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[Buzz]

I was having some banter on twitter with B3 last night and they call themselves batmakers - which is technically true as they make bats... but for some reason it grated with me.

I think the reason for this is that to me they are not pod shavers - which I consider someone who hand makes bats the traditional way - but they didn't say they were, so I can't complain.

I am not sure where that leaves others who use CNC machines, of which there are several, to make their bats but what do you think are the right way to define the difference?

Please don't get me wrong, I have no issue with machine made bats, I really think it is a great way to make bats - I also really love a traditional hand made bat - this isn't about a preference between the two, more a question of how do we think we should define the different techniques.

Am I being too pedantic?
Does it even matter?

[ajmw89]

Bat Manufacturer might be more appropriate for people that use CNC.  Yes they make bats, but not in a traditional sense.  They use a modern, machine manufactured process, as opposed to say H4L, who do things by hand

[Tom]

Who are the best podshavers in the world?

James Laver? Uses a copy lathe.
Tim Keeley? Uses a CNC machine.
Julian Millichamp? Imports part mades from India.

Depends where you draw the line, as always.

I guess a podshaver is the traditional term, and should as such be given to someone who can make a bat from scratch. Batmaker is just a guy/brand who makes bats in any fashion.

[Ryan]

I think they're positives for both.  No two completely hand mad bats will be the same, similar but not identical.  However,  cnc'd bats will be mm perfect. So if your making volume profiles then that's the way to go. I personally feel that hand made are more personal to the person making and the customer but as you say buzz there's no right or wrong answer.

[Manormanic]

Indeed - I prefer to avoid purely CNC bats because in the weights I tend to use you get stitched with the most dense clefts, but that doesn't mean that they are pure evil, it just means that they are not the best choice for me.

[PedalsMcgrew]

My only issue with CNC bats is cost. I would never pay a premium price for a bat made by a machine on a production line. I'm happy to pay a premium for a 'proper' batmakers bat as I find it easier to justify the cost as I appreciate the time and effort put into the product.

Is one better than the other? Probably not! But if we are to ensure that the future of batmaking lies in the skills of the 'podshaver' rather than a computer programmer then we should support the guys doing it by hand. Having said that, when the cost value of a CNC bat is truly reflected in it's RRP then I imagine I'll be first in the queue for one!

Both 'make' bats but only one 'crafts' a bat imo.

[The_Bird]

which one is more commercially viable?

money will always rule all!

[Manormanic]

thats a valid point - CNC should not be used as a means of artificially inflating prices - yes GM, that does mean you!

[wilkie113]

My only issue with CNC bats is cost. I would never pay a premium price for a bat made by a machine on a production line. I'm happy to pay a premium for a 'proper' batmakers bat as I find it easier to justify the cost as I appreciate the time and effort put into the product.

Is one better than the other? Probably not! But if we are to ensure that the future of batmaking lies in the skills of the 'podshaver' rather than a computer programmer then we should support the guys doing it by hand. Having said that, when the cost of a CNC bat is truly reflected in it's RRP then I imagine I'll be first in the queue for one!

Both 'make' bats but only one 'crafts' a bat imo.

What he said!

But I completely understand why people use copy lathes, if you imagine making a lot of bats by hand you've got to take some of the donkey work from it IMO, and having something taken down to a part made takes some of that out.

[trypewriter]

Both 'make' bats but only one 'crafts' a bat imo.

...and there you have it...

[Ryan]

which one is more commercially viable?

money will always rule all!

Cnc is more viable for mass production. Time is money after all!

[Buzz]

Cnc is more viable for mass production. Time is money after all!

Plus people are more expensive than machines!

[Tom]

CNC was more expensive than handcrafting when I was doing maths for outsourcing (but may be cheaper if in house), but CNC won over due to the uniformity. If you have 100 bats on one shelf you want them to look as similar as possible.

[Dan W]

Julian Millichamp? Imports part mades from India.

I didn't know this - has this been discussed before?

[tim2000s]

I didn't know this - has this been discussed before?

Yes.