Improved ball marker

[Bob Jewett]

Here is a ball marker @iusedtoberich and I designed and he had made in China in brass and aluminum.

The ball contacts the marker on the flat, sloped surface on each leg. This allows it to work for various sizes of balls. (Markers with semi-circular shapes have a problem with this.)

If you nest two of them, the hole of the inner one is the position of the base of a ball that was sitting against the outer one. This allows you to place a ball exactly on a spot or to mark a spot where the ball was sitting.

The legs are the length of the radius of a ball. This allows you to see if a ball will spot or if its edge is over a line. This also means the marker is fairly small.

I really like the brass version. The aluminum is a little light to stay put.

This is overkill for most people but referees need to do those things sometimes. Usually a piece of chalk is OK.

 

[nataddrho]

Very nice! The circular planar slice of the ball that touches the marker is represented most closely by which of the circles in this picture? Red or blue?

 

[VarmintKong]

That is cool as heck!

I know a cube of chalk works fine, but I would rather have something with multiple points of contact when I remove a ball for a quick clean.

 

[Cuebuddy]

Very nice. Great idea too.

I hope he sells a bunch and gets rich again.

 

[tim913]

The circular planar slice of the ball that touches the marker is represented most closely by which of the circles in this picture? Red or blue?

View attachment 747927

Neither

 

[Patrick Johnson]

If you nest two of them, the hole of the inner one is the position of the base of a ball that was sitting against the outer one. This allows you to place a ball exactly on a spot or to mark a spot where the ball was sitting.

Interested to know what this means, but having a hard time visualizing it...

pj
chgo

 

[Pubo]

Very nice! The circular planar slice of the ball that touches the marker is represented most closely by which of the circles in this picture? Red or blue?

View attachment 747927

If the legs are radius of the ball, I would say the blue one looks closer to reality.

 

[maha]

you would think the majority of the twenty or so pool referees might consider buying it.

 

[Bob Jewett]

Very nice! The circular planar slice of the ball that touches the marker is represented most closely by which of the circles in this picture? Red or blue?

If you fill in the missing square between the legs, the ball sits at the outer point of that new square. The ball circle is tangent to the outer edges of the legs in this drawing. The width of the legs is half a ball radius.

The dimensions are important if you want full functionality from the marker. It is also important to not contact a matching curved surface with the ball because balls vary in size.

One of the features is that the marker sits mostly under the ball which is good for cramped conditions.

 

[Bob Jewett]

you would think the majority of the twenty or so pool referees might consider buying it.

The good news is that you need two to get all the features.

 

[Bob Jewett]

Very nice. Great idea too.

I hope he sells a bunch and gets rich again.

They only cost $25 each to make. I could probably sell quite a few for $5. People really like the heft of the brass. Any investors?

 

[Poolhall60561]

A woodworker/pool player friend of mine made this for me.
I had him add the cuts in the bottom to keep it from sliding.

 

[td873]

Bob, here's one I designed. 3D printed. It works right side up and upside down for template racks. Super light. Full size and 1/4 size. And the magnetic pocket disc works the same way.

I also realized that most people use their chalk to mark balls in league/casual play. So I integrated a ball marker "notch" into my chalk holder. I have it at different radii for different heights of chalk. It definitely gets more use than an actual ball marker. You always have your chalk with you and it's faster than walking back to your case.

-td

if anyone is interested: https://www.etsy.com/shop/OverThought3D

 

[garczar]

you guys are telling me that putting a lil spit on my fingertip and and marking that way is not cool? damn, only been doing it 40yrs.

 

[nataddrho]

Love all of the designs. I like Bob's functional idea.

you guys are telling me that putting a lil spit on my fingertip and and marking that way is not cool? damn, only been doing it 40yrs.

Please don't put spit on the table, especially after a global pandemic.

 

[fastone371]

Love all of the designs. I like Bob's functional idea.



Please don't put spit on the table, especially after a global pandemic.

He doesn't, he puts it on his finger.

 

[fastone371]

Here is a ball marker @iusedtoberich and I designed and he had made in China in brass and aluminum.

The ball contacts the marker on the flat, sloped surface on each leg. This allows it to work for various sizes of balls. (Markers with semi-circular shapes have a problem with this.)

If you nest two of them, the hole of the inner one is the position of the base of a ball that was sitting against the outer one. This allows you to place a ball exactly on a spot or to mark a spot where the ball was sitting.

The legs are the length of the radius of a ball. This allows you to see if a ball will spot or if its edge is over a line. This also means the marker is fairly small.

I really like the brass version. The aluminum is a little light to stay put.

This is overkill for most people but referees need to do those things sometimes. Usually a piece of chalk is OK.

View attachment 747897

I would buy one of those brass ball markers even though I am not a ref, I would even pay enough that a small profit could be realized, I just like cool stuff.

 

[justnum]

Did you try to use it to measure roundness?

 

[Island Drive]

A woodworker/pool player friend of mine made this for me.
I had him add the cuts in the bottom to keep it from sliding.

View attachment 748186View attachment 748187

Looks like the one I crafted. Nice pic.
What I did to mine.
Where I see your 4 cuts out, I did this.
I made one small cut out, and then glued Velcro into that cavity.

 

[Island Drive]

Did you try to use it to measure roundness?

What a creative Absurd question.