Custom Bats Cricket Forum
Equipment => Bats => Bat Making => Topic started by: Red Ink Cricket on June 24, 2011, 02:46:02 PM
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What sort of press is used as a cricket bat press? is it a standard machine adapted to work for cricket bats or are they all made to order/ your own design specs? i can see there are a few different types used by different makers
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I think they are all custom made.
I think you could make a none hydrolic one wih the right bits and bobs...
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What bits and bobs are u thinking?
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there are basically 2 bit to a press, and saddle - the bit that the wood sits in and goes forward and back, and the press, the bit that imparts the force.
The saddle you could knock up with a few bit of metal, for the press, you would need and powerful spring to apply the force, and a strong handle and threaded bar to compress the spring, you would also need the roller, which might be the hardest bit to get, but would not be too hard to run up on a 1/2 decent lath.
This is all theory of course! in practice it might not be this simple
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http://blogs.abc.net.au/wa/2009/07/handmaking-cricket-bats.html
Picture of one on the above link.
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I would love to give it a go not that engineering minded tho.
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humm, it would take some work! Matt one at H4L looked interesting, cant find a picture of it now. I'm also wondering if there is a "better" way to press a bat...
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There are good and bad ways to press a bat. If you want longevity for your product, the bat will have the sh!t pressed out of it. It's all about finding the mix between keeping the bat reponsive and lasting for those 1000+ runs. This is why, as has been the case for a while but one that is changing, the quality of english made cricket bats has always been prized above those made in India/Pakistan. However, as has been noted by a lot of people on this forum, the quality of their pressing is improving meaning that across the board we are getting better bats.
The question about 'better' pressing is a good one - though if you are producing 10,000+ cricket bats do you work on an average pressure for each cleft when pressing to save time? Also consider that every single cleft will have slightly different properties as well......
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What I'm talking about SS, is a press that does not roll over the clef, I'm not say it would be better, just wondering if there is a different way to do it, and if it would have any effect.
has anyone ever used a completely hand hardened/hammered bat?
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It's bad enough knocking them in let alone hand pressing. Think I'd rather attempt to build a press. Anybody have any images of a press they have built or design ideas? Probably a no but if u don't ask u don't get
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I was reading back through some old posts in bat making yesterday, someone said he was goong to make one, a couple of chaps even. Might be worth asking them.... not sure if they are still around.
Do you have the kit? And the space to keep.
I wondered if hand hamering would lead to a better bat. You could make a mechine to hand hammer!
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I don't believe that hand hammering would make a decent bat, I'm not saying it is not possible, just that with the way the timber is compressed, doing it by hand will almost certainly leave dead spots on the bat where the willow hasn't been compressed correctly. plus the advantage of a roller is that it gives you different amounts of bow which can help the pick up and allows you to control the pressing process more efficiently.
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I don't have any press kit but have the space to keep it.
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I don't have any press kit but have the space to keep it.
I mean the kit to make it... welding stuff, lathes etc!
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It's bad enough knocking them in let alone hand pressing. Think I'd rather attempt to build a press. Anybody have any images of a press they have built or design ideas? Probably a no but if u don't ask u don't get
I've got 2 now I've designed and got made, but it is best to get hold of me in October when I'm less stressed but happy to help and point you in the right direction
I don't believe that hand hammering would make a decent bat, I'm not saying it is not possible, just that with the way the timber is compressed, doing it by hand will almost certainly leave dead spots on the bat where the willow hasn't been compressed correctly. plus the advantage of a roller is that it gives you different amounts of bow which can help the pick up and allows you to control the pressing process more efficiently.
You can hand hammer them you can feel the difference on the face of the bat so you'd be able to get a bit more consistency then you think. Hand hammering can make for a better performing bat funnily enough!!!! Yep a roller will give you a bow but you'd get a natural bow after a while anyway like the good old days ;-)
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I don't believe that hand hammering would make a decent bat, I'm not saying it is not possible, just that with the way the timber is compressed, doing it by hand will almost certainly leave dead spots on the bat where the willow hasn't been compressed correctly. plus the advantage of a roller is that it gives you different amounts of bow which can help the pick up and allows you to control the pressing process more efficiently.
I think you could shape the bow into the clef, so that would managed that bit of it?
I guess what I'm wondering is if the hardening for the surface of the wood would be better done by hand hammering, pressing is quite a heavy duty undertaking, and you might end up pressing more than you want depth wise. if you think about laminated bats, do they not press the front bit hard and the back bit soft/not at all... could you not try and "press" a normal cleft, so the compressed face was as thin and as "discreet" as possible...
agian, just a thought, not saying its possible or beneficial!
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I've got 2 now I've designed and got made, but it is best to get hold of me in October when I'm less stressed but happy to help and point you in the right direction
You can hand hammer them you can feel the difference on the face of the bat so you'd be able to get a bit more consistency then you think. Hand hammering can make for a better performing bat funnily enough!!!! Yep a roller will give you a bow but you'd get a natural bow after a while anyway like the good old days ;-)
Thanks norbs that would be good and Ross no I don't have any welding kit. Would need someone to help me with that one. Never even tried welding. Prob be able to get my hands on a lathe tho.
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Welding is easier than you may think. And you can hire the kit and gas quite cheaply too.
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Well if someone's willing to give me the ideas of where to start I'm more than happy to attempt to build one and document how it goes on here
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A fella at my cricket club said whilst he was in the caribean he saw bats being pressed by someone digging a narrow channel into the ground, filling it with sand, resting the bat on it and driving over it with a road roller..... This sounds absolutely amazing. Would love to see it....
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I think you might over press it doing it that way ...
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Yeah would last for ever! Prob not alot of rebound In it
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Well if someone's willing to give me the ideas of where to start I'm more than happy to attempt to build one and document how it goes on here
Wait until November and ask norbs for a cad drawing of one of his presses and your 50% there. My previous job was at a fabrication company so I have a few contacts if needed.
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That would be great. Once I've spoken to norbs I may borrow your contacts.
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Welding is easier than you may think. And you can hire the kit and gas quite cheaply too.
thats not my issue, I can weld, mill and lathe, OK...ish, but getting all the kit you need is a bit of a trick, renting it is not cheap, there are things call "make spaces" which might be an option, but I've got nowhere to keep such a beast any road.
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I'm not sure that getting someone else to make one is the same as making one yourself, you could just go and buy one form India for 1500-2000k (apparently), and would Norbs just give you the CAD's he's a generous chap, but that's a bit much, maybe?!
I have a design in mind, but I'm not sure it would work, and if you were building one yourself you would need to work out any issues as you went along - if you've not done much fabrication before it might become a bit intimidating!!!!
do you have any ideas in your head johners?
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Yeah I do. Been looking at the various presses you see in images on bat makers sites and google search. Few ideas to play around with but would be based on something already in use. Seems to be 2 main styles, the Salix one and the more basic looking such as Bradbury etc use. Have a few ideas to modify them but don't know how good they would be.
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How about everyone posts any pics of any batmakers presses they can find on here