Official Billiard Ball Weight?
Bchbound
got a set of Lunar Rocks, by Elephant Balls, and the feel lighter than
the balls that came with my table. The manufacturer says they are 4.5 oz
instead of 5.5 oz. I see balls for sale as high as 6.2 oz. That is a big
range. I can not find a reference for this. What is right?
Thanks in advance,
Chris
Victor Bazarov
A quick search on Google gives 5.5 to 6.0 oz as the official
weight of billiard balls. See
http://www.8ball.org/rules_bca_equipment.htm
I think the important part is that they are all the same weight.
Victor
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Frank G
> A quick search on Google gives 5.5 to 6.0 oz as the official
> weight of billiard balls.
>
couldn't find a source and the BCA rule book wasn't any help (it did
say 5.5-6 oz for Pocket Billiard balls).
--
Frank G
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Victor Bazarov
> v.Aba...@attAbi.com says...
> > A quick search on Google gives 5.5 to 6.0 oz as the official
> > weight of billiard balls.
> >
> Sounds like pool balls. Billiard balls are larger and weigh more. I
> couldn't find a source and the BCA rule book wasn't any help (it did
> say 5.5-6 oz for Pocket Billiard balls).
I wonder what the difference between the two games is, really,
in terms of the equipment. AFAICT, the term "pool" refers to
a few games of pocket billiards popular in US and "billiards"
is the general name of the game with balls on a table...
Russian billiard has heavier balls, smaller pockets, and quite
different rules (at least I've never seen any game here played
without the "cue" ball).
Frank G
> Russian billiard has heavier balls, smaller pockets, and quite
> different rules (at least I've never seen any game here played
> without the "cue" ball).
>
>
The term 'Pool" came from the term 'Pool Hall" where men would hang out
waiting on the numbers to come in on betting pools. Eventually they got
bored just waiting, and put in billiard tables (sometimes with pockets
sometime without), card tables, etc. These places were called pool
halls and the term pool came from that, best I can tell. Old pictures
almost always show "billiards" or "Billiard Parlor" as the description
of what we would call a "pool hall" now. Perhaps Mike Shamos will chime
in and correct any errors or expound on what I have said.
Q-Ball
>
> v.Aba...@attAbi.com says...
> > A quick search on Google gives 5.5 to 6.0 oz as the official
> > weight of billiard balls.
> >
> Sounds like pool balls. Billiard balls are larger and weigh more. I
> couldn't find a source and the BCA rule book wasn't any help (it did
> say 5.5-6 oz for Pocket Billiard balls).
I think the elephant balls he was referring to were in fact
'pool' balls [aka 'boston balls on Europe afaik], not carom
billiard balls.
"6. Balls and Ball Rack
All balls must be composed of cast phenolic resin plastic
and measure 2 1/4 (+.005) inches [5.715 cm (+ .127 mm)] in
diameter and weigh 5 1/2 to 6 oz [154 to 168 gms]. ***
http://www.wpa-pool.com/rules/tablespecs.htm
I believe that the elephant balls though perhaps the regulation
2 1/4" dia are lighter because they are polyester plastic, not
cast phenolic like the classic quality ball sets.
The 3-ball carom billiard sets seem to come in several sizes
i.e. 2 1/16", 2 1/4", 2 3/8" and 2 1/2".
However, WORLD RULES OF CAROM BILLIARDS provides for these
regulations:
"Article 12 - Balls, chalk
***
2. These balls are rigorously round and their diameter must be
between 61 and 61.5 cm. A ball's weight must be between 205 and
220 gramms or must have another weight agreed by the UMB
committee. However, the difference between the heaviest and the
lightest ball should not exceed two gramms.
hehe ... imagine playing with 24" balls :)
allowing for typo and converting mm, that would be 2.40-2.42"
dia. and 7.23-7.76 ounces.
hmmm.. none of the 4 sizes I saw advertised met this regulation
size.
QStickFixer
grams as the standard for ball weight, which is just under 5.86 ounces.
This is something I learned almost 35 years ago and to my knowledge, the
standard has not changed.
"Bchbound" <bchb...@optonlinenojunk.net> wrote in message
news:MPG.187fa35ee...@news.optonline.net...
John Barton
weights to be from 5.8 to 6.2oz. I think 4.5 is too light. We had some of
the clear balls as gags for the nine ball break and run contest in my room
in Germany and they were really hard to play with. They were signifigantly
lighter than normal balls.
John
"Bchbound" <bchb...@optonlinenojunk.net> wrote in message
news:MPG.187fa35ee...@news.optonline.net...
Q-Ball
>
> For America billiards, pool not carom billiards, I have always used 166
> grams as the standard for ball weight, which is just under 5.86 ounces.
> This is something I learned almost 35 years ago and to my knowledge, the
> standard has not changed.
BCA/WPA specs call for balls to weigh between 5 1/2 to 6 oz [154
to 168 gms] so 166g is within allowable tolerances. While the
weight and diameter can vary within that range, some
manufacturers match size and weight within a set for more
constant play.