Print

[Cover_Drive]

Perhaps age is catching up for me which is making me ponder such but if you go to a podshaver (not counting those who make bat via CNC), would you get a custom shape of your preference or stock shape that he masters?

My belief now is that I'd get his stock shape because that is something at which he would be more adept than one I would want to be fully customized albeit I would be fussy over the handle.

Also if you go for custom, would you go to batmaker make who makes it by hand or opt for CNC made?

Lets discuss!

[Bat and Ball Cricket]

Interesting questions....

1. Working with he Podshaver
I saw a video of Julian Millichamp making a Scream Cat a few years ago. He basically had four or five 'shapes' there to see what the customer like, feel wise and then made the bat to specs (weight, concaving etc).
My thought on it is you have to 'feel' comfortable with what you get. Stock shapes are great because you can see a finished product, but the argument could be it's his stock shape so he rushes through making it.....

2. Hand v CNC
Not sure really. Argument is that the CNC can do exactly what you want, as there is an element of human error by hand.

[Contrails]

I see the premium cricket bats as a piece of art.  So they have to be made by hand.  A bat from a master bat maker equals to years of experience, knowledge and skill that is goes into that bat and that's what we are paying for. 

I would also choose a stock shape that the bat maker masters.  He/she would be good at making it from experience, especially with giving it a good feel.  Also a good bat maker should be able to direct you to what stock shape would work for you after you have told him what sort of batsman you are. 

[Aussiecollector]

Julian made a bat for me over a 6 hour period ,  it started as a cleft still with bark on it with a handle , during the process he would stop & ask my preference  , he also stated during the build what shapes international players wanted    i ended up with a bat shape that julian stated he had never ever done before  he called it the diamond &  thanked me for taking him in a different direction    thats the beauty of handmade  something unique
  that you have input into

[Stuey]

Hand v CNC....artist v mathematician For a custom I prefer the artist for an exact copy give me the mathematician. 

[procricket]

Most of your handmakers use a copy lathe or something of that nature especially if they are only a few and turning over a number of bats per year.

For me a machine can still offer you the same feeling as handmade because in truth the finishing touches are done by hand.

Infect you could say cnc are more specific as I know from experience everything is taken down at the beginning to get the weight just right. (Handle weight, grips, ancils.)

Had handmade and CNC there is no difference bar romance and accuracy really.

[procricket]

Julian made a bat for me over a 6 hour period ,  it started as a cleft still with bark on it with a handle , during the process he would stop & ask my preference  , he also stated during the build what shapes international players wanted    i ended up with a bat shape that julian stated he had never ever done before  he called it the diamond &  thanked me for taking him in a different direction    thats the beauty of handmade  something unique
  that you have input into

You can have ultimate imput off a CNC. people sometimes forget a CNC only shapes the profile it doesn't finish, handle or final shape all the time.

I like both methods.

as for the question shapes that are already made are by nature stock both handmade and CNC made and in truth in the 8 years I been knocking around the forum there not that many shapes as you will know @Cover Drive that have not been shown and done.

[InternalTraining]

Julian made a bat for me over a 6 hour period ,  it started as a cleft still with bark on it with a handle , during the process he would stop & ask my preference  , he also stated during the build what shapes international players wanted    i ended up with a bat shape that julian stated he had never ever done before  he called it the diamond &  thanked me for taking him in a different direction    thats the beauty of handmade  something unique
  that you have input into

@Aussiecollector ,
I am surprised and impressed that Julian Millichamp made a bat for you!
When did Julian make your bat? From what I heard, he stopped making bats.

[Aussiecollector]

Was a few years ago now , we flew down to his shed for the weekend , learnt more about bats in the 2 days we were with him , than  any other time , his knowledge was amazing ,  gilly picked up some bats as well &  i watched while julian  made some slight changes that he requested

[Alvaro]

NAMEDROP!

[Tailendfielder]

Custom hand made.

Custom because otherwise you might as well buy off a shelf.

Hand made because i want dont want the art to die. Dont like the idea that all bats will be made on a computer. There is enough computer made stuff in the world.

[Aussiecollector]

It was no ordinary squashball either,  but that's another story for another day