ORIGINAL: Fastsky
I fly off a grass field and don't bother. When the grass gets tall, it will start collecting on the one side of the prop. After 3 take offs and landings you can tell that the balance is being affected and you have to take the time to clean the green off. When the grass is going to change the balance of the prop anyway why worry about pre-balancing?!?
Plus, the first time you nick the prop it will be out of "perfect" balance anyway. I do a quick check the prop when I get a new prop to check that it's not grossly out of balance and then I don't worry about it anymore, if it is grossly out of balance I won't use it. But IMHO spending time to get a prop "perfect" is wasted time. I've got engines that have over 400 flights (60+ hours of airtime) that have the same prop on them as the day I maidened it. The prop wasn't balanced to start with and has nicks in from touching the runway and it's still running strong as an ox.
Ken