ESDU 89043 gives guidance on selecting in given circumstances the most appropriate balancing technique to eliminate or reduce both the shaking force and the shaking moment on a planar linkage. Design criteria on which a rational choice depends are discussed and@ by means of a tabular presentation@ each of eleven separate techniques can be assessed against the requirements of a particular application. The principle underlying each technique is explained and sketches illustrate their practical application. The methods covered are of three types: link mass distribution (for example@ by adding counterweights)@ the addition of moving links (for example@ adding an identical linkage with mirror-image symmetry) and the addition of rotating or oscillating masses (for example@ the Lanchester balancer). In practice@ two or more of the techniques may be combined and a table indicates possible such combinations.