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[Cover_Drive]

As the title says, which one do you prefer and why? Is CNC made bat better than one made with traditional tools or vice versa?

Discuss..

[piethepker]

Well if you could go to the CNC machine and put exactly how you want the bat made (easily), i think most of us would go for a CNC

But because you can't do that, Hand Made.

[justnotcricket86]

I personally love the idea that some chap has locked himself in a workshop and produced a cricket bat from a chunk of willow using some tools. I think the skill involved is awesome, would love to be able to do it. I also think more 'love and pride' would go into it.

With a CNC, it's just pop the specs into a computer and boom, it's done. It's been a dying art for years and I love the fact that Dom, Ryan, and a few others have been producing great bats recently in the traditional way.

I reda Matt's H4L article online the other day in his local paper and the fact he said there are only 10 batmakers in this country speaks volumes.

[rbblack]

Surely a high skilled pod shaver will make a better bat based on the feel and knowledge of the wood than a CNC machine could achieve with current tech?

Even if you're good enough with CAD and can make the CNC machine do a nice custom shape a handmade would still be my preference.

[justnotcricket86]

I would also like to add that from what I have read, B3 and GM use CNC and you don't see many bad ones of them about. Dave will know more about that!

I have 2 H4L's and they are some of the best bats I have ever used, 2nd only to my mate's M&H Amplus which is beyond words.

[procricket]

As the title says, which one do you prefer and why? Is CNC made bat better than one made with traditional tools or vice versa?

Discuss..

If your a nerd and want exact edge size spine size from top to bottom in the exact weight cnc.

If you like the romance and prefer a pick up on feel and the maker is there to change the balance to suit then handmade.

I love both at the minute my bats are A hybrid mix of inital cnc and finished and re balanced and weight reduction by hand a best of both of sort

[Ams4287]

Hmmm that's a interesting one - has anyone had 2x CNC bats to the same programme and therefore thoughts?

I did swing by B3 the other day as was passing but didn't have chance for a workshop tour, but my club has a beer and bat making session with them at the end of the season so it'll be interesting.

[justnotcricket86]

my club has a beer and bat making session with them at the end of the season so it'll be interesting.

That's got A&E written all over it

[procricket]

Hmmm that's a interesting one - has anyone had 2x CNC bats to the same programme and therefore thoughts?

I did swing by B3 the other day as was passing but didn't have chance for a workshop tour, but my club has a beer and bat making session with them at the end of the season so it'll be interesting.

Yes B3 made my first bat they made 2 i saw the sister there on the first tour(apparently they though i would be fussy) They where the exact same identical bar the grains remember the spec and density of willow is calculated before there put on a machine.

I love both i get a great enjoyment of somebody like Ryan or Dan at Chase making me a bat based not on a scale but by my balance and preference.


I would love at some stage to travel to H4l and also Choice.

[Spanky]

Personally think the benefit of CNC made is that you know exactly what your going to get shape wise, whereas when having a bat hand made it can sometimes be difficult to explain the shape your after.

[tim2000s]

Guys, this has been discussed loads of times before!

http://custombats.co.uk/cbforum/index.php?topic=22671.msg387954#msg387954

http://custombats.co.uk/cbforum/index.php?topic=22610.25

And I'm sure there was a Norbs controversial topic as well.

[qalib13]

Personally i like the craftsmanship involved in making it from scratch by hand. No two bats are ever going to be the same. Its akin to a master artist showcasing his craft. Its also about appreciation for a dying art.

In terms of performance i think they would both perform just as good, but to paraphrase Aldred Cricket, I prefer having one "made by Humans"

[mattw]

Both have their pros and cons.

As someone touched on - a standard blade going into a CNC machine will produce the exact same shape for two different clefts - however a bat maker will feel and continually feel each blade to get the best out of it.

There is obvious skill that goes into the guys operating the CNC machines to select the right clefts for the right model bat, which this comes with experience. I think it depends on what the business is doing - as I think it's advantageous for mass made/retail companies to CNC their blades as their are too many pros for this and a few are that it saves time, continually the exact same shape and saves money in terms of paying bat makers. These companies do not often get custom orders in, or do not do them - however I think the smaller brands need to have a bat maker as they get more custom orders and dealing with less amount of clefts means that the weights/shapes need to be altered very slightly for each cleft to get the best out of it.

Given any random cleft I think a handmade bat would be better than a machine made bat due to the skill of the bat maker - however if they are mass made and then picked 'the best' blade out of some machine made bats then that would be just as good. At the end of the day they'll both be as good as each other - the machine made bat will be more precise, however there is no attention to detail taken into the making of the bat. Any bat is only as good as the raw cleft.

[procricket]

Sorry Matt don't agree with the last part go to b3 they pay as much attention and measure many things about a cleft as much as any podshaver I have seen mate


It funny and often gets left out of the reality but most people hold TK made bats in high esteem when reality is 99 per cent are Cnc made but the where  going down pressing again

[mattw]

Sorry Matt don't agree with the last part go to b3 they pay as much attention and measure many things about a cleft as much as any podshaver I have seen mate

I'm not stating certain businesses exclusively, as I mentioned - there is a lot of skill that goes into selecting the right cleft for the right bat model that goes into the CNC machine. However not all do this to the precise details as others do.