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[trypewriter]

I was under the impression that knocking in did the opposite to pressing?

[procricket]

Pie crust andy it all about the crust

[norbs]

Crap I just wrote a whole thing about this and I got logged out...

Give me a few mins I'll give you some details to help you along with this

[PedalsMcgrew]

The companies who press their own bats will say one thing and the guys who don't will say another! Who's right? Surely the question is, 'Is there only one way for a bat to be pressed correctly?' If the answer is yes then the shaping counts for everything. Because no matter who is pressing the bat they are striving for exactly the same outcome. If the answer is no and the differing ways of pressing the blade impart different characteristics on it then the shaping surely only makes up a part of the end performance?

[Red Ink Cricket]

if pressing wasnt that important then why is the method etc not openly discussed in detail. obviously discussions are had regarding the idea of pressing and how it works but not in much detail. alot of brands keep this close to them so to not loose any advantage. dont get me wrong. i dont think its the only factor but it must play some part. a well pressed bat can be ruined by shaping same as a badly pressed rock hard bat wont get any better with  perfect shaping. i think the point is they work together. when one or the other is done poorly it affects performance, longevity etc. to have a great bat you must have both done well. to have an average or poor bat then either the pressing or the shaping has fallen down

[norbs]

Ok here goes again... I haven't done one of these question things for years

Firstly the Dark Art of pressing

Imagine a drum with a tight thin skin on it and a drum with a thicker skin on it.... Now get a drum stick and hit them, the thin skin will be more responsive that the thicker skin...

Now lets relate that to willow... Willows is made up of loads vessels lying on top of each other and the grain which is the bark from the end year growth.

Ok lets look at this as a box of straws lying on the table, the straws are now the sapwood and stick something hard with no holes in there for the grain.

Now all you need to do press with enough pressure to compress the top bit and take into account the grain is harder to press that then sapwood [we know this from our box of straws] to get the thin drum skin layer.  We are after the thin drum skin layer aren't we.... [This is why is better to get hold of someone that takes this in account as opposed to running all the willow through on a same pressure run]

Ok brillant pressing is king I hear you say!!!!!

Well Now you shape a bat, it looks good, smells good and has the biggest edges in the world [I added that bit in for my amusement] The middle looks like it is in the right place....  Then you swing it, when this happens things change stuff due to physics makes that place where all the wood is just out of sync with where it should be. This is down to the balance and your swing speed so the profile is actually doing something to aid performance....

Then you get the collision with the ball, the way the bat reacts to that collision is to do with the willow not just pressing here but you've got that piece of willows natural frequencies and your man made stuff to take into account, also the profile shape is involved here and the handle!

So all of a sudden the profile shape and willow is doing quite a lot isnt it!

It is a very good question really... opinions comments now you maybe know a bit more?

[norbs]

Please note I modified my last post to make more sense... my English may still be shocking though

[Number4]

Just like to say that is a great description of pressing norbs... Well done

[Manormanic]

interesting science!

[procricket]

Where is Pinson he would has something to say

[norbs]

interesting science!

If you look at willow as a fibre reinforced composite you will go a long way to understanding how to deal with it a lot better

[Manormanic]

If you look at willow as a fibre reinforced composite you will go a long way to understanding how to deal with it a lot better

Gotcha - as an aside, how do you ensure that the pressure you applied only compresses the top layer of the willow rather than the whole thickness of the bat?

[norbs]

Gotcha - as an aside, how do you ensure that the pressure you applied only compresses the top layer of the willow rather than the whole thickness of the bat?

You'd think you need a microscope right....  It is one of the experience things you can tell from the cleft how the fibres are when you pick it up based on the weight and how it is on when you plane it to size.

Doesn't always work out and there is nothing worse then hearing the pop of a pressing crack....

[norbs]

Anyways we digress....

So pressing or willow and profile which one makes the biggest difference?

[trypewriter]

Probably neither - it's the bloke who is wielding it!