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[SAF Bats]

Thought I'd ask peoples view on pressing and what type of pressing makes the bat "ping" more!

[Tom]

I would say well pressed, I know this is a broad statement too soft and the bat will just dent absorbing the impact. Too hard and you're not going to have a kind of trampoline effect.

[SAF Bats]

What an answer Tom!

Ok to put a spanner in the work for that answer for a second to make you think a bit more...

Stiffness in a round about soft way can potentially increase the energy returned to the ball.  A soft press bat will potentially hold the ball in the impact position long enough to allow for bat to go through a vibration cycle and therefore the trampoline effect.  [think of the slow mo's of bats and the wobbly bat]

[raymond]

I wonder if cricket bast will be made with the precision of golf clubs. They precisely locate the sweet spot and perfect the moment of inertia for optimum 'ping'. I suppose GM's machine is a step in this direction.

[SAF Bats]

nope you are not allowed the same materials and becasue willow is organic you would have to take that into consideration. So each piece will have to looked at to get anywhere near what you are saying....

GM's machine doesn't do this, it is for mass production

[SAF Bats]

Stiffness in a round about soft way can potentially increase the energy returned to the ball.  A soft press bat will potentially hold the ball in the impact position long enough to allow for bat to go through a vibration cycle and therefore the trampoline effect.  [think of the slow mo's of bats and the wobbly bat]

I believe my return question after reading that made absolutely no sense!!!!!

So here goes again...

Stiffness in a roundabout sort of way can potentially increase the energy returned to the ball.  less vibration of the bat therefore less energy loss [Think Netwons laws of physics about energy has to go somewhere..]

And a soft pressed bat will potentially hold the ball in the impact position long enough to allow for bat to go through a vibration cycle and therefore the trampoline effect.  [think of the slow mo's of bats and the wobbly bat]

So now what do you all reckon on the pressing side of things...

[Johnny]

ahh... Netwon, such a celebrated physicist!

In terms of the pressing question, does that mean there is probably a range somewhere in the middle where there isn't much different. Pressed too softly and presumably that will absorb too much energy - pressed too hard and it would feel pretty awful I'm guessing (unless you can apply some sort of shock absorbtion in the handle) - so, I agree with Tom - well pressed is the optimum type of pressing!

I'm sensing that we should do some kind of Johnny Ball type experiment, where we get 3 bats - one pressed hard, one pressed softly and one in the middle and drop a ball from a fixed distance on to the blade and measure how far it bounces.

[SAF Bats]

one pressed hard, one pressed softly and one in the middle and drop a ball from a fixed distance on to the blade and measure how far it bounces.

Ah the Coefficient of restitution....

Well if you had 3 different types of willow, grains, density etc you could end up thinking it is soft press but it isn't....

[Howzat]

I was wondering would a toe be less prone to splitting if it was pressed hard? If so should all bats not have the toe pressed extra hard to eliminate breakages?

[SAF Bats]

One to ponder on Leo... Pressing will compress the willow as you know...

So how would you eliminate the ripple of the willow if you just pressed the toe area?

[Tom]

One company I know add moisture to the toe during pressing to prevent cracking.

As for pressing Norb, which one do you think is the best?

[SAF Bats]

Yep that is prevent crack from the pressing process....


As for pressing Norb, which one do you think is the best?

I won't answer the question just yet...

[Chris1976]

A lot of pro's use lightly pressed bats...... lots of ping but wont last very long!  As club cricketers we want a balance of power and durability so we need to find the middle-ground... that is what most bat makers strive for.

[Talisman]

I disagree with that, if you pressed bats you would know that there is an optimum pressure for any piece of wood and the owner and his playing ability will have nothing to do with it. I think that a bat going to a "Pro" would have a touch more pressing as they will not knock it in.

Norby, over to you.

[SAF Bats]

A lot of pro's use lightly pressed bats...... lots of ping but wont last very long!  As club cricketers we want a balance of power and durability so we need to find the middle-ground... that is what most bat makers strive for.

Why would a lightly pressed bat give you lots of ping?