first commission

I have resisted for years taking any paid work because I like to do what I want, when I want, in the shop. But I finally broke down and accepted a commission for a large shadow box to house a 34" bat, a ball and some photos of Sam Rice, hall of fame baseball player, who is from Morocco IN. It will be displayed at the Scott Lucas House, a national historic home in Morocco. But it's complicated because they want to be able to take it to the library, to the county fair, to god-knows-where and then back to the SL House. So it's gotta travel well, and not be overly hefty. The SL House is all QSWO, so that's decided. And craftsman style, so ok to that. And gotta have tempered glass. And I'm thinking it should stand up, not lay flat. The pictures will be in minimal black frames, so they can be held in place with with dbl stick tape, or small screws thru the back. The inside dimensions need to be 36 x 24 or there-a-bouts. What has me a bamboozled is how to secure the bat - it's pretty heavy - without harming it with screws and such, and without introducing something gross like zip ties or plumber strap. All suggestions welcome, and, frankly, encouraged. I'm thinking a lighter, more delicate this:


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Bill, congrats on the project. The travelling around part does add the need to have things pretty secured in place. A quick image search came up with these...probably the best I found to hold it in place.

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Looks like you have a good start with the frame. What is your plan for the background? Is the bat color light or dark? Would the assembly ever be shipped?

If you use loops like Phil's second example, I would try to line the edges with felt or something similar. On the other hand, you might be able to glue the bat to the background with a reversible adhesive and a compatible wood finish or no finish. I think suspending the bat by the ends in his first example would also work well using adhesives. If the assembly will be shipped, all bets are off.

Let us see what you create. Good luck!

ornate rope work to hold the bat but I think I like the way Phil shows.
I would suggest laminated glass instead of tempered. Laminated glass is what you windshield is. It has the advantages of UV blocking (which will help preserve the pictures) and is a safety glass.

Take it up a level, get a wood carver to make a pair of hands to hold the bat.

after some thought and further discussions, they want to be able to hang it on the wall. So to keep the weight down, it's going to be a simple QSWO shadow box, with glass only covering the bat. The pictures will be framed and the BB cards will also be framed. I'll shape the inside surfaces of the ends of the bat case to capture the bat, dado the top and bottom and one end for the glass, then capture the glass (and the bat) with the other end. When I get to it I'll post some pics.

What about industrial velcro?

I also wouldn't hesitate to ask the owners if you can mount it with dowels or screws that cant be seen. This is supposed to be in the case forever. What reason would there be to disassemble it? It would only be then that you'd notice the mounting.

If the bat is mounted horizontally or vertically, might be able to use c-clamp like screws to hold it in place.

Have you consider 2 pins like tailstock of lathe? That could leave entire visual of bat free and clear.

This sounds like a cool project. Looking forward to see how it progresses. One design consideration: Will the bat be removable? If it were my bat, I'd appreciate being able to display it, remove it, and put it in a cushioned box for travel; in fact, building a second, simple, padded travel box might be a nice touch to your client.

Finally finished it last week. Lot's of interruptions. And, of course, since I build by the seat of my pants, it changed considerably from my original thoughts. Requirements: able to stand on a table; able to hang on a wall; no glass; no harm to the bat; bat to be removable; appropriate for the Lucas house. So I built the stand with M&T joints, inset it an 1" into the back of the box so when it hung on the wall it would be out of the way. Included a velcro strap to keep it tight to the back. Dovetail joints. And the bat is held in place with the blocks drilled out for each end. After I finished I thought of cutting a ball in half and drilling that out instead of the blocks, but too late. Anyway, it came out ok and they are very happy with it.
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Well done Bill. Nice method of holding bat.

Looks great, Bill. The back stand/hanger is a clever solution.