Bat balance and COG

Tinykin · Oct 1, 2016

I had an EJ relapse and was trying an old bat. It felt good but a bit head heavy. I applied some old Kinesiology tape to the handle in order to balance the blade to my liking. The thing is, I am not sure what I shoild be looking for technically other than 'it feels good'.
Looking at the photograph, am I correct in thinking that the balance point on the ball is the centre of gravity (COG)?
If that is so, then is there a general rule among bat makers as where the COG should be?

MDP · Oct 1, 2016

There might be a general rule, but I can't see this being very precise. Seeing as the rubbers make up of about 50-60% of the total weight, they have a big influence on the COG aswell. You could design a blade with certain rubbers in mind, but I don't think this is really done. I've never examined the COG when making a blade, because with every rubber it would be different.

I would be interested in seeing a setup where the center of gravity is at the part where the handle ends, making it a 'balanced' blade. The part that you hold in your hand would be of equal weight to the other part. This would make for a really heavy blade with a handle weighing more then 2 rubbers

UpSideDownCarl · Oct 1, 2016

You should look at these threads:

https://www.tabletennisdaily.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?9048-Re-Building-the-BEAST

https://www.tabletennisdaily.co.uk/...ht-forward-blades-the-norm-in-our-modern-days

They may give some information on why TT companies consistently make blades with hollow spaces in the handle.

PS: I don't think it is really because the hollow handle makes them play better.

Tinykin · Oct 1, 2016

I don't recall reading those threads, thanks.
I think I'll remove the tape and see what happens. I might get to like the head heavy feature

Tinykin · Oct 2, 2016

With head heavy design, the COG is easily adjustable. That's probably one of the reasons for the hollow handles.
There were a couple of blade designs where different weights could be inserted into the handle, but they did not catch on.

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Bat balance and COG

Tinykin

Tinykin

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MDP

MDP

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UpSideDownCarl

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Tinykin

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Tinykin

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