Custom Bats Cricket Forum

Equipment => Bats => Topic started by: SweetSpot on January 03, 2017, 04:33:12 AM

Title: Preparing a new bat
Post by: SweetSpot on January 03, 2017, 04:33:12 AM
Hi guys,
I have recently purchased a new TNF bat and was wondering how you guys go about preparing your bats.
What I do is:
Oil bat 4-5 times
Knock in for 5 or so hours
Get the bat pressed
Apply scuff sheet
Hit catches with old ball
Start using it in the nets with a old ball

Any suggestions/ideas would be greatly appreciated
Cheers
Title: Re: Preparing a new bat
Post by: Number4 on January 03, 2017, 07:31:08 AM
I just deleted your other topic as we don't need 2 topics about the exact same thing.


Now let's get to helping this fella out
Title: Re: Preparing a new bat
Post by: Sitonit on January 03, 2017, 08:03:35 AM
Hi guys,
I have recently purchased a new TNF bat and was wondering how you guys go about preparing your bats.
What I do is:
Oil bat 4-5 times
Knock in for 5 or so hours
Get the bat pressed
Apply scuff sheet
Hit catches with old ball
Start using it in the nets with a old ball

Any suggestions/ideas would be greatly appreciated
Cheers

I think there are some good Youtube videos made by those who do this for a living. Watching those videos may also help.
Title: Re: Preparing a new bat
Post by: jd163 on January 03, 2017, 08:04:45 AM
@SweetSpot
Here is my method but surely we have more knowlegable and experienced members here.

1: Oil twice (left over night after each coat)
2: Start knocking in edges and toe. 1 hour total
3: Middle for 2 to 3 hrs depending on softness of the bat.
4: Apply scuff sheet.
5: Put extra edge tape on edges and toe.
6: Use in nets against spinner with old balls.
Title: Re: Preparing a new bat
Post by: WalkingWicket37 on January 03, 2017, 08:27:03 AM
Is getting a bat pressed in store an Australian thing?

By the fact it's made it to the shelf to be sold, the bat must have been pressed during the manufacturing process. Surely getting the bat pressed again by some bloke who works in a shop after you've knocked it in/when you've just bought it is unnecessary?
Title: Re: Preparing a new bat
Post by: Number4 on January 03, 2017, 08:34:07 AM
Is getting a bat pressed in store an Australian thing?

By the fact it's made it to the shelf to be sold, the bat must have been pressed during the manufacturing process. Surely getting the bat pressed again by some bloke who works in a shop after you've knocked it in/when you've just bought it is unnecessary?

First I've hard of it mate
Title: Re: Preparing a new bat
Post by: jd163 on January 03, 2017, 08:37:40 AM
That bat pressing service is offered on GCCC website too. Why would u need the bat to be pressed again.
Title: Re: Preparing a new bat
Post by: SweetSpot on January 03, 2017, 08:47:17 AM
That bat pressing service is offered on GCCC website too. Why would u need the bat to be pressed again.
I got my current bat pressed there, then they applied a scuff sheet for me ready to use against the old ball
Title: Re: Preparing a new bat
Post by: manno on January 03, 2017, 08:57:48 AM
Don't get caught up on the term "pressing" its obviously just a machine that replicates some degree of knocking in.
Title: Re: Preparing a new bat
Post by: Number4 on January 03, 2017, 08:59:33 AM
http://www.cricketcentre.com.au/product/15747-press-only-gccc-purch-bat- (http://www.cricketcentre.com.au/product/15747-press-only-gccc-purch-bat-)
Title: Re: Preparing a new bat
Post by: Seniorplayer on January 03, 2017, 10:00:33 AM
Is getting a bat pressed in store an Australian thing?

By the fact it's made it to the shelf to be sold, the bat must have been pressed during the manufacturing process. Surely getting the bat pressed again by some bloke who works in a shop after you've knocked it in/when you've just bought it is unnecessary?

Some Aussie stores do it more in the case of bats that have been in there store for a while maybe its to do with the heat.
Title: Re: Preparing a new bat
Post by: Seniorplayer on January 03, 2017, 10:03:21 AM
Hi guys,
I have recently purchased a new TNF bat and was wondering how you guys go about preparing your bats.
What I do is:
Oil bat 4-5 times
Knock in for 5 or so hours
Get the bat pressed
Apply scuff sheet
Hit catches with old ball
Start using it in the nets with a old ball

Any suggestions/ideas would be greatly appreciated
Cheers
Oiling your bat 4 or  5 times will work against what you are trying to achieve
Title: Re: Preparing a new bat
Post by: Northern monkey on January 03, 2017, 10:09:56 AM
You tube has a video of Julian millichamp explaining his recommended knocking in / oiling process.
Ive always used his method
Title: Re: Preparing a new bat
Post by: radical.haqer@gmail.com on January 03, 2017, 10:22:27 AM
Some Aussie stores do it more in the case of bats that have been in there store for a while maybe its to do with the heat.

This is really confusing. I thought Bat pressing is part of the bat prep process. I was advised that it will cut down approx two hours of knocking in. Then there is this other dilemma of get it knocked in by hand or by a machine. Different people have different opinions. It becomes so hard and confusion, not sure whats the right way.

Would love to see your comments on this.
Title: Re: Preparing a new bat
Post by: Number4 on January 03, 2017, 10:54:05 AM
Here is a great thread on preparing a bat mate

http://custombats.co.uk/cbforum/index.php?topic=32421.0 (http://custombats.co.uk/cbforum/index.php?topic=32421.0)
Title: Re: Preparing a new bat
Post by: Seniorplayer on January 03, 2017, 12:08:01 PM
This is really confusing. I thought Bat pressing is part of the bat prep process. I was advised that it will cut down approx two hours of knocking in. Then there is this other dilemma of get it knocked in by hand or by a machine. Different people have different opinions. It becomes so hard and confusion, not sure whats the right way.

Would love to see your comments on this.

Yes it can get confusing the should be correctly pressed before you purchase it and then knocked in by hand Untill there's no marks on the blade if when you use it ball seam marks appear on the bat the bat requires further hand knocking in.
There's a  bat preparation thread on here  by Gingerbusiness which is excellent.
Title: Re: Preparing a new bat
Post by: Number4 on January 03, 2017, 12:11:16 PM
That's the link I just posted Senior
Title: Re: Preparing a new bat
Post by: radical.haqer@gmail.com on January 03, 2017, 12:19:13 PM
Thanks Guys.
Title: Re: Preparing a new bat
Post by: manno on January 03, 2017, 12:44:13 PM
Like i said. Dont confuse "pressing" a cleft with this "pressing" serivce. Yes they are the same words... One poorly chosen perhaps...
Title: Re: Preparing a new bat
Post by: procricket on January 03, 2017, 07:48:00 PM
I had a screaming cat put through the pressing machine at Greg Chappell in Melbourne

Didn't hardly do anything at all but they scuffed and told me good to go..

It seriously wasn't
Title: Re: Preparing a new bat
Post by: Contrails on January 03, 2017, 08:01:46 PM
I have a Spartan MC1000 as a net bat and it pings beautifully.  I knocked it in myself with a GN mallet and followed the advice I found on this forum. 

I started with giving it two coats of oil, 48 hours in between and the second just prior to the first knocking session.  I started with the edges, then the middle and toe.  After the first session, tested it in the nets against old balls at slow speed.  Gave it another knocking session (no oiling).  Tested again in the nets with old balls followed by one last knocking in.  By now the bat was starting to show some slight surface cracks.  Taped up the edges, then added a GN face protective sheet and then took it to a few matches.  She's become a team whore now. 
Title: Re: Preparing a new bat
Post by: manno on January 03, 2017, 10:15:23 PM
I had a screaming cat put through the pressing machine at Greg Chappell in Melbourne

Didn't hardly do anything at all but they scuffed and told me good to go..

It seriously wasn't

Do they even bother to have different shaped rollers to try and match the face profile on different bats or not?
Title: Re: Preparing a new bat
Post by: procricket on January 03, 2017, 10:23:21 PM
it was 2008 they had two I think then it was a blue roller type contraption
Title: Re: Preparing a new bat
Post by: Wickets-then-runs on January 03, 2017, 11:06:20 PM
Do they even bother to have different shaped rollers to try and match the face profile on different bats or not?
no, there is only one profile which is of a rounded face. They still put flat faced bats through from what ive seen...
Title: Re: Preparing a new bat
Post by: sachin200 on January 03, 2017, 11:33:04 PM
Someone more knowledgeable can correct me but both "pressing" and "knocking in" are trying to do the same thing- put a protective crust on spongy bouncy willow to lengthen the life of the material. Doesn't really matter how you get there.

Don't take my advice, but bats seem fairly robust albeit for a short overall lifetime nowadays...
Buy bat from a shop you trust to look after you so long as you don't take the p1ss
Have shop knock it in
Get impatient to use it and have an hour or two on the bowling machine
Probably get even more impatient and hit some proper balls earlier than you *should*
Use bat until it dies
Repair for a second life if it was dear to you and like close family
Buy something else if not and enjoy a new bat
:)
Hi @DorsetDan. I think when you are knocking in with a mallet, you tend to compact surface fibres in the willow whereas when you are pressing the bat, it will compress the whole willow across the cross section so in my opinion, there is a difference. When you hit the bat with a mallet, it is free to swing back to certain extent and it is only one way impact force you are applying to the surface (same thing happens when you are playing against a cricket ball) but when the bat is pressed, the cleft is pressed against a hard surface so the compression happens all the way through!

Other members, please correct me if I am wrong here!
Title: Re: Preparing a new bat
Post by: Seniorplayer on January 04, 2017, 10:22:05 AM
Rather than the compress all of  the cleft When we knock our bats  in using  a mallet we are trying to achieve a further 3 to 5 cm face compression
Title: Re: Preparing a new bat
Post by: WalkingWicket37 on January 04, 2017, 10:36:50 AM
Rather than the compress all of  the cleft When we knock our bats  in using  a mallet we are trying to achieve a further 3 to 5 cm face compression

3 to 5 cm, how hard are you hitting it?
That's one way to make these bats with monster edges "legal" once the new regulations come in, I suppose ;)
Title: Re: Preparing a new bat
Post by: nudgemaster on January 04, 2017, 10:39:49 AM
I hope the 3-5cm is a typo!!

Title: Re: Preparing a new bat
Post by: shax12 on January 04, 2017, 11:41:45 AM
https://youtu.be/Hb90RsgbPI4

Pressing vs Knocking in. Short video by Whack Sports.
Title: Re: Preparing a new bat
Post by: Seniorplayer on January 04, 2017, 02:36:20 PM
3 to 5 cm, how hard are you hitting it?
That's one way to make these bats with monster edges "legal" once the new regulations come in, I suppose ;)

Manufactures recommendation Cam 3 to 5 mil.
Title: Re: Preparing a new bat
Post by: Seniorplayer on January 04, 2017, 02:37:14 PM
I hope the 3-5cm is a typo!!

What's a typo ?
Title: Re: Preparing a new bat
Post by: ppccopener on January 04, 2017, 03:01:27 PM
typing error Senior
Title: Re: Preparing a new bat
Post by: Buzz on January 04, 2017, 03:18:54 PM
https://youtu.be/Hb90RsgbPI4

Pressing vs Knocking in. Short video by Whack Sports.

This is a bit of a confused video in my view.

Pressing and knocking in are both done to compress the bat face for optimum performance.
A shop roller can do the job of a mallet.

You need a hard/stiff bat face for performance.
Title: Re: Preparing a new bat
Post by: WalkingWicket37 on January 04, 2017, 03:29:58 PM
Manufactures recommendation Cam


(http://i1206.photobucket.com/albums/bb450/CPye061194/20170104_152653_zpsogci4yor.jpg) (http://s1206.photobucket.com/user/CPye061194/media/20170104_152653_zpsogci4yor.jpg.html)
Title: Re: Preparing a new bat
Post by: GoodLeave on January 04, 2017, 03:40:29 PM
All bat reviews should come with a highlighter for a sense of scale.

Edges: 0.25 highlighters, etc.
Title: Re: Preparing a new bat
Post by: Seniorplayer on January 04, 2017, 04:28:29 PM
([url]http://i1206.photobucket.com/albums/bb450/CPye061194/20170104_152653_zpsogci4yor.jpg[/url]) ([url]http://s1206.photobucket.com/user/CPye061194/media/20170104_152653_zpsogci4yor.jpg.html[/url])


Oops should have written 3 to 5 mil
Title: Re: Preparing a new bat
Post by: Big Mac on January 04, 2017, 04:46:44 PM
The highlighter and ruler aren't aligned properly with the start of the scale drawn on the piece of paper. This is shameless Fox News style propaganda designed to embarrass Seniorplayer and I, for one, will not stand for it.
Title: Re: Preparing a new bat
Post by: WalkingWicket37 on January 04, 2017, 04:49:47 PM
The highlighter and ruler aren't aligned properly with the start of the scale drawn on the piece of paper. This is shameless Fox News style propaganda designed to embarrass Seniorplayer and I, for one, will not stand for it.

I can't tell if you took my post seriously, or you've just played a blinder... :-[
Title: Re: Preparing a new bat
Post by: ppccopener on January 04, 2017, 04:51:09 PM
3cm-5cm mallet compression knocking in a new bat was so much more fun than 3-5mm

@Sitonit no more big edges on that bad boy  :)
Title: Re: Preparing a new bat
Post by: radical.haqer@gmail.com on January 05, 2017, 01:07:58 PM
Is it a bad idea to take the knocked in bat in the nets against bowling machine with those soft dimpled balls?
Title: Re: Preparing a new bat
Post by: jamesisapayne on January 05, 2017, 01:15:58 PM
Is it a bad idea to take the knocked in bat in the nets against bowling machine with those soft dimpled balls?

I think it's a pretty good way of knocking a bat in, although some may disagree due to the quality of the balls.

There are some differences between the balls I think, have only seen red or yellow myself and they've been fine. As long as your bat has had a decent amount of mallet time and the edges and toe are well prepared an hour or two on the machine will help both the knocking in process and gets you a bit of practice too - what's not to like!

Just like having a net, you still need to be sensible though, i'd start off slow and build the speed up gradually until you're comfortable with it.
Title: Re: Preparing a new bat
Post by: radical.haqer@gmail.com on January 05, 2017, 01:40:46 PM
I think it's a pretty good way of knocking a bat in, although some may disagree due to the quality of the balls.

There are some differences between the balls I think, have only seen red or yellow myself and they've been fine. As long as your bat has had a decent amount of mallet time and the edges and toe are well prepared an hour or two on the machine will help both the knocking in process and gets you a bit of practice too - what's not to like!

Just like having a net, you still need to be sensible though, i'd start off slow and build the speed up gradually until you're comfortable with it.

Buying (Pre & Post) a new bat isn't an easy task at all. Its almost like you've adopted a baby. So many things to take care of.
Title: Re: Preparing a new bat
Post by: Seniorplayer on January 05, 2017, 03:41:29 PM
I treat my bats like a baby.
Title: Re: Preparing a new bat
Post by: Big Mac on January 05, 2017, 04:51:56 PM
I treat my bats like a baby.

You shake it when it doesn't do exactly what you want, are forever comparing it to other people's bats and spend the rest of your life wondering whether those thirty seconds of excitement at the time of purchasing were worth it?
Title: Re: Preparing a new bat
Post by: WalkingWicket37 on January 05, 2017, 05:11:10 PM
I treat my bats like a baby.

I'm not sure why, but the thought of your trying to compress it 3 to 5cm with a mallet has become a lot more worrying... :D ;)
Title: Re: Preparing a new bat
Post by: ppccopener on January 05, 2017, 05:20:11 PM
I'm not sure why, but the thought of your trying to compress it 3 to 5cm with a mallet has become a lot more worrying... :D ;)

I love it !!

new year new fun on the forum

for those anti big edges stuck-in-the-muds its the way forward

5MM edge battered like a pancake

bring it on!!!

THIS FORUM IS MENTAL!!!!
Title: Re: Preparing a new bat
Post by: edge on January 05, 2017, 07:05:13 PM
I think it's a pretty good way of knocking a bat in, although some may disagree due to the quality of the balls.

There are some differences between the balls I think, have only seen red or yellow myself and they've been fine. As long as your bat has had a decent amount of mallet time and the edges and toe are well prepared an hour or two on the machine will help both the knocking in process and gets you a bit of practice too - what's not to like!

Just like having a net, you still need to be sensible though, i'd start off slow and build the speed up gradually until you're comfortable with it.
Absolutely the best way to knock in a bat! Do the edges and toe and a token effort round the rest of the blade, then set the machine up bowling 50mph half volleys and ease into the straight drives, happy days. Knock your bat in and make yourself feel good at the same time, what's not to like. Balls are fine unless old and perished or some bugger's dropped a few hockey balls in the bucket, so just take those out and you're golden.
Title: Re: Preparing a new bat
Post by: SOULMAN1012 on January 05, 2017, 08:09:50 PM
Personally I hardly ever knock in bats for much longer than an hour or two just on the edge and toe, personally find just tapping an old ball on the bat for 5-10 mins per day works fine. I keep most of my kit on an abounded floor at work and put a ball in an old sock to do edges and toe, that's how I was first shown how to prepare a bat and have always done since. Does help I don't try and smash bowling ever really though.
Other benefit of facing bowling machine is you can start at easy pace and get used to how the bat feels and get used to it.
Some must spend there whole life knocking in bats with there collections chad and Simon may must never stop lol