autopilot42 --
I think you did a terrific job there, rigging up a counterbalance system for your Equinox. With 20 oz. of counterweight, I would have expected exactly what you described -- a much-improved feel, when swinging the machine. Nice job!
Digger --
I understand your objection. There's no doubt it's a bit counter-intuitive. But I can tell you that despite the counter-intuitiveness, counterbalancing DOES make a difference -- a HUGE difference, for some.
Here's why. There are two things to consider, when discussing weight. TOTAL, or ABSOLUTE weight, and BALANCE. As this relates to the Equinox, both of these two issues are quite pertinent. First, you have to haul around a roughly 3-pound machine. That requires a certain amount of strength/musculature, to simply lug those few pounds of weight around. Fortunately, MOST of us are capable of that, even if we are not particularly athletic or strong. THEN, secondly, there is the BALANCE issue. When something is imbalanced, it ALSO requires a certain amount of strength/musculature, to "balance out" the imbalance that exists. And often, the muscle groups being used to "carry" the "absolute weight," are DIFFERENT than the muscle groups which are dealing with the "imbalance" of a given item.
Consider a 6-foot 2x4 piece of lumber. This board will weigh about 8 pounds. Likewise, consider a gallon of milk. It also weighs about 8 pounds.
If you were to carry the gallon of milk, you'd grab it by the handle, and pick it up. Most of us are capable of carrying this gallon of milk a reasonably long distance, without too much struggle.
NOW, consider the 2x4. If I told you to pick it up, how would you do so? You would, in most cases, instinctively seek the "middle" of the board, and lift if that way -- and then carry it flat -- parallel to the ground. Why would you grab it instinctively at the middle of the board? Because that's the BALANCE point -- and it is INFINITELY easier to lift a board "at the middle," where it is BALANCED, than it is to lift it from one end. The reason has to do with levers, and fulcrums, and a bunch of physics that some of us have never learned, and most of the rest of us have forgotten, since high-school physics class.
The bottom line, though, is it is relatively easy to carry that 2x4 board IF you are carrying it from the middle, because it is BALANCED. And when it is balanced, you only need to be able to carry the absolute weight of the board -- the 8 pounds. BUT, if you grabbed the board at the very end, and tried to carry it (horizontally, parallel to the ground), you'd find it QUITE difficult. While the board still weighs the same 8 pounds, you would struggle to walk along, holding the board flat, if holding it at the end. Instead, you'd naturally slide your hands forward to the middle of the board, find the "balance point," and then you'd have little trouble carrying the 8-pound board. It would then be the same, essentially, as carrying the 8-pound gallon of milk.
Now, let's say I handed you a different 2x4 board, but this one weighed a couple of pounds more -- it was more "green" (had more moisture content) than the other one. So say this one weighs 10 pounds, not 8 pounds. Would you struggle to carry this board, if you carried it from the middle, at the balance point? No, you would likely not experience all that much more difficulty carrying the 10 pound board, versus the 8 pound board, AS LONG AS you were carrying it so that it was BALANCED. Certainly, whatever "extra" effort you'd feel, having to carry the extra two pounds, would be NOTHING LIKE the amount of difficulty you'd have carrying the board from near one of the ends, where it was imbalanced.
Hopefully, this illustrates that the issue with the Equinox is two-fold. One, the machine is "light," in terms of overall weight. And so yes, if you take the three-pound machine, add a pound to it, and make it a 4 -pound machine, it will be slightly heavier, obviously, from an absolute weight sense. But from a simple "absolute weight" perspective, it's not much harder to carry a 3-pound object than a 4-pound object. What is more to the point here, with adding the extra pound or so to the Equinox, is that if you add that extra pound in a way that BALANCES the machine, THEN -- the amount of effort you are having to exert, with your hand/wrist/arm muscles, to "counteract" the imbalance of the machine, will be MUCH reduced. It will feel EASIER to swing, DESPITE being a bit "heavier" in an absolute sense. It will FEEL lighter. It's like my lumber analogy -- balancing the machine is essentially the same thing as grabbing a board and lifting it from the MIDDLE, versus from one end.
For me, the fatigue I feel with the Equinox, when swinging a big coil, is in my wrist. The reason? The nose-heavy Equinox's coil wants to rest on the ground, due to gravity, but I need to keep that coil floating ABOVE the ground, as I sweep. And so, my hand and wrist are having to exert UPWARD force, to counteract the DOWNWARD force exerted by gravity on the coil. And the small muscles in my hand/wrist experience fatigue, after awhile, trying to keep the coil "floating." The ABSOLUTE weight of the machine is NO problem for me, it's the imbalance that causes the issue -- i.e. me having to use my wrist muscles to try to fight/counteract the downward force gravity acting at the coil end of the shaft (the shaft acting as a long "lever" which means that gravity is using "leverage" against me).
For most all of my customers, adding a pound of weight to the machine causes little if any issue, SINCE that pound of weight is being added in such a way that it balances the machine. Again, it makes it similar to "holding a board from the middle," as opposed to from the end.
Minelab was entirely focused on ABSOLUTE weight, when building the Equinox, but at the complete expense of addressing BALANCE. In other words, balance was "sacrificed," in the name of advertising; after all, Minelab could not have advertised how "light" the Equinox was, compared to the competition, had they added a pound or two to achieve "balance" (even though a "balanced" machine would be much easier and more pleasant to use, for a majority of EQX users).
I know this is long-winded; what I can say is that there are many "former" skeptics of the concept, who are now using counterweighting, and have found drastic improvement in the comfort and "swingability" of the machine.
Despite the counter-intuitiveness, there is solid science/physics underlying this whole discussion. And those who have experienced it, can vouch for the fact that a balanced machine -- though being a bit heavier in "absolute" weight, is nonetheless much easier to swing.
Thanks!
Steve
