easy wood projects
bat: (noun) a usu. wooden implement used for hitting the ball in various games.
– Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary
In the early years of baseball, around 1845, bats were homemade, rough-cut with an axe and finished on a shaving horse using a drawknife. With no official regulations on their construction, bats were made in all sizes and shapes. Some were as short as 24", while others were as long as 48" (allowing an unbelievable 8 swinging arc!).
Here is an article that gives a good description about some aspects of this project. (Making a Bat Article from woodcraft). I dont have a lathe so I will be using my other tools to make this.
I used a specification from Rawlings Bats as a guide. The pdf is at the following link. (Bat Taper By the Numbers). I say as a guide because the taper I used is not exactly as the guide. Once I have the approximate dimensions carved with a drawknife I use a spoke shave and sandpaper to get it to the final dimension. It is a look and feel that Im after not numbers. When the bat feels right everything seems to fall into place.
For this bat I started with an actual bat blank I got from MacBeath Hardwoods. The fellow at the counter told me these were actual bat blanks from Louisville Slugger. The blank is marked with an A at one end and the wood grain is straight. I marked the dimensions for the taper, barrel and handle. To keep a consistent diameter I turned the bat while taking wood off with my drawknife, spoke shave and even when sanding. I also measured with a Galbert Caliper which works well for turning these types of cylindrical objects. I then went about shaping the bat first using a sharp drawknife. This wood is dry, hard and much different than shaving green wood so to keep the drawknife sharp I used a drawsharp sharpening jig. I learned to use it right from Peter Galbert himself. It kept my drawknive sharp and I could get a new sharp edge within seconds. Then I used a spoke shave and then finally different grits of sand paper. I wanted this to be a similar bat to the one in the movie "The Natural" so I burned a nice label on the face. Everyone was amazed that I had actually made a bat. I have to say it was a lot tougher to carve this bat then using a drawknife on green wood so I would not make this my first project if I did not have at least some experience with a drawknife. The dry wood cuts differently. Green wood is a pleasure to cut and is some what forgiving. Dried wood cuts with a crackle. After I made the emblem I put a couple of coats of wipe on poly. It came out well and is as much a work of art as a functional bat. From the MLB specifications it is legal to use and as Roy Hobbs says in the movie "I wanted it to be special".
Bat Blank.
Taper as a guide line.
Straight grain runs all the way through the blank.
Measuring where to place different diameters.
Marked different diameters forming the taper, handle and barrel.
Using a drawknife.
Using the Galbert Caliper.
Riley my new apprentice. He is a chocolate lab that will work for peanuts, well Purina Pro Plan actually:)
Starting to look like a bat.
I always clean the surface before finishing with 90%+ alcohol.
I laid out the lettering first in pencil.
Here is the emblem burned in.
Here is the finished bat.
Here is the bat from the movie.
This is another shot from the movie.
Here is the movie clip when he first breaks out his bat.
I used a specification from Rawlings Bats as a guide. The pdf is at the following link. (Bat Taper By the Numbers). I say as a guide because the taper I used is not exactly as the guide. Once I have the approximate dimensions carved with a drawknife I use a spoke shave and sandpaper to get it to the final dimension. It is a look and feel that Im after not numbers. When the bat feels right everything seems to fall into place.
For this bat I started with an actual bat blank I got from MacBeath Hardwoods. The fellow at the counter told me these were actual bat blanks from Louisville Slugger. The blank is marked with an A at one end and the wood grain is straight. I marked the dimensions for the taper, barrel and handle. To keep a consistent diameter I turned the bat while taking wood off with my drawknife, spoke shave and even when sanding. I also measured with a Galbert Caliper which works well for turning these types of cylindrical objects. I then went about shaping the bat first using a sharp drawknife. This wood is dry, hard and much different than shaving green wood so to keep the drawknife sharp I used a drawsharp sharpening jig. I learned to use it right from Peter Galbert himself. It kept my drawknive sharp and I could get a new sharp edge within seconds. Then I used a spoke shave and then finally different grits of sand paper. I wanted this to be a similar bat to the one in the movie "The Natural" so I burned a nice label on the face. Everyone was amazed that I had actually made a bat. I have to say it was a lot tougher to carve this bat then using a drawknife on green wood so I would not make this my first project if I did not have at least some experience with a drawknife. The dry wood cuts differently. Green wood is a pleasure to cut and is some what forgiving. Dried wood cuts with a crackle. After I made the emblem I put a couple of coats of wipe on poly. It came out well and is as much a work of art as a functional bat. From the MLB specifications it is legal to use and as Roy Hobbs says in the movie "I wanted it to be special".
Bat Blank.
Taper as a guide line.
Straight grain runs all the way through the blank.
Measuring where to place different diameters.
Marked different diameters forming the taper, handle and barrel.
Using a drawknife.
Using the Galbert Caliper.
Riley my new apprentice. He is a chocolate lab that will work for peanuts, well Purina Pro Plan actually:)
Starting to look like a bat.
I always clean the surface before finishing with 90%+ alcohol.
I laid out the lettering first in pencil.
Here is the emblem burned in.
Here is the finished bat.
Here is the bat from the movie.
This is another shot from the movie.
Here is the movie clip when he first breaks out his bat.
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