Cue Ball Wear and Tear

[Bigmeek]

Here's a bit of trivia for you:-
I bought a set of Tournament Champion balls back in April. The white weighed in at 142.35g. I've just weighed it again and it weighs 142.23g. Used the same set of digital scales. So it looks like the cue ball has lost 12/100th of a gramme in four months. The other colours, yellow to black are more or less the same weight as when I got them.
I wouldn't say my usage was excessive, say about 20 hours a week. Its easy to see how you can very quickly have a "light white" syndrome.

[ste bed]

when i visited martin chesworths shop a few years ago we got on to talking about this and i said
it was a load of crap it takes a long long time to see any noticable change. so he took the white off
the table he as and said this white as been on the table for a good few years i bet its lighter than its
original weight he put it on the scales and was it NO. it was exactly the same weight as a new ball. i
have no doubt thay do wear down but not that quick.

[Redphex]

@ste bed
Depending on the scales used and their precision, this could be just luck.
In my opinion the comparison of different balls will bring questionable results as the individual balls vary more than you would think - even brand new and out of the box.

[jhr145]

Here's a bit of trivia for you:-
I bought a set of Tournament Champion balls back in April. The white weighed in at 142.35g. I've just weighed it again and it weighs 142.23g. Used the same set of digital scales. So it looks like the cue ball has lost 12/100th of a gramme in four months. The other colours, yellow to black are more or less the same weight as when I got them.
I wouldn't say my usage was excessive, say about 20 hours a week. Its easy to see how you can very quickly have a "light white" syndrome.

I replaced my cueball after 5 years it lost 0.5g in that time which was noticeable to me in play (wish I could play 20 hours a week )

[EnterTheDragon]

I replace my cue ball usually when it's about 3 months old, but how often do i have to buy a whole new set of balls if i play about 18-30+ hours/ week ?
I've never put them on scale, but feels like i couldn't tell a 0.5gr difference in weight..

[cantpotforshíte]

The light whites that we occasionally have to contend with in our league are 128g as opposed to the 142g object balls. Making a difference of 14g which is more than 100 times the difference of 0.12g that you are talking about ....
I imagine they might wear down a little but it shouldn't matter over a few years. By the time they have lost any appreciable weight they're bound to be looking so shítty that they'll need replacing anyway.
And unless you've any comparable weight with which to calibrate your scales, and as long as you've not stolen them from Nuclear Research, then 0.12g is asking a lot from a set of digital scales.

[ste bed]

there is no way you could tell the difference between the balls with just .5 of a gram

[Redphex]

Would agree to that for snooker - different story with billiards.
There, the difference in the cueball throw is indeed noticable - hence the allowed tolerance of 0.5g in the rules as compared to the 3g in snooker.

[jhr145]

there is no way you could tell the difference between the balls with just .5 of a gram

Hit it hard enough you can.

[Bigmeek]

The light whites that we occasionally have to contend with in our league are 128g as opposed to the 142g object balls. Making a difference of 14g which is more than 100 times the difference of 0.12g that you are talking about ....
I imagine they might wear down a little but it shouldn't matter over a few years. By the time they have lost any appreciable weight they're bound to be looking so shítty that they'll need replacing anyway.
And unless you've any comparable weight with which to calibrate your scales, and as long as you've not stolen them from Nuclear Research, then 0.12g is asking a lot from a set of digital scales.

Yes the 128g white is fairly common. It tends to happen when people replace there TC white with a non-TC white. The Aramith Premier balls weigh-in at about 128g. I weighed some of the normal club balls (don't know what make) and they were coming in at about 138g.
The digital scales I have are supposed to record accurately to within 1/100th of a gramme and I think they're pretty reliable. If they were a bit "dodgy" I think I would find similar discrepancies in the weights of the other colours? Their weights are consistant which was what led me to conclude that the white had worn away a bit through usage as opposed to the scales being inaccurate.
I'm not sure what weight difference, if any, would cause me a problem but I've seen the pro's change the white from time to time and I know some of the good players at my club would complain bitterly if they discover a light white is being used. I'm guessing that I'd notice playing with a 128g white and 142g reds.

[cueman]

My biggest annoyance in the game is light whites. So many clubs now buy these aramith cue ball replacements and they don't realise the difference in weight. Some people actually prefer to play with a lighter cueball as it means they can screwback easier but it throws my game completely. They think I'm just moaning when I say how difficult I find it playing with a lighter cueball, like anything though I guess if you play with them all the time you get used to it. IF it was as easy as just adapting I would but when you are playing with a touch of helping side or playing a soft screw/stun shot its so easy for the white to push offline and resulting in missing the pot it can make you look like an idiot.

[cantpotforshíte]

Aye, when I have been forced to play with a light (128g) white with normal (142g) object balls I have just tried not to use side and hope for the best. Even on shots without side though, the cue ball can finish anything from 1" to 13ft away from where a 142g white might would have finished. In a game where positional play is everything, it makes the game a joke.

[roykay]

Spot on Redphex, anything over 0.3 gram I find noticeable,having to spot a fraction wider on losers and drop cannons if the cueball is the lighter ball.
Roy Bacon