Most text information will get a person started but not always in the correct direction. It's when corrections don't go the way the book says they should that experience becomes the best teacher. I've not balanced any rotating masses that have reciprocating appendages so I have no experience there. My experience is in balancing rotors from small turbine disks the large main rotors on helicopters where blade tracking is affecting a vertical plane at different air speeds plus the normal lateral imbalances. It was a challenge for me to learn what I know and I can say that the text information has value in learning the technique but experience makes a lot more difference in how good you get at it.
Some folks call it a black art and maybe it is to a degree but I look at it as a science that anyone can learn if they have a good mentor to help in the actual hands on experience part. I had some good teachers.
