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[ElPerro]

Evening all,

Doing my first refurb at the moment and it's gone fairly well on the playing surface but I'm wondering how you'd keep the profile and centre spine when sanding the back of the bat.

Anyone able to shed some light on this?

Thanks in advance

[tom line]

Depends on what you are using hand sandpaper or sander?

[ElPerro]

Got a sanding disk for a power drill

[tom line]

If it's concaved then use the edge of the disc to follow the curve of the concave and do this all the way down the bat on both sides spending equal time on all parts and keep it moving, this way you shouldn't remove too much wood to make a flat spot or change the profile.

[Seniorplayer]

I cover the spine with 2 inch wide masking tape ie 1 inch of tape either side of spine.

[ElPerro]

It's a full, more of a convex, profile

@Seniorplayer that's a really great tip thanks - surely the sandpaper would grind away the tape though? Or is it more of s guideline for you?

[Seniorplayer]

It's a full, more of a convex, profile

@Seniorplayer that's a really great tip thanks - surely the sandpaper would grind away the tape though? Or is it more of s guideline for you?

The tape is there in the first instance to protect the spine as protecting the spine protects the bats power the sandpaper will fray the tape on the edges also with your bat being Convexed  if you wish to sand closer to the spine you could use 1 inch wide tape 1/2  inch of tape either side of the bats spine.
Also I prefer to sand from the edge of the bat towards the spine starting from the toe Working upwards towards the handle whilst  avoiding the edge of the bat

[tom line]

But surely then you'd end up with a darker line section all the way up the bat unless you sand there with finer grits which are less likely to change the spine. If a full or convexed shape just shape with the pad flat dipmoving up and down the back. If you notice the spine is slightly out at the end just go up and down the bat near the spine a couple of times on each side to line it up straight again. Only going to ever be taking off tiny amounts of wood so no need to worry too much

[Seniorplayer]

Yes  tom you get a slightly  2 different shades but I use the American Klingspor oxside  fine paper mention in the other threads to balance the shades when finishing.

[ElPerro]

Cheers fellas, much appreciated

[Red Ink Cricket]

Don't use a sander in a drill unless it's a variable speed one and you can control it. A normal electric drill runs far too quickly and you will end up burning the wood or removing too much.

You don't need any gimmicks or any tricks. Just take your time and control the speed and pressure you apply. Don't try and take too much out too quickly.

[well past my peak]

how much weight can you take off a bat without changing the profile?

[Seniorplayer]

Having removed weight from  many bats established that you can remove several ounces and still maintain the shape of the bat.

[ElPerro]

Don't use a sander in a drill unless it's a variable speed one and you can control it. A normal electric drill runs far too quickly and you will end up burning the wood or removing too much.

You don't need any gimmicks or any tricks. Just take your time and control the speed and pressure you apply. Don't try and take too much out too quickly.

yeah it's a variable speed one, the standard setting is way to fast i'm using the lowest setting

tried it out on an old bat, now used for the serious garden cricket games, and the standard drill speed was uncontrollable