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[Kulli]

Your attention to detail is something I can only dream of, that toe guard is a thing of beauty.

[marsbug]

Inspired by the low middle bats of Jonny, and recently Chad, I thought I'd give it a go. And although it's not something that I would usually use, someone at my club asked if I could make one, so challenge accepted!

From a H4L part-made, with very little done to it (as requested), I tried hard again to use the hand tools as much as possible, and not rely on fixing things with the sander. I had a bit more freedom in weight too, which I much prefer making, as I can go off feel more when I'm shaping and not worry too much about constantly making it lighter (I don't have loads of clefts to go through and find low density ones).

A few photos of the finished bat, with yet another variation of stickers - got to admit, I like designing these almost as much as making the bats. This design doesn't look that much, but it was a pain to go from a RGB overlay effect to a printed CMYK sticker. For those interested, the inspiration was an album cover designed by Peter Saville, but I realised afterwards that it looks pretty similar to a GM Hypa. Oh well.















Overall I'm pretty happy with the finished bat. It came out pretty well, and apart from me catching one shoulder with the sander (again! Last photo.), I don't think there's much I'd change. There's a knot on the face, right near the sweet spot, which I hope should help things. There's also a line (?) running diagonally across the toe, which I'm a bit more unsure about - anyone know if that's going to weaken the toe at all? I could put a guard on it, but that feels like hiding it, and I'd rather not.

For those that like numbers:
spine        66 mm
edge         35 mm
toe           20-27 mm
shoulders  16 mm

And for once I measured the weight at various stages, to see how much things add:
Finished    2 lbs 9.5 oz
Bound       2 lbs 10.5 oz
Stickered   2 lbs 10.7 oz
Gripped     2 lbs 12.2 oz

[Jimbo]

That's a lot of bat for 2-12, love what you've done with the stickers too.

[Chad]

Top work with this one - really like the shape - it reminds me of an SS, except with a fairly generous amount towards the splice to counterbalance/help with longevity. Can understand the pain of catching a shoulder or toe with the sander - good lesson to learn, but gotta remember that we hobbyists ain't doing it day in and day out. Although we can afford more time to tasks, we won't quite hit the consistency and clean finish of the likes of Laver and Kember. But good on you trying to find the balance that works for you between hand tools and sanding - no two batmakers does things exactly the same, some will put more emphasis on the sanding to sculpt the shape, and others will want it pretty much done by hand-tools.


Glad to be of some inspiration - although a little jealous as this one is nicer than mine    With regards to the mark on the toe - it should be fine, but without knowing what's deeper in, it's hard to tell. Most likely it won't affect the bat overall - however it might be the case that some on here may have experienced some splits around these kinds of blemishes?

[urban.monk]

I'm so ordering my next Bat from you. Loving it. not only the ingenuity but the effort alone is worth an ovation. Hats off to you Sir.