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[Buzz]

Morning.
I have been thinking about how a bow (and no I am not referring to a pink bit of tied ribbon ) is put into a bat face and whether although aesthetically pleasing actually can cause a reduction in performance of the bat, if the bow is pressed into the face - whether that reduction in performance is be means of a weaker/softer toe or an over pressed middle.

If you look at the GM bat making video with their CNC machine you see that the bows in their bats are cut into the willow and not pressed in - this seems to me to be the only sensible way to put a bow into a bat.

So - my question is: If you press a bow into a bat do you have to press the middle more than the toe to get the shape and what is the impact on the performance.

I abhor comments about a bat being pressed "soft" and I think this is not relevant here as the toe will be under pressed or, potentially over pressed.

Please can someone who knows about bat pressing please help me... (obviously I wont be pressing many bats from my office in the city, so i wont be steeling anyones ip!!)

thanks

[Buzz]

Adding to this we should remember that in the old days of thin bats with whopping 10mm edges a bat got a bow through use and age rather than being made this way...

[100 not out]

I think the cleft is pressed at an angle to get a bow. I don't think the bow is cut as you would be reducing the top hardened layer on the face.  Look on the Salix website for a video. There used to be one on there. Failing that search YouTube for the Salix video in question.

[Buzz]

I think the cleft is pressed at an angle to get a bow. I don't think the bow is cut as you would be reducing the top hardened layer on the face.  Look on the Salix website for a video. There used to be one on there. Failing that search YouTube for the Salix video in question.

In the GM video the cleft is cut and then pressed - I am not suggesting you cut a bow into the bat after it has been pressed. I will look up the Salix video though.
How the pressing is done is only a part of the issue, however, it is the resulting impact in performance of the pressing a flat piece of timber into a curved piece of timber that I am interested in...
I note that Laver and Wood bats and Screaming cat bats typically do not have a bowed face.

[100 not out]

They are pressed flat.

[Red Ink Cricket]

the GM video on how do they do it showed the raw cleft going on the CNC machine being trimmed to size width wise and the face was cut to a bow. After that it was then pressed, handled and then Put back on the CNC machine to have its back/profile shaped.

Salix do theirs differently. they Press the bend in after the bat is pretty much finished i believe.

[mattw]

So in theory, would a bat that had a bow pressed into it - would need less knocking in (around the middle of the bat anyway, where it has been bowed) ?

[Buzz]

knocking in is part of the question, but I'm more interested in the impact on overall performance.

[Simmy]

ive only really seen Rob pack press and bow a bat...

looked like a skillfull process tbh to know how much force to apply.

but the bat seems to feel harder after the press and the ball seemed more springy when tapping up.

but surley a softer blade that has more flex when hitting the ball. the wood will stay incontact with the ball for longer surley

i guess u get the bow because of where the main bit of pressure is applied in the middle when the bat goes though the press.

[Buzz]

i guess u get the bow because of where the main bit of pressure is applied in the middle when the bat goes though the press.

this is my point... so what that possible means is that the rest of the bat will either need loads more knocking in, or the middle will be pressed a bit too hard...
or I have no idea what I am talking about. That is why I am asking the question!

[Simmy]

need more knocking in! when i am knocking a bat in i hardley ever touch the middle at all!!!

allways above the middle and the bottom few inches!!

the middles are usually pressed to perfection on my h4l's

need a reply from an actual "bat maker" that does there own pressing.

[Buzz]

This is still bothering me... has anyone else got anything they can add?

please?

[Simmy]

may be a question for mr laver as he is good at Q&A

[Joe]

http://www.salixcricketbats.com/brand/video.html


it's in there around the 2:50 mark