Custom Bats Cricket Forum
Equipment => Bats => Topic started by: praguetaz on April 04, 2014, 04:49:09 PM
-
Gents...
I've read a few threads recently that seem to make reference that Woodstock bats are made by someone else these days and stickered up.
I have 2 of their bats including a custom made tdf platinum xl which i'm planning on being my main match bat this season. It's opening up nicely on knocking in and being played in gently in nets.
So, without causing offence to anyone or blasphemy on the forum, can someone tell me whether this rumour is true and if so, who is making Woodstock bats these days? Is it someone on this forum??
Just picked up some their 2014 platinum softs too that look really well made and classy.
-
Me.
-
A few people believe if you don't press the bat and do everything you don't make it
Allegedly he doesn't press them or handle them ... But he does the rest
Up to you to decide if you believe he makes them or not
For me .... He makes them as when he receives them they are not usable cricket bats
-
Fair enough...
Can't believe this but now I'd like to ask... who is making the Willostix Spitfire Original Bat? Someone in Kent as implicated by another thread on this forum.
Reason for asking: I just bought one on e-bay a few days ago and getting very excited about picking it up from my parents when I return home next week...
Love the profile and those stickers.... It's been used for one season so might even replace my Woodstock... :o
-
You bought the willostix! I was going to buy that as it's my mates bat.
-
You bought the willostix! I was going to buy that as it's my mates bat.
Got a great deal I think... he wanted 140 gbp and got him to accept a bit less.. so well chuffed especially after the great review from Paul at IJC. I believe your mate bought it from there a year ago.
Can you tell me anything about it? Loved the look of it especially after he posted some better pics than the original yellowish ones he posted...
-
Fair enough...
Can't believe this but now I'd like to ask... who is making the Willostix Spitfire Original Bat? Someone in Kent as implicated by another thread on this forum.
Reason for asking: I just bought one on e-bay a few days ago and getting very excited about picking it up from my parents when I return home next week...
Love the profile and those stickers.... It's been used for one season so might even replace my Woodstock... :o
All I can say surly the finishing gives it away but I am sure you know already and just looking for someone else to say lol
-
All I can say surly the finishing gives it away but I am sure you know already and just looking for someone else to say lol
And profile... :)
-
I recommend Paul to him when he was getting a bat. Haven't used the bat but he said it pinged well. Has been used for a couple of games at the end of last season and during winter nets.
Good luck with it mate
-
The Woodstock I used had the similar thread to Tk made bats and the glue used was similar to TK made bats.
-
Thanks Wayward....
Just a couple of games and winter nets.... so just about knocked in ready for me to use after a clean-up :D
-
Oops wrong thread sorry. If you delete your posts then I will able to delete mine and let this thread get back on track.
-
1. Price
2. Price
3. Price
Bought 3x £30 MSR bats last August and I reckon they would match any £150 shop bat in performance. I bought 2lb 6oz bat for indoor cricket, 2lb 8oz that I was going to sell on and heavier 2lb 12oz as a spare for my kit bag. During pre-season nets I have been using 2lb 12oz whilst my Nixon was being refurbed and the awesome noise when the ball hits the middle turns heads !!
Wrong thread?
-
1. Price
2. Price
3. Price
Bought 3x £30 MSR bats last August and I reckon they would match any £150 shop bat in performance. I bought 2lb 6oz bat for indoor cricket, 2lb 8oz that I was going to sell on and heavier 2lb 12oz as a spare for my kit bag. During pre-season nets I have been using 2lb 12oz whilst my Nixon was being refurbed and the awesome noise when the ball hits the middle turns heads !!
Not sure it has anything to do with Woodstock
-
1. Price
2. Price
3. Price
Bought 3x £30 MSR bats last August and I reckon they would match any £150 shop bat in performance. I bought 2lb 6oz bat for indoor cricket, 2lb 8oz that I was going to sell on and heavier 2lb 12oz as a spare for my kit bag. During pre-season nets I have been using 2lb 12oz whilst my Nixon was being refurbed and the awesome noise when the ball hits the middle turns heads !!
I remember my first unstickered bat on ebay having returned to cricket after 23 years.. it was advertised as gd 1, many many grains etc and was a heavy dead plank...
Of course there are dodgy sellers on ebay but then I bought a Kook Blade from a reputable sports company under advice from a team mate.. it was ok for the price and lasted a season and a half....
I then looked for my next bat having admired some of the quality sticks most of the oppo were wielding... From that time on i did my research and discovered this great forum...
Now I have more bats than I can use in a season.. some more expensive than others but always quality mostly via this forum. Some i sell to team mates, others i trade with forum members but regardless I enjoy it and even though I may lose a little in terms of money which i don't mind.. the joy i get from the search and acquisition is beyond price. e-bay is like the stock market for me and a bit of a gamble but less so if you know what you're looking for and a bit of help from this forum and the internet e.g. IJC bat reviews etc...
Good luck with the MSRs but I'm still looking for 'the one' of many i know out there until my playing days are done.... :)
-
Thanks Wayward....
Just a couple of games and winter nets.... so just about knocked in ready for me to use after a clean-up :D
Let me know how it goes and if you decide to sell it :D
-
My understanding with the most of the boutique bat makers is that while they may or may not physically insert the handles or press the bats, it is done to their spec.
To make enough bats to make a bat business viable, it just isn“t possible to do it any other way I believe. I think Matt from H4L admits as much in a IJC video. *Edit - I stand corrected (See below). Thank you for pointing this out.
And they are called pod-shavers so nobody is misleading anyone. We are all happy with the personal service and the end product aren“t we?
-
I am shaw matt does make them from scratch I might be wrong
-
I do make from scratch but I have a profiling machine that shapes the back ,I see it as progress, which saves hours of work and I find helps my business in that I can produce more bats ,when you make them all yourself any modern machine that can help push your business , why not? No bat maker truly handmakes every bat ? If they do then every cut would be done by hand and no machines to cut the splice ,press the blade , drum sand ?
-
Totally agree with your post have you found better consistnacy in shapes as well???
Ps I had a go with one of your bats 2 weeks ago what a delight it was
-
Bat making has obviously moved on from the days of receiving the wood to the finished end product in-house.
I'm sure the use of technology has enabled companies to produce more bats more quickly especially when it comes to finishing.
It would be interesting to compare the high tech B3 set-up with say one of the more traditional pod shavers but regardless we all trust what they are doing and bow to their expertise knowledge.
Regardless, thanks to all those who contributed their thoughts and ideas regarding Woodstock and the top Willostix. One makes perfect sense in terms of history and the other was a very pleasant surprise... if true.. I won't know until I get hold of the bat next week and then I'm not sure I would recognise their work anyway. ???
-
My theory on bats is no bats get sent out intentionally bad and machine or hand lots of love and care has gone into it.
Science and experiance can merge bit like tradition and technology.
-
I find it more consistent yes, my whole set up is more organised and smoother. As a business why take 3 hrs on a bat when you can take 30 mins? Or 1 min to shape the back? Its taken a certain amount of investment but I'm getting to position I want to be in set up wise for larger volume.
-
I think there's a difference between taking a little bit of the hard work out of it and getting preshaped bats to just finish the handle and sand. The profiling machine still leaves a lot of work to do I guess. Not a fully shaped bat that comes out of it. Machines are great to help with accuracy of cuts and makes things quicker and more accurate but there's still a hell of a lot of work that goes into a bat. I also think it comes down to what you say you do. Honesty is a big factor here. I hate it when someone claims to do something which they blatantly don't do just to make themselves look better. Does stickering a bat up make it any better or worse to hand making it yourself? Probably not depending on the bat but if all youre doing is sanding and minor shaping of handles yet claiming you press, fit handles etc then yes it does matter. The product may be the same at the end of it but it's misleading
-
I agree wholehearted the science behind the project here at b3 is amazing and it why we encourage people to come down.
There are of course confidential parts but how streaky matches the clefts to profile weight is something to behold it like a opus and it is a ever evolving process.
There many things I don't understand but what I do know is that some people think it pressing a button and hey presto they forget the 2 podshaver who lovingly finish and press and machine the clefts first.
Bats are changing because more technology and reserch is going into them.
Your right bats don't come off a Cnc or copy laith finished skill is still required and that's where the tradition takes over.
-
I have the upmost respect for you all machinist to pod shavers to sticker up operations.
Time money and effort and passion has gone into it fair play I'm now seeing the total effort going into things and you have to love it to be in it.
I salute you all
-
how streaky matches the clefts to profile weight is something to behold it like a opus and it is a ever evolving process.
This is something that I was totally ignorant of until someone better informed told me - this is the sort of stuff that folk need to know IMO
-
It's a very complicated excel spreadsheet isnt it?
-
Bit more than that mate times have moved once again but lot more goes into it than a sheet plus pressing techniques have been galvanised.
-
I do make from scratch but I have a profiling machine that shapes the back ,I see it as progress, which saves hours of work and I find helps my business in that I can produce more bats ,when you make them all yourself any modern machine that can help push your business , why not? No bat maker truly handmakes every bat ? If they do then every cut would be done by hand and no machines to cut the splice ,press the blade , drum sand ?
Really interesting. Totally agree.
-
I do make from scratch but I have a profiling machine that shapes the back ,I see it as progress, which saves hours of work and I find helps my business in that I can produce more bats ,when you make them all yourself any modern machine that can help push your business , why not? No bat maker truly handmakes every bat ? If they do then every cut would be done by hand and no machines to cut the splice ,press the blade , drum sand ?
Matt, I was trying to think what made me come to the conclusion that your bats came already with handles attached. It has to do with this IJC vid about 3,30mins in where you talk about time saving methods. That bit stuck in my mind. The parts where you show how strong a cleft/handle combination is without any glue and where you can clearly see two boxes next to each other. One box full of clefts with the V cut out ready to accept the handle and the other with the two combined erased itself from my selective memory. My apologies.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-AuCmDezBs (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-AuCmDezBs)
-
I do make from scratch but I have a profiling machine that shapes the back ,I see it as progress, which saves hours of work and I find helps my business in that I can produce more bats ,when you make them all yourself any modern machine that can help push your business , why not? No bat maker truly handmakes every bat ? If they do then every cut would be done by hand and no machines to cut the splice ,press the blade , drum sand ?
I can concur with Matt. I've had the pleasure of visiting his factory/workshop and seen him at work.
-
I can concur with Matt. I've had the pleasure of visiting his factory/workshop and seen him at work.
Have you seen "Catch me if you can" recently FF? ;)
I must also agree, I have two Hattori's.
-
Having visited both workshops, I can say that Matt certainly does a lot more than John at Woodstock!
-
My understanding with the most of the boutique bat makers is that while they may or may not physically insert the handles or press the bats, it is done to their spec.
No all of us shape part made blades, however I don't currently have a press so outsource that. Hopefully that will change in the near future.
As business grows it's impossible to keep up with demand so I agree that machines like what matt mentioned help keep up with demand. I certainly would if the demand was there, it just makes business sense.
-
Got a woodstock harrow bat in for repair today. I can tell its 100% pakistan made even though it has a made in england sticker on it
-
Played against a guy with a Woodstock the other day, couple in the team had them. He said that John was head bat maker at newbery but left to run his own business. Was news to me.
A lot of brands have their junior bats made in India/ Pakistan as it sometimes isn't cost effective to do it themself and make a decent profit. There are obviously others that don't do that. I don't make many junior bats but when I do they are hand made, I know Matt makes his too.
-
I have no issues with brands outsourcing junior bats as I know alot do so. My problem is that this bat as a "handmade in england" sticker on the back of it
-
I have no issues with brands outsourcing junior bats as I know alot do so. My problem is that this bat as a "handmade in england" sticker on the back of it
I guess honesty would be good in that situation rather than misleading. I guess the average buyer wouldn't care and wouldn't notice any difference. It doesn't mean it's a bad bat just not what you have paid for really
-
Played against a guy with a Woodstock the other day, couple in the team had them. He said that John was head bat maker at newbery but left to run his own business. Was news to me.
He did used to work for Newbery but not as head bat maker he was part of the sales team at Newbery for a while.
-
He did used to work for Newbery but not as head bat maker he was part of the sales team at Newbery for a while.
That was my understanding too. Almost couldn't stop laughing when he told me.
-
So who told your mate that John was head batmaker at Newbery in the first place?
Was he told by someone at Woodstock or was it simply a misunderstanding?
-
some bloke called John makes Woodstock, he uses his skills to produce a bat that can be used in a match. Does he do everything? ......... no.
I think only 3 companies truly do everything. A cricket bat is made from willow, so if you dont grow your own willow and outsource that part are you not classed as being a batmaker as you are using someone else's willow and wihtout it you couldnt make a bat!!
i think anyone who shapes part mades makes bats ... anyone who stickers up pre made bats (like me) does not make bats.
Simple as that.