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Thread: Baseball Bat Blanks

  1. #16
    And our kids would learn something about wood and where wood products come from instead of thinking it all comes from the store....

  2. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Underwood View Post
    And our kids would learn something about wood and where wood products come from instead of thinking it all comes from the store....
    I would so rather make kids smelt and machine their own aluminum bats...

  3. #18
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    Actually that kind of sounds fun

  4. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by Zach England View Post
    This is valid, and my blanket statement about wooden bats being unsafe is correctly not completely accurate. What I should have said is that wooden bats pose different safety concerns than aluminum bats, especially to spectators. Since I don't wish to start a debate, let us agree on a few things:

    if using a wooden bat, a bat with proper grain slope is safer than one without

    baseball, with various objects (balls, bats, bat fragments, cleats, Kerry Woods' glove) moving at high speeds and in unpredictable trajectories, involves a certain level of risk

    "ping" is not the proper sound of a baseball bat
    We can agree on those points.

    I will add that IMO the risks that wood bats generate is at a much lower level that the risks brought on board by high tech Al. bats.

    Ironically, last night I was umpiring a varsity game when I smoking line drive came so close to the pitcher's head that it nipped the bill of his cap. Absolutely NO time to react. We were 4" from a tragedy.

    I myself, a couple of years ago, had to dive out of the way of a line drive and I am 20 feet farther away than the pitcher. I have seen little league kids lunged at an outside pitch with just a poke at it swing and it goes over the fence at 200 feet.

    I have coached and umpired baseball for 20 years and Al. should be banned, period. Unfortunately there is too much money in it and no matter what is said, kid's safety comes second.

    Toney
    Last edited by John Keeton; 05-25-2010 at 8:33 PM.

  5. #20
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    Toney,
    Couldn't agree more, my thoughts exactly.

  6. #21
    i have played in an adult MSBL baseball league here in NC for the last 9 years the first 6 of which aluminum bats were used and the last 3 of which we switched to wood. while there is still risk involved the number of screaming liners impacting or narrowly missing pitchers has dropped off by a factor of at least 95% there is no doubt in my mind that the switch to wood bats has made our league safer and the side benefit to that is we got rid of that annoying "ting" sound of an aluminum bat hitting the ball


  7. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by Don Alexander View Post
    i have played in an adult MSBL baseball league here in NC for the last 9 years the first 6 of which aluminum bats were used and the last 3 of which we switched to wood. while there is still risk involved the number of screaming liners impacting or narrowly missing pitchers has dropped off by a factor of at least 95% there is no doubt in my mind that the switch to wood bats has made our league safer and the side benefit to that is we got rid of that annoying "ting" sound of an aluminum bat hitting the ball

    Don,

    Thanks for the real life input. Did you ever see the Real Sports on HBO segment on this subject back a few years? The stats they imparted were sobering to me.

    First the NCAA and I believe Fed (High School) does not require reporting when pitchers are hit with a batted ball. How can an organization that is supposed to exist in large part for the student athlete not required that? I can tell you why - $$$$$$.

    Second the Minn. coach was on there and stated that he had gunned batting practice and had gotten readings of 116 mph ball exit speed. During BATTING PRACTICE when the pitch is not coming at 85-95 mph and most of the time the batter is not swinging his hardest either. The segment stated that any BES (Ball exit speed) over 95, the pitcher does not have enough time to react. The BES for wood rarely exceeds that level.

    Minn. had a pitcher that in a game threw a curve ball to a batter that waited on the pitch and nailed it. Now this is a curve ball with not nearly as much energy as a fastball. The pitcher moved his glove maybe half way to his face and he was hit right in the eye socket. Shattered the bone around the eye but thankfully or miraculously he did not lose his sight. It took all kinds of metal to piece him back together and he had imprints of the stitches in his skin from the ball for TWO weeks.

    They tried this BESR for high school bats (maybe NCAA too) but it is a joke. Yes, at the set levels Al performs the same as wood but the set points are ridiculous. I forget the exact points but it was something like a pitch speed of 65 mph and a swing speed of 75. That is little league levels. As the pitch speed and the swing speed increase so does the BES of both bats but while the BES of wood bats climbs on a gentle curve the BES for Al bats climbs VERY steeply and that is why you get BES of 116 mph for Al while wood would be more like 90 mph.

    I am sorry for high jacking this thread but as you can tell this is a subject that I feel passionately about and the original comment about wood bats and their "inherent danger" just hit a chord.

    Toney

  8. #23
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    I've found a supplier for bats with very fair prices and shipping. I've also requested that they offer 1/2 bats for projects and awards ( cut or swliced down the center )

    My order should be here any day. I plan to engrave (high speed dental drill) bats for both of my grandsons. I'll post some photos when I'm done.

    Contact:
    John R Hadley
    Blembats
    Arlington, TX 76012

    817-460-9443
    blembats dot net
    bats@blembats dot net "Quality Wood Bats at Affordable Prices!"

    Ron Thompson
    San Jose, CA
    [/SIGPIC] Epilog Mini 24 - 45 watt, 3 Melco Amaya's with DesignShop, Roland PC-600 Printer/Plotter, Roland Camm-1 and 1050 plotter and a 6 color 4 station screen printing press. CorelDraw X3,X4 and X5 plus PhotoGrav 3.0

  9. #24
    I have gotten Hard Rock Suger Maple Bat Billets from Walter Ambrosch at www.gonebattybats@gmail.com. He has Ash also. A real nice guy; you'll enjoy doing business with him.

  10. #25
    A big second on the bat blanks from Walter. I am now on my second pallet from him. I got the pallet load for less than $15 per blank, including shipping, and he can send a mixed bag of woods as well. The blanks are great for a bunch of projects from rolling pins, Irish potato mashers, boxes, sour kraut pounders, boxes, spinning tops, I even got a couple of guitar necks and fret boards out of some of them. It makes a great club or group purchase.

    robo hippy

  11. I have made several bats, about a dozen, so not an expert by any means. I have used maple and ash. My son and his teammates use them mainly for batting practice. The wood bats have a smaller 'sweet spot' than composite/aluminum bats and this teaches them to hit the ball more consistently on the barrel.
    Maple is more popular these days as it seems to have more 'pop'. On the downside the maple has more of a tendency to break into pieces were the ash tends to split.
    As stated earlier there is an inherent risk playing sports. I don't think that a wood bat poses any greater risk than a metal bat. My advise would be to copy the dimensions of a similar size bat that you intend to make. The biggest mistake would be to have the handle too thin. Otherwise as long as there are no defects in the wood I see no issue with someone using a homemade bat.
    I have ordered billets from woodbillets.com
    if you are up for some interesting projects look at these laminated bats at davyjonesbats.com

  12. #27
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    I have been actively involved in the Cape Cod Baseball League for 35+ years. It was the first summer collegiate league to return to wooden bats after years of using aluminum. Wood is a far safer baseball bat media than aluminum, and the scouts want to see the kids use the same material to hit with and pitch against as they will see in the minors and majors. The initial velocity off of aluminum, as well as the greater sweet spot makes hitting easier, pitching more difficult, and life more unsafe than with wood. On top of that, the major bat manufacturers try to obtain the best of the ash and maple wood available for their own use. Most woodworkers know what is the better grades of dense hardwood, and the bat makers would like it too. I have spent some time modifying and customising bats for the summer kids, and some that went on to the minors, mostly thinner handles and cupped ends where they weren't cupped. There are major league specs for bats, but much can be done inside of the requirements. The future of maple bats is in question, especially at the pro level. Decades ago, black locust was not uncommon, nor was hickory. There are no current rules aginst using those woods that I know of. I have made bats of both, and there was very little objection. The batter wants to have feel, and light weight.

  13. #28
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    Steve Wall lumber in NC sells Ash baseball blanks with the correct grain direction.

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