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[Black Eagle Cricket]

Looking to get all sorted this week wondered what sort of set up people had with the bench ect and what they have found works best if people could follow up with pics and what tips they have would be very grateful

[Grubby]

Make sure the bench is secured to the wall if you are using a draw knife.

[Grubby]

Angle the vice slightly on the bench

[Black Eagle Cricket]

Angle the vice ? Also what do you do to stop the vice marking the bat

[Grubby]

[Grubby]

Personally, I find this work better.

[JK Lewis]

Angle the vice ? Also what do you do to stop the vice marking the bat

I have soft jaws in my bench vice to prevent marking but the main thing for me is to keep the cleft at around 112mm wide until the making is pretty much complete. Then you can work it safely, and send the edges through a planer/thicknesses just before final sanding.

[Chompy9760]

^  Good information.  Wish I'd thought of that before my first attempt, which now has some marks on it despite soft jaws.
All the video's I've looked at start with planing the bat to width, so that's what I did. 
For me, a lifetime of working with metal has allowed some bad habits to creep in, which are unforgiving when working with willow.

[Komdotkom]

Stropping.
I thought you could get tools sharp with a stone, I was wrong. Watch some of the serious woodwork guys on YouTube and they have some great videos.
Now I strop everything obsessively and like to have things dangerously sharp.
Ultimately this means less effort is needed to push or pull the tool through the wood and results in much cleaner bats and less sanding.

[JK Lewis]

^  Good information.  Wish I'd thought of that before my first attempt, which now has some marks on it despite soft jaws.
All the video's I've looked at start with planing the bat to width, so that's what I did. 
For me, a lifetime of working with metal has allowed some bad habits to creep in, which are unforgiving when working with willow.

Honestly, dont sweat it. The first one is likely to be a bit rough, but you'll love it for what it represents. Anyway, you'll find that willow is very forgiving and if you leave enough middle the bat will still score plenty of runs.

[Black Eagle Cricket]

Also any tips for keeping a straight spine or does that just come with practice

[JK Lewis]

Also any tips for keeping a straight spine or does that just come with practice

I'd say it does come with practice, but having a decent sander is always useful to tidy things up.

[Chompy9760]

From my limited experience, good even lighting is great for working in, but in order to get the spine to stand out so you can best see it, you need a strong light source at the correct angle to the bat so the spine almost casts a shadow.

I too would love to hear any tips people have.