balance point
- Thread starter bhodi
- Start date
For me 19" from base of buttcap is ideal. Anything below 18" or beyond 20" is rarely acceptable to me as a player or seller of new cues.
Martin
Martin
Depending on your cue length.
For a 58" it should be around 18" to 19" from butt end.
And if you want it to be precise, it should be 19.333333333 :grin-square:
Second that.
The balance point should be of high importance regardless of weight. Moving the balance point backwards from the neutral point will make a cue feel butt heavy, moving the balance point forward of the neutral point will make it feel forward heavy. Maybe a little over simplified, I admit, but that's pretty much it.
Alan
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I agree here. Delving further into the alchemaic arts of cue making.... for a given cue weight being further forward weighted would make a cue feel heavier or lighter?
BINGO. Winner winner chicken dinner
I was going to post after the "aphelps" post but figured i'd wait to see if the thread got interesting. He brought up a very important but mostly ignored factor, the "neutral point". Balancing a cue is not the easiest of tasks & is where many builders fall short. The balance is nothing but a weight centered fulcrum. But as mentioned above, it is only part of the balancing equation. Weight distribution is the base for a good balance and must be considered throughout the entire build process. There's more to it than threading in weight bolts to a point where they give a 19" fulcrum and 19oz weight. Yes, that's what lots of builders do, but there's more to be done. It comes down to the "neutral point" that "aphelps" mentioned.
And exactly what is & where is the "neutral point"? Does anybody know? Can it be quantified? The neutral point is fluid & changes from one player to the next, and even from one shot to the next. A good example is shots where the CB is on the rail. If you are going to hit high & follow through, then your grip will be further back, putting the neutral point almost exactly center in the cue near the joint. If you are jacked up on the shot then your grip is much more centered on the cue and the neutral point will be much further back, sometimes even behind your grip. That's why you grip so far forward on a jack-up shot. You unknowingly adjust your grip to attain the correct balance for the shot. Grip the cue further back on this shot & the cue feels cumbersome. It's all a comfort thing. And it's very complex. This is why some cues may have a perfect balance point & weight but still feel wrong, while other cues may be too heavy or too light for you but play so great & you can't figure out why.
It all begins with weight distribution, and choosing materials & techniques to achieve a truly balanced cue. This is when a 21oz cue feels like a 17oz cue. It's complex but critical. Gus learned this over time & his later cues play awesome, almost super natural, hence the popularity. Jerry Franklin knew this. Many builders have learned this & it takes time & experience to learn. Some quicker than others. Some never figure it out. Many just disregard it thinking the shaft is the only thing that affects playability. But we all have our beliefs & build our cues our own way. These are my beliefs. And i'm still very much learning. I just hope i'm smart enough to figure it all out someday.
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BINGO. Winner winner chicken dinner
.
I'll throw in the cheese cake.
A 19 oz lacewood forearm with maple handle at 19 oz with a balance point at 18.75" ain't gonna feel like a rosewood forearm and maple handle with the same weight and balance point.
Not even close to the same feel.
Balance point
I'll take a stab at it. First off I do not use weight bolts--actually I hate weight bolts. If I have to use weight I place it in the slight forward side of the handle area, about 15" from the butt. A 3/8" hole is gun drilled from the butt end. The hole is filled with a 3/8 oak dowel once the weight is where I want it. I move the weight, forward or backward, until the butt balances at the mid point (14.5"). Once the shaft is screwed on the weight shifts forward the necessary distance to give you an approx. 18.5" balance point. It can be shifted some by the weight of the shaft--but that is an entirely new arguement/controversy.
I'll take a stab at it. First off I do not use weight bolts--actually I hate weight bolts. If I have to use weight I place it in the slight forward side of the handle area, about 15" from the butt. A 3/8" hole is gun drilled from the butt end. The hole is filled with a 3/8 oak dowel once the weight is where I want it. I move the weight, forward or backward, until the butt balances at the mid point (14.5"). Once the shaft is screwed on the weight shifts forward the necessary distance to give you an approx. 18.5" balance point. It can be shifted some by the weight of the shaft--but that is an entirely new arguement/controversy.