This has been a long project in the making as I had bought this bat from Matt when he was still running Vantage. This was a sample bat that had been made to test profiles for the 2013(?) season. I bought the bat as I really like the high middle profile and the Laver-esque hump. But at 2lb 10oz, it was probably a tad heavy. But I gave it a ago anyway as I really wanted to try a Vantage (this is when they were still being made in the UK). Sure enough it proved too heavy for my liking. I knocked it in, used it for a few nets and left it in a cupboard for a few months (ok maybe a year)...
My fascination with bat making had be trawling the net for bat shaping tools. Then I finally stop procrastinating and whipped up a workbench. Another few months went by until I finally bought a vice and a spokeshave. And then off I went!
The bat started out at 2lb 9.8oz naked with no concaving. I decided I needed to take 2oz off for it to be manageable weight for me. As I said I liked the high middle and the ~30mm edges. So I knew most of the weight would have to come off the spine. By the time 2oz had come off, it looked a totally different bat - a bit Black GT-ish in profile (as opposed to the more recent Cadbury GT).
I hadn't done much wood working since high school so I was a bit apprehensive at first. The key is a sharp blade and not getting too greedy on the cutting depth. Overall I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. And it's safe to say this won't be the last bat that will find its way into my vice!
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Topic: Weight Reduction (Read 2829 times)