his first table. He went out and bought a cheap set of brand new balls from Kmart for around $35 while I put Simonis cloth on his table. The table played slow compared to every table I'd played on with Simonis, including mine. He wondered if we should've replaced the cushions. I told him it wasn't just the speed off the cushions, but something overall was just off. CB reaction was different, the balls didn't break well, etc... I went home and got my set of Brunswick Centennials and we rolled those puppies out and that table came to life, played great, excellent speed, excellent cb reaction, etc... He took the cheap balls back to Kmart and I ordered him a set of Centennials.
Wrong, I’ve measured them. Cheap ball sets are not just more consistent but way more consistent than any premium set purchased 25 years ago.
Computerized Machine moulding is Multiple more times consistent. Moulds adjust with wear. Size, shape and density are consistent to within thousands whether it be a pool ball, bottle cap or the coating on a paper clip.
Dimensional specifications
Billiard ball diameter range : from 1” up to 2-3/4”
Tolerance standard : better than Precision Plastic Ball GRADE III specification limits
Most common diameter (") :
Nominal : 2-1/4
Diameter tolerance : max +/- 0,003
Sphericity / roundness : max 0,002 (high end grade : max 0,0012)
https://www.aramith.com/general-specifications
RoadRash57
Registered
Fair enough. I'd always thought of pool balls as strictly utilitarian, but we look at them a lot more than our cues! Over the years I've spent thousands on cues - most of that on looks.
Tolerances on Quality ball sets are tighter than those less expensive. A room owner in Denver.....when ever he got a new ball set he'd micrometer em to see if they were within specs, if not he'd send em back. When he opened a new room, he'd ck every ball in ea set.
Good set and keep em clean. Nothing finer.
Good set and keep em clean. Nothing finer.
And Don't EVER put a new ball set in a buffing wheel. Hand clean em. The outer surface of a new ball set, in a pool room environment that has allot of play, takes almost a couple yrs before the ball surface becomes more porous and starts picking up dirt.
Played yrs ago in Wetch's room in MN, and they buffed the ball sets each time they were used. What happened, after about 40 minutes of play, you could take your finger and wipe the ball and a line of clean and dirt was Extremely obvious. The balls changed their play as time passed quickly.
I was in a room not too long ago where the owner had replaced all the CBs with nice new measles CBs.
Regrettably, the ball sets themselves were old as the hills and undersized. I was playing for a while wondering why the CB was behaving the way it was until I took a closer look.
Lou Figueroa
MooseKnuckle
Registered
After some thought, I ordered the Aramith Premier Ball Set. The cheap bastard in me wanted the Standard set but they just didn't look right, I like the numbers in the stripes.
YIKES!!! You won't like those, change the order to the Tournament set. :lol:
I understand, but that set of Brunswick Centennials I had was purchased in 1998, 22 years ago. Specs were 2.250" +/- 0.001. That's pretty good. And each ball weighed exactly 168g. I've compared that to Kmart and Sportmart cheap balls back then, and indivdual balls from the same set varied by as much 5 grams or more. Not sure how much more advanced technology and craftsmanship has gotten over the last 22 years as far as size and weight consistency.
I'm sure the biggest differences today between cheap sets and expensive sets are surface smoothness, hardness, longevity, stratch resistance, durability, etc...... which is combination of material type and construction technology. I have another friend who within the last 10 years has broken two 1 balls playing 9ball. Cheap balls.
Anyway, a $35 set of Action balls, made of acrylic or polyresin, won't play the same or last as long as a set of Aramith Pro phenolic resin balls with the latest molecular design technology called Duramith. I can notice a difference in play between the premium aramith balls and the duramith balls. So there are differences between cheap and expensive ball sets. Will an average home pool player notice any difference? Likely not.
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