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[niceonechoppy]

Yes, H4L Do reasonably affordable G3 Clefts for 60 quid, or JS wright do G1 for 66 posted with handle and grips- as well as twine etc.

[tommo256]

I was looking to visit a workshop and see a bat being made in the flesh, the only two I have come up with are hunts and warsop they are most local

[GJ]

Look around the net, their are loads of videos on bat making, watching bats being made there and then would be ideal too. Ive watched a few.

Would say the minimum you could get away with is, Large Vice, Strong bench, Drawknife, smoothing plane.
Then various grades of sandpaper etc.

[Talisman]

Got to have a spoke shave.

[Howzat]

Tools required:

Drawknife (not essential) (Can be brought from ebay or a few places new)
Wood plane (These can be found at car boot sales, ebay, any woodworking shop etc)
Spokeshave (Same as above)
Rasp (Same as above)

Good quality sandpaper in my opinion is a must! I made a few bats towards the beginning of 2009 and I found that any imperfections in the willow (e.g. nicks in the wood where the plane slipped etc) will be smoothed out using a good quality, coarse sandpaper.

As mentioned above, Hell4Leather cricket are a good place to get clefts. I have had clefts from Redback and Fusion before and both have been of excellent quality. When I first purchased from Fusion, there was 3 stages:

Level 1: Cleft pressed, handle inserted
Level 2: Cleft pressed, handle inserted, toe cut to shape and basic shape formed
Level 3: Cleft pressed, handle inserted, toe cut to shape and shoulders, back and toe shaped.

Level 1 is the best experience as such, as you will do everything including choosing the length of the blade (so if you are say 6ft+, you can cut the bat to the length that is 100% perfect for you) etc.
Level 2 is the mid range batmaking practice. Although the toe and shoulders are rounded to shape, you can still choose the shape you want etc.
Level 3 obviously is for people who want to simply take a little bit of wood off, shaping the handle and doing the finishing touches.

Hope this helps.

Bearing in mind for level 1 you will need a bandsaw to cut the toe etc

[Talisman]

You can shape the toe by hand if needed.

[GJ]

oooops, missed out the crucial spokeshave! 

[Beachcricket]

If you can vice a bat with your feet you need to video it and post it here, amazed by their skill and strength.

and flexibilty, my back would be in such a state crouched over like that all day.

[GJ]

Here you go, Tom posted a video on it a while back.
I too am amazed by their skill and strength....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HJAqUZkTZ4