What is Perfectly Balanced?

T

TheBook

Ret Professional Goof Off
Silver Member
Perfectly balanced seems to be the latest catch phrase or way to describe a cue. Everything has a center of gravity/balance point, once you find it and support it there on a fulcrum you have a perfectly balance object. So for a cue to be perfectly balanced is this spot marked on the cue? If so as soon as you add chalk, dress or change the tip, even sweat or dirt form you hands will change this perfect balance point. Some cue makers will say that their cues are balanced 19" from the butt, others will say 2" above the wrap which does not mean anything to me unless I know where the wrap ends.

What does perfectly balanced mean?
 
When YOU (in particular) can't really feel a cue when it's in your hands and you are playing with it. It varies from person to person so that is why it is specific to your taste.

I could be wrong but that is how it was explained to me.
 
Perfectly Balanced is like the BEST, Beauty, or Most Perfect tis in the eyes of the beholder...

Do not think any of my Playing Cues weight the same to the 0.05 OZ, or have the same balance point to the 1/4" But I love em all, and play with all of em. I have No Cues For Sale today...:rolleyes:

My Widow could have a Small Collecton for Sale Tomarrow....:D
 
"perfectly balanced" means nothing. I guess if you like the way a cue is balanced then it's perfect. I've been through a ton of cues and they have varied from 16.5 inches from the butt to 21.5 inches from the butt. I tend to like somewhere between 18.5 and 19 if possible. In another post I mentioned that I had a Kikel that was balanced 21.5 inches from the butt. The cue felt terrible to me, yet someone else might love it. I've heard from both camps that make claims that either forward weighted or rear weighted is superior.

I really think that the balance that you prefer depends alot upon your height: Tall, rear balance...short, forward balance. Makes sense doesn't it since the balance is predicated on where you hold the cue?

Regards,

Doug
 
Salamander said:
"perfectly balanced" means nothing. ...
Regards,

Doug
Click to expand...

True that. I would add that it is a squishy term intended to add value to a desription that, in reality, is worth every penny.
 
TheBook said:
Perfectly balanced seems to be the latest catch phrase or way to describe a cue. Everything has a center of gravity/balance point, once you find it and support it there on a fulcrum you have a perfectly balance object. So for a cue to be perfectly balanced is this spot marked on the cue? If so as soon as you add chalk, dress or change the tip, even sweat or dirt form you hands will change this perfect balance point. Some cue makers will say that their cues are balanced 19" from the butt, others will say 2" above the wrap which does not mean anything to me unless I know where the wrap ends.

What does perfectly balanced mean?
Click to expand...

Different things to different people. As in any part of the "feel" of a cue, it is totally subjective.
 
ScottR said:
Different things to different people. As in any part of the "feel" of a cue, it is totally subjective.
Click to expand...

More specifically, it means the balance point of the cue is exactly where the person describing it likes the balance point to be. Totally subjective, since the optimal balance point is slightly different for every person's preference.

-Andrew
 
Salamander said:
I really think that the balance that you prefer depends alot upon your height: Tall, rear balance...short, forward balance. Makes sense doesn't it since the balance is predicated on where you hold the cue?
Click to expand...
Exactly, some players hold the cue near the upper or middle part of the wrap so they wouldn't be bothered by a forward balanced cue. Other players hold the cue near or on the butt sleeve and they wouldn't be bothered by a rear balanced cue. A huge aspect of the perceived balance point is were the grip hand is usually located.
 
It's not only the balance point of the cue that matters, it's the dispersion of weight throughout. It's best when the cue is balanced where you like it and distributed the way you like it as well.

As far as someone who holds the cue on the butt sleeve not minding a rear-weighted cue, I don't like a rear weighted cue at all.
 
What is a rear weighted cue? Does this mean that the balance point is behind the grip hand or just closer to the butt than 19 inches?
 
TheBook said:
What is a rear weighted cue? Does this mean that the balance point is behind the grip hand or just closer to the butt than 19 inches?
Click to expand...

I would define a rear weighted cue as a cue that's weighted behind the person's optimal range. For example, the balance point on my cues range from ~18-21" from the butt end. For me anything weighted further back than 18" is not comfortable. I like to have a little bit more weight on the bridge hand myself. The closer the balace point is to the back hand the less weight is on the bridge hand and the more you have to put effort into keeping the cue on your bridge, if not using a closed bridge of course.
 
zeeder said:
It's not only the balance point of the cue that matters, it's the dispersion of weight throughout. It's best when the cue is balanced where you like it and distributed the way you like it as well.

As far as someone who holds the cue on the butt sleeve not minding a rear-weighted cue, I don't like a rear weighted cue at all.
Click to expand...

Great post.

The actual balance point + the distribution of weight sums up a cue's overall balance. You can have two cues with the same balance point and weight, but one has a steel joint and the other an ebony forearm with a phenolic joint; the steel jointed maple cue will feel very different than the ebony forearmed cue because the weight distribution is different. The ebony cue will be more evenly forward balanced, which I prefer.

I also hold my cue mostly behind the wrap, and I definitely like a forward balanced cue better.

-Roger
 
Perfect balance..

In my opinion.. I would have to say a Bagel is perfectly balanced. Put your finger in the hole and there is no dropping it.

:p
 
I bought my first jointed cue the year I got into a Moose League (1985). I didn't know anything about cues and got a "lot of advice" about buying one. At the time everyone either had a McDermott or a Meucci. The players with a McDermott thought they were the greatest because you could change the weight bolt and make your cue the weight you wanted. To me they always felt butt heavy. The Meucci guys liked them because the wrap was coated which allowed them to eat greasy fires and chicken wings and not stain the wrap. I Lucked out and bought a Schon.

I also feel now that a good weighted cue should have the weight distributed along the whole cue and almost be homogeneous in a ratio to the cross sectional area.
 
Just read this discription of a cue on Ebay: Perfectly balanced. Butt weighs 16.9 oz. Total weight is 20.5 oz/21.1 oz (depending on the shaft.) 1 original shaft: ~12.75mm, 3.6 oz, Moori medium tip. 2 new "super dense" shafts.

How can it be perfectly balanced when the shafts don't weight the same? The balance point changes.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top