Custom Bats Cricket Forum
Equipment => Bats => Bat Making => Topic started by: sachin200 on September 27, 2018, 07:47:54 PM
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It is a fact that the modern bats have a fair bit of concaving on their backs to increase the edge sizes. I wonder how do pod shavers create that concave profile? I have seen one video where Indian bat makers were using a curved bottom plane to achieve it but that must be incredibly difficult! I wonder if people just use bobbin sander of different diameters to create the concaving but it must be time consuming and they must be going through a lot of bobbins if that is the case!
I wonder if the pod shavers share their/any videos here about how concaving on a cricket bat is achieved.
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I can't shed any light as to how they do it for those without access to a CNC machine but it must be a pain to do. I remember seeing this video from Paul Aldred near the start of the season where he was telling people who want a lot of concaving in their bats that this wasn't what they wanted after all and thinking "nothing to so with making life easier for you then Paul?"
https://youtu.be/bc5LyRU77mQ
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What he's saying doee make sense
However some bats have a lower middle
Is he saying all his bats have sweet spot all over and the profile doesn't make a difference ??
If true that's fab but not sure how he does that ?
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It's really not that bad with a round bottom plane or similar. A little more difficult than just using a block plane, but not so hard that most people couldn't pick it up with a little practice. Banging out exactly the profile you want time and time again with perfect flowing lines everywhere is where the real skill is.
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What he's saying doee make sense
However some bats have a lower middle
Is he saying all his bats have sweet spot all over and the profile doesn't make a difference ??
If true that's fab but not sure how he does that ?
I don't like it when someone says a concept is rubbish. No one has all the answers. Of course people were scoring runs all over the world with the classic shapes, golfers were playing great golf with wooden clubs. Things evolve and get better. If a particular shape gave you a slight advantage where you play your cricket then I'm using that.
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It's really not that bad with a round bottom plane or similar. A little more difficult than just using a block plane, but not so hard that most people couldn't pick it up with a little practice. Banging out exactly the profile you want time and time again with perfect flowing lines everywhere is where the real skill is.
I wonder if there is any video on how people do it?
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What he's saying doee make sense
However some bats have a lower middle
Is he saying all his bats have sweet spot all over and the profile doesn't make a difference ??
If true that's fab but not sure how he does that ?
It only make sense of you always hit the ball out of the middle of the bat. What concaving has done has ensured that miss hits can now find the boundary by giving you a greater margin for error. You only have to watch the professional game where top edges are now clearing the rope to see what a difference it has made
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Travisher or round bottom plane.
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Am I mistaken I thought concaving would take away the rebound from the edges . Whereas a non concaved bat even the edges go with a lot of rebound ?
So concaving reduces the edges rebound ability ?
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Am I mistaken I thought concaving would take away the rebound from the edges . Whereas a non concaved bat even the edges go with a lot of rebound ?
So concaving reduces the edges rebound ability ?
You're right, but there is a balance between weight distribution and total (dead) weight I guess. What I mean to say by that is, that if you reduce the weight from the centre of the bat using concaving, you can retain the edge size at the same weight - else you would have to reduce edge size and spine size to get the same weight. So wood is distributed more evenly across the back of the bat than without concaving at the same weight. Which is I think what SD is getting at when he says a shot that doesn't hit what you would consider the middle still flies off the blade.
I don't know where I stand on it to be honest, but it can help improve the balance of a bat.
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Concaving is just a way to balance a bat - it's very hard to produce a big looking bat if you always have to have a full profile, so a spot of concaving allows the batmaker to balance the bat down to the desired weight. A little concaving is good as it makes your bat (look) bigger, a lot of concaving (done to make the edges as big as possible) is bad as you're just taking wood away from the middle.
Side note - you hear a lot of 'concaving makes this bat pick up better'. Nonsense.
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Sensible comments above that make sense . The best bat in my opinion or shall I say profile is the tendulkar profile
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I appreciate the comments but we are digressing from the topic. Is there anyone out there who has recorded how they concave a bat?
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I appreciate the comments but we are digressing from the topic. Is there anyone out there who has recorded how they concave a bat?
Copy Lathe followed by sanding. Also seen a bat concaved using a grinding/sanding wheel, great skill
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I appreciate the comments but we are digressing from the topic. Is there anyone out there who has recorded how they concave a bat?
More or less any batmaker who's uploaded videos - Paul Aldred or JP Gavan are two reasons let examples off the top of my head.
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I use a round bottom plane that Ed Garrard helped me to make. Just an old wooden plane from an antique shop, then modified by sanding and grinding. Once the tool is rounded to the required radius, you just use it on the bat as you would any plane. The concave of the bat just follows the radius of the tool.
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https://www.ebay.com/itm/Veritas-Detail-Palm-Planes-Hand-Plane-Flat-Concave-Double-Convex-and-Convex-/190626363993 (https://www.ebay.com/itm/Veritas-Detail-Palm-Planes-Hand-Plane-Flat-Concave-Double-Convex-and-Convex-/190626363993)
Or just search for convex or rounding plane