a balanced observation- ?

evergruven

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I was recently handling a cue as if I might actually hit a ball with it
timber up, my grip hand instinctively went to a place so close to the balance point,
that the shaft didn't feel adequately weighted upon my open bridge hand
and I thought, the balance point of this cue is clearly not far enough forward for my liking
so, I moved my grip hand backward to compensate, and my bridge hand followed back with it
my *entire body* followed suit, and where I'd desired to be one with my wand
I could only feel as though my wand was now waving me!
some magician.
sure I could play, but thurston and houdini
seemed so far away..
and I thought
rather than deal with all this hocus-pocus
wouldn't it be better to simply possess a cue that was balanced evenly to begin with?
further I wondered
how many other people go through these same motions?
and do they realize that for each one of us, each of us unique
there is a cue that exists, or can be made
that will meet us in the middle
 

straightline

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I think I've said this already but anyway, I used to buy into that balance point / pendulum / best touch soup of things. House cues would float as would plastic jointed cues. Steel jointed cues worked a lot better. The years spent on that process had also allowed my eyes to grow old forcing me to hold the stick long; as I did as a beginner. After rediscovering and learning once and for all the benefits - better shot framing, better touch due to the long stroke, vastly increased headroom of power, etc...

I can't see going back to the cramped balance point stance.
 

lfigueroa

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I was recently handling a cue as if I might actually hit a ball with it
timber up, my grip hand instinctively went to a place so close to the balance point,
that the shaft didn't feel adequately weighted upon my open bridge hand
and I thought, the balance point of this cue is clearly not far enough forward for my liking
so, I moved my grip hand backward to compensate, and my bridge hand followed back with it
my *entire body* followed suit, and where I'd desired to be one with my wand
I could only feel as though my wand was now waving me!
some magician.
sure I could play, but thurston and houdini
seemed so far away..
and I thought
rather than deal with all this hocus-pocus
wouldn't it be better to simply possess a cue that was balanced evenly to begin with?
further I wondered
how many other people go through these same motions?
and do they realize that for each one of us, each of us unique
there is a cue that exists, or can be made
that will meet us in the middle


I think different balance points are why some people find they automatically play better with one cue v another.

Lou Figueroa
 

maha

from way back when
Silver Member
the standard for balance point was 1/3 of the way up from the butt. if you find something you like better and adjust to that if you change cues you will have to have all custom ones made.
 

garczar

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I was recently handling a cue as if I might actually hit a ball with it
timber up, my grip hand instinctively went to a place so close to the balance point,
that the shaft didn't feel adequately weighted upon my open bridge hand
and I thought, the balance point of this cue is clearly not far enough forward for my liking
so, I moved my grip hand backward to compensate, and my bridge hand followed back with it
my *entire body* followed suit, and where I'd desired to be one with my wand
I could only feel as though my wand was now waving me!
some magician.
sure I could play, but thurston and houdini
seemed so far away..
and I thought
rather than deal with all this hocus-pocus
wouldn't it be better to simply possess a cue that was balanced evenly to begin with?
further I wondered
how many other people go through these same motions?
and do they realize that for each one of us, each of us unique
there is a cue that exists, or can be made
that will meet us in the middle
Huh?????????????????? I got thru about half of this. You probably need to get out some.
 

HawaiianEye

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
The span between my bridge hand and my grip hand always remains pretty much the same, unless I have to stretch or position my body in some weird angle in order to shoot the shot.

On all my cues, that means my bridge length is around 10 inches from the tip and my grip hand is somewhere around three inches below the top of the wrap. On all my cues, the balance point is 3 - 4 inches above the top of my wrap.

When I pick up a cue with no wrap, I find the balance point and move my grip hand about 6 inches back and using my normal arm span I automatically know where my bridge hand will be. Based upon the cue, that could either lengthen or decrease the distance of my bridge hand to the tip of the cue.
 
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Bavafongoul

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
The wrap on all my cues show wear in the same area and it starts 2” below the rings
and extends to 2” above the rings. I change my hand position when the shot requires
a different stroking of the cue ball to get shape for continuing a table run. Normally I
grip my wrap midway but for stroking a cue ball off a rail shot I move my hand position.
For added follow I’ll change hand position but in general, I try to mostly grip it the same.
 

Bavafongoul

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
The wraps on all my cues show wear in the same area and it starts 2” below the rings
and extends to 2” above the rings. I change my hand position when the shot requires
a different stroking of the cue ball to get shape for continuing a table run. Normally I
grip my wrap midway but for stroking a cue ball off a rail shot I move my hand position.
For added follow I’ll change hand position but in general, I try to mostly grip it the same.
 

evergruven

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I think I've said this already but anyway, I used to buy into that balance point / pendulum / best touch soup of things. House cues would float as would plastic jointed cues. Steel jointed cues worked a lot better. The years spent on that process had also allowed my eyes to grow old forcing me to hold the stick long; as I did as a beginner. After rediscovering and learning once and for all the benefits - better shot framing, better touch due to the long stroke, vastly increased headroom of power, etc...

I can't see going back to the cramped balance point stance.

yo straight
thanks for the comment
I like a long stroke/follow through too
that's the way I started to play
and I now wonder if that's due to bp
with the balance point a bit more forward tho
I feel like I can shoot long
and pretty much any other way as well
but I'm definitely still figuring it out
I just don't like the feeling of being forced into a position, y'know?
 

evergruven

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Huh?????????????????? I got thru about half of this. You probably need to get out some.

I'm just exercising my mind pal
otherwise I walk outside daily (safely-distanced, of course)
and play wall tennis when it's not raining
as ever, thanks for your concern;)
 

evergruven

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I think different balance points are why some people find they automatically play better with one cue v another.

Lou Figueroa

I can dig it, lou
again, why shouldn't we use a cue that seems to naturally "fit" us?
thanks for chiming in
 

evergruven

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
the standard for balance point was 1/3 of the way up from the butt. if you find something you like better and adjust to that if you change cues you will have to have all custom ones made.

hi maha
I agree a custom job might be required
could be no small task to figure out what is needed
price could also be a barrier
but if a person is serious about enjoying pool
a truly custom cue could also be a very worthwhile investment!
 

evergruven

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Based upon the cue, that could either lengthen or decrease the distance of my bridge hand to the tip of the cue.

hi 'eye
I've read you have a cue collection, so I'm guessing you don't have much trouble adjusting to different cues
but I'm curious, if you're getting a custom made, do you request a custom balance point with it?
 

HawaiianEye

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
hi 'eye
I've read you have a cue collection, so I'm guessing you don't have much trouble adjusting to different cues
but I'm curious, if you're getting a custom made, do you request a custom balance point with it?

I have got three in the last couple of months.

Two of them I haven't shot with yet. One came just yesterday.

I ordered all of them to have a balance point at around 19 inches or there about. All three have a balance point between 19 and 20 inches.

One of the cues is 60 inches and the other two are 58 inches.

All of the shafts between the three cues will fit any of the butts since they are all .850 diameter and have the same 3/8-10 pins. Between those three cues and a Mike Gulyassy 60 inch cue, I have 12 shafts that I can choose from. Some are 29 inch shafts and some are 30 inch shafts and there is a little bit of weight differences between the shafts so I have quite a variation to choose from to mix and match lengths and balance points.

The cue on the top is a Jackpot from the second batch. It is ebony with a camphor burl handle, cored with purple heart by Larry Vigus. It is a 60 inch cue.

The cue in the middle is a John Chaplin cue. It is cocobolo with a sindora burl handle and the entire butt is cored with purple heart. It is a 58 inch cue.

The cue on the bottom is a Jackpot from the first batch. It is ebony with a maple handle and is a 58" cue.
 

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HawaiianEye

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Here are the balance points on a handful of my other cues.
 

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evergruven

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I have got three in the last couple of months.

Two of them I haven't shot with yet. One came just yesterday.

I ordered all of them to have a balance point at around 19 inches or there about. All three have a balance point between 19 and 20 inches.

One of the cues is 60 inches and the other two are 58 inches.

All of the shafts between the three cues will fit any of the butts since they are all .850 diameter and have the same 3/8-10 pins. Between those three cues and a Mike Gulyassy 60 inch cue, I have 12 shafts that I can choose from. Some are 29 inch shafts and some are 30 inch shafts and there is a little bit of weight differences between the shafts so I have quite a variation to choose from to mix and match lengths and balance points.

The cue on the top is a Jackpot from the second batch. It is ebony with a camphor burl handle, cored with purple heart by Larry Vigus. It is a 60 inch cue.

The cue in the middle is a John Chaplin cue. It is cocobolo with a sindora burl handle and the entire butt is cored with purple heart. It is a 58 inch cue.

The cue on the bottom is a Jackpot from the first batch. It is ebony with a maple handle and is a 58" cue.

nice collection..thanks for sharing
I haven't collected many cues
so it's neat to see a bunch of goodies together
the top three..
the handles are a different wood, but don't appear wrapped as your other cues are
how come?
and thanks for marking your balance points..that gives me ideas (which I will thoughtfully? move to another thread ^_^)
 

HawaiianEye

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
nice collection..thanks for sharing
I haven't collected many cues
so it's neat to see a bunch of goodies together
the top three..
the handles are a different wood, but don't appear wrapped as your other cues are
how come?
and thanks for marking your balance points..that gives me ideas (which I will thoughtfully? move to another thread ^_^)

I usually have sweaty hands and the pool hall air conditioning isn't the greatest in the world, so I got tired of my linen wraps getting sweaty and decided to get a few cues that didn't have wraps.

That makes them easier to wipe down and keep clean. Also, I was using a carbon fiber Becue for a long time and the butt is carbon fiber without a wrap, so I was already used to no wrap.

I think I have 6 or 7 cues now that do not have a wrap.
 

evergruven

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I usually have sweaty hands and the pool hall air conditioning isn't the greatest in the world, so I got tired of my linen wraps getting sweaty and decided to get a few cues that didn't have wraps.

That makes them easier to wipe down and keep clean. Also, I was using a carbon fiber Becue for a long time and the butt is carbon fiber without a wrap, so I was already used to no wrap.

I think I have 6 or 7 cues now that do not have a wrap.

thanks, makes sense
I like the look and feel of wrapless myself
but sometimes a wrap does look nice..
looks like you found the best of both worlds:thumbup:
 

gogg

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Just the difference between weighting with a steel joint and a phenolic joint moves the balance forward a little bit.
Some cues, that feels like enough
 

jrctherake

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I was recently handling a cue as if I might actually hit a ball with it
timber up, my grip hand instinctively went to a place so close to the balance point,
that the shaft didn't feel adequately weighted upon my open bridge hand
and I thought, the balance point of this cue is clearly not far enough forward for my liking
so, I moved my grip hand backward to compensate, and my bridge hand followed back with it
my *entire body* followed suit, and where I'd desired to be one with my wand
I could only feel as though my wand was now waving me!
some magician.
sure I could play, but thurston and houdini
seemed so far away..
and I thought
rather than deal with all this hocus-pocus
wouldn't it be better to simply possess a cue that was balanced evenly to begin with?
further I wondered
how many other people go through these same motions?
and do they realize that for each one of us, each of us unique
there is a cue that exists, or can be made
that will meet us in the middle

Hey gruven,

You don't need to buy a custom cue to have most any cue balanced the way you like it.

For $60 or $70 my cue guy will take the pin out, add desired weight to nose of butt and install new pin. Bam.....new balance point.

Any competent cue guy can move the balance point forward or back for very little money. It's a very, very easy fix. So, if you like the way a cue looks, you can also like the way it plays.

Have a good one sir and be safe.

Jeff
 
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