Custom Bats Cricket Forum
Forum News and Suggestions => Old Advertisers => Admin Board => Aldred Cricket Bats => Topic started by: Aldred Cricket Bats on February 25, 2014, 05:04:36 PM
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Ok here's a video showing how we make our bats from start to finish in our small workshop without big industrial machines and jigs of which are all made by hand and work perfectly for me after quite a lot of fiddling with them in the early days but love them now. Tough to get everything in in 15 mins so just a bit on the pressing and sanding but you get the idea of it and it shows how we press and make everything totally to order with traditional hand tools. Hope you like. Hope the music stays on as I reckon youtube might mute it let's see
http://youtu.be/vvu2YFw0Etc (http://youtu.be/vvu2YFw0Etc)
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Cannot watch the video as it has been blocked coz of the music in the video
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knew it leave it with me. you can watch it on a pc its just been muted
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can anyone see it on pc
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Works for me on the laptop Paul
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I think youtube are editing the music I am afraid had some nice songs to go with it
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works for me.. livin on a prayer...
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Works fine for me on a mac. Very interesting to see you at work. Thanks for sharing it :)
I'd upload a working day in the life for me... but it won't need to be crammed into 15mins!
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Got to be a BAFTA nominee for 'Best documentary'.
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Working for me on the iphone YouTube app
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Now that's a 'bat making video'!
I like the checking of the bats performance right through the making of the bat, shows a total understanding of what's needed to produce a top performing bat.The finishing and stickers are also top class
Music got better!ha
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Doesn't show half of it to be honest or the oiling in between either but hey ho. Just wanted to show the process from plain cleft through handling pressing and shaping really, it's not something everyone sees very often
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Absolutely brilliant video. I've heard smells like teen spirit a lot better though.haha
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Great video mate great to mate.
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Absolutely brilliant video. I've heard smells like teen spirit a lot better though.haha
Ye went a bit funny there don't ask me why, you tube should be muting it anyway I reckon
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Which part do you find the trickiest Paul
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Cracking video Paul, brings back memories of shaping when I bodged a few myself.
How long does it take to press, handle and shape shoulders?
What's the mallet you use when tapping the bat at pressing?
The hardest part I found was getting both edges identical. Was a case of measuring and marking constantly. You make it look too easy.
Looking for an apprentice? ;)
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Which part do you find the trickiest Paul
Pressing each cleft to get the best out of it is tricky in itself as its a fine margin I reckon as every piece needs pressing differently and shaping the toes to get the pick up right because every piece of willow will need shaping slightly differently according to the particular clefts natural make up and feel. So making the pick up right without making the toe too thin and ruining the bat I find probably one of the trickiest parts. But I try and take each process one stage at a time and be methodical about it. I just enjoy making a bat from just a blank cleft into a finished item, it would be easier and quicker to use pre shaped I suppose but that isn't what I want to do I really enjoy the full process, the next thing will be making the handles too if possible.
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Cracking video Paul, brings back memories of shaping when I bodged a few myself.
How long does it take to press, handle and shape shoulders?
What's the mallet you use when tapping the bat at pressing?
The hardest part I found was getting both edges identical. Was a case of measuring and marking constantly. You make it look too easy.
Good question not really timed it properly to be fair I suppose I should to be totally efficient, but I reckon the first part of pressing takes around 15 mins at a guess after cleaning them up and putting the profile on to fit the press roller then handling maybe 30 mins -45 perhaps including putting the shoulders in and glueing then they are pressed again which is to feel so each one takes a different amount of time. Then I oil the faces and leave them for a day before I start shaping then they are oiled again in between final standings.
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This may sound odd, but do you wear a face mask when sanding?
Obvious protection from breathing in the fine dust particles.
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I do as a general rule yes. The bit where I am running the shoulders on the small sander looks really dusty but it's not that bad as there is a extraction just below it the cam was set directly behind the drum there. Hand sanding I have a machine that pipes the fine dust away which is brilliant and just about takes the lot away it's a great machine. Generally too I have the big door open at the end which gives even more ventilation so it's all pretty good. Looks worse on the video actually.
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Video is completely silent for me.
On a side note, do you offer a 'bat making experience'? As in so someone could come and watch the whole process from start to finish and shave a few strokes off it?
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Video is completely silent for me.
On a side note, do you offer a 'bat making experience'? As in so someone could come and watch the whole process from start to finish and shave a few strokes off it?
Yes youtube have taken the music off unfortunately and I can't be bothered with spending ages trying to get something new on. Yes you can come and visit and pick your cleft out and be there for the shaping. Once it's shaped you leave it with me as it will sit for a couple of days having been oiled and then it has its final sanding and polish then it is posted out to you or ready to collect if you are more local.
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i noticed there was tiny gap between the bottom of the handle and the splice.. how do you end up closing that gap? just hammer it down?
also, I have heard that if one gets too aggressive with jamming the handle down, it can create micro fractures in the shoulder area, that eventually lead to breaks. any truth to this?
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Yes sometimes you get a very small gap there. It's not detrimental to the performance of the bat in any way. I fact I can remember having my old sponsored gray nicholls and having repairs on them and they had gaps just the same. It is a judgement call as I fit the handle. They are such a tight fit that the call is do I leave it as it is because it is just such a good fit or take more off it so that it. If you hammer it in too tight then you can split the bat as it is literally pushing the willow apart. So for me I would rather just a very slight gap and perfect fit than fiddle around with it and spoil it. Does that make sense in a garbled way
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Yes
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It does. Also curious if anyone has ever tried a different way of attaching the handle? Instead of the current method, what would happen if the handle is inserted into a hole carved into the shoulder area. Like a triangular peg, slotting in, such that the bottom of the handle is completely surrounded by the wood of the bat.. not sure i made much sense there, but just curious.
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That's basically what the Newberry C6 handles were wasn't it, except they were done with a carbon fiver rod doing that job, i think it if was just wood then the stress would snap it.
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Well that was a busy Saturday!
(http://i1061.photobucket.com/albums/t472/Aldredcricket/81cdb13d8ce9429a0b0eaef187d2107d_zps51b7573a.jpg)
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Looks like it was a long day too! Lots of hours to get all that lot coming along.
How long per bat do you think you spend making it from start to finish? (sorry if I've missed this being asked elsewhere).
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I reckon I'd average out 3 1/2 - 4 hours some quicker some longer depends on how the wood works for me at the time some is nice and smooth to work with others aren't and trickier. Some of those were sanded up on Sunday and were just shaped on Saturday
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Pressing each cleft to get the best out of it is tricky in itself as its a fine margin I reckon as every piece needs pressing differently and shaping the toes to get the pick up right because every piece of willow will need shaping slightly differently according to the particular clefts natural make up and feel. So making the pick up right without making the toe too thin and ruining the bat I find probably one of the trickiest parts. But I try and take each process one stage at a time and be methodical about it. I just enjoy making a bat from just a blank cleft into a finished item, it would be easier and quicker to use pre shaped I suppose but that isn't what I want to do I really enjoy the full process, the next thing will be making the handles too if possible.
There was a section on the old Warsop video I found showing how they made handles.
http://www.eafa.org.uk/catalogue/424 (http://www.eafa.org.uk/catalogue/424)
About 9 minutes in.
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Charlie French makes handles. I learned this the other day, along with the fact that he learned the trade from Bernie Facer at County.
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Yes he does good ones too I'm hearing
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Charlie French makes handles. I learned this the other day, along with the fact that he learned the trade from Bernie Facer at County.
Never had a bat as good as the ones Bernie used to make for me...........but taken delivery of a stunning looking Supreme today so hoping that will change!
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Another lovely grade 1 gold sovereign off out locally
(http://i1061.photobucket.com/albums/t472/Aldredcricket/317f10e61b97602dc7fda6696d8bc40a_zpsde05b5b4.jpg)
(http://i1061.photobucket.com/albums/t472/Aldredcricket/d9054abe19cfc02581ef64c7f51b9e01_zpse84503d3.jpg)
(http://i1061.photobucket.com/albums/t472/Aldredcricket/480ee9071c278a9858af9cfc1b688d9d_zps202c072e.jpg)
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Beautiful profile Paul
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This is truly a stunner off down to a very loyal customer of mine down in Hemel Hempstead a gold sovereign players grade 2-10 truly huge and goes like stink
(http://i1061.photobucket.com/albums/t472/Aldredcricket/5fea3d7fc489f59b6be00003d2e31c64_zpsf6dc9f50.jpg)
(http://i1061.photobucket.com/albums/t472/Aldredcricket/e78e6790f6b8624c2141665082c91910_zps00f01a65.jpg)
(http://i1061.photobucket.com/albums/t472/Aldredcricket/4fd4ddeba8dd05e039f3e61ecc661cfa_zpsc90e6a7b.jpg)
We have plenty of very special clefts in at the moment just get in touch
Paul
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This is truely a stunner off down to a very loyal customer of mine down in Hemel Hempstead a gold sovereign players grade 2-10 truely huge and goes like stink
([url]http://i1061.photobucket.com/albums/t472/Aldredcricket/5fea3d7fc489f59b6be00003d2e31c64_zpsf6dc9f50.jpg[/url])
([url]http://i1061.photobucket.com/albums/t472/Aldredcricket/e78e6790f6b8624c2141665082c91910_zps00f01a65.jpg[/url])
([url]http://i1061.photobucket.com/albums/t472/Aldredcricket/4fd4ddeba8dd05e039f3e61ecc661cfa_zpsc90e6a7b.jpg[/url])
We have plenty of very special clefts in at the moment just get in touch
Paul
Ooohh... Huummm, given how nice the grade 1 you did is, I am tempted to see what a players is like for myself!
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Here's a lovely grade 1 gold sovereign made to spec off out to America just going to have a couple of coats of oil over the weekend. It's specs were 60mm spine 38mm edges 2-9. We have some truly beautiful top end clefts in at the moment too.
(http://i1061.photobucket.com/albums/t472/Aldredcricket/32e95ccf951f7cd69b355c32d5f56eb8_zps0881b2bd.jpg)
(http://i1061.photobucket.com/albums/t472/Aldredcricket/40e0e8e97bcbaec29f6f9398b37ce49e_zps1f07274d.jpg)
(http://i1061.photobucket.com/albums/t472/Aldredcricket/05bfb81b695082095282cab738add206_zpse2cc2b65.jpg)
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This is truly a stunner off down to a very loyal customer of mine down in Hemel Hempstead a gold sovereign players grade 2-10 truly huge and goes like stink
([url]http://i1061.photobucket.com/albums/t472/Aldredcricket/5fea3d7fc489f59b6be00003d2e31c64_zpsf6dc9f50.jpg[/url])
([url]http://i1061.photobucket.com/albums/t472/Aldredcricket/e78e6790f6b8624c2141665082c91910_zps00f01a65.jpg[/url])
([url]http://i1061.photobucket.com/albums/t472/Aldredcricket/4fd4ddeba8dd05e039f3e61ecc661cfa_zpsc90e6a7b.jpg[/url])
There I go dribbling on the damn keyboard again!! :o
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Here's a lovely grade 1 gold sovereign made to spec off out to America just going to have a couple of coats of oil over the weekend. It's specs were 60mm spine 38mm edges 2-9. We have some truly beautiful top end clefts in at the moment too.
([url]http://i1061.photobucket.com/albums/t472/Aldredcricket/32e95ccf951f7cd69b355c32d5f56eb8_zps0881b2bd.jpg[/url])
([url]http://i1061.photobucket.com/albums/t472/Aldredcricket/40e0e8e97bcbaec29f6f9398b37ce49e_zps1f07274d.jpg[/url])
([url]http://i1061.photobucket.com/albums/t472/Aldredcricket/05bfb81b695082095282cab738add206_zpse2cc2b65.jpg[/url])
That perfect wood gave me wood!
That's proper bat porn that :o