Print

[InternalTraining]

"Worker Bee"!!

That is just so cool.

[Kai]

Beautiful shape mate, really impressive work!

[Chad]

Lovely lovely work - quite reminiscent of the Michael Clarke profile which was all the craze a few years back!

[jonny77]

Lovely stuff mate!

[marsbug]

Made a couple of bats, so thought I'd stick up a few photos, for those that like this sort of thing (I certainly still like seeing bat makers' photos, whether they're for a hobby or business).

First up, my first ever bat order! A youth player wanted a 2 lbs 7 oz, standard SH blade, mid sweetspot, big edges, minimal concaving... so basically your standard unicorm specs! But I did the best I could. Managed to hit 2 lbs 6.8 oz, 35 mm edges, about a 64 mm spine. This is what I've been calling my Elysium shape, which is basically a duckbill toe. Turned out ok, on a nice two-toned piece of willow, and I'm pretty chuffed at being able to recreate a previous shape. I tried to run the spine down past the duckbill a little, which I found a bit tricky, but it's just about visible in the photos I think.













If I could have left 2-3 of ounces in there, and left a thicker toe, I would have been tempted to keept it!

[marsbug]

And next up, a new shape for me. Tried to make one with a really high middle, with no concaving at all. So I ended up not really using the drawknife for this, and sticking to a plane most of the time, which felt like a bit of a step back for me.

But comes in at 2 lbs 10 oz, 36 mm (offset) edges, 64 mm spine, which runs straight into (no duckbilling) a 24 mm toe. Even experimented with a two-part PU toe guard, which I was pleasantly surprised with.











And as I will probably not end up keeping this, I thought I'd let you choose the stickers that should go with it! Which of these two do people prefer? I know it's not easy to tell with just the sticker sheet mock up (they're being printed at the moment).

Option 1. Random colour gradients and wave pattern.


Option 2. Highlighting climate change with a warming stripes pattern (in this case, global temperature from 1850-2021)

[Bungle]

The PU guard has a really nice finish, good work!!

[marsbug]

I hope it's ok to revive this thread now and again with updates, especially as I don't think this post should muddy somebody else's thread!

I compiled some of the bat shapes I've modelled in the Ansys engineering software I've been teaching myself at the same time as the actual bat making. I think it shows off some of the subtle differences quite well. These are images of the models I've made, so aren't perfect, but do the job I think (I mean, they look like bats!).

First up, about half of the B3 shapes. These are based on me using the CAD models on their website to measure 28 different points across the back. That took a VERY long time!



Next up, some of the shapes I've modelled myself, based on photos of real bats, measurements of the ones I've made, and some really weird shapes that I either read about or just made up. Be warned, there are some offensive-looking shapes in there!



Got to admit, there are a few in there that are so weird that I would love to see for real 

[Alvaro]

This is super stuff. Thanks for posting.

[marsbug]

This is super stuff. Thanks for posting.

No worries. I try to keep it to some kind of mimimum though, just not to bore people too much! I'm still here, plodding along with it all, but will only really post any updates that I think might be of interest to at least some people. And in the meantime I'll keep on enjoying all the other threads!

[InternalTraining]

I hope it's ok to revive this thread now and again with updates, especially as I don't think this post should muddy somebody else's thread!

I compiled some of the bat shapes I've modelled in the Ansys engineering software I've been teaching myself at the same time as the actual bat making. I think it shows off some of the subtle differences quite well. These are images of the models I've made, so aren't perfect, but do the job I think (I mean, they look like bats!).

First up, about half of the B3 shapes. These are based on me using the CAD models on their website to measure 28 different points across the back. That took a VERY long time!



Next up, some of the shapes I've modelled myself, based on photos of real bats, measurements of the ones I've made, and some really weird shapes that I either read about or just made up. Be warned, there are some offensive-looking shapes in there!



Got to admit, there are a few in there that are so weird that I would love to see for real 

Are these graphics basically a montage of different shapes or are they highlighting features that enhance ping/performance? What should we look at , here?

[marsbug]

Just the former - so a montage of different shapes. More to show the different levels of concaving in the B3 shapes in the first animation, and some of the more weird shapes I've modelled in the second animation. I'd love to try out making some of the weirder ones, just to see what they feel like.

[marsbug]

Carrying on my periodic update on making bats - hope it's ok to keep reviving this old thread.

Another bat order, from word of mouth from the last, which is nice. Although making a bat for somebody else always feels a little different than just messing about for myself - a bit more pressure to get it right, and thinking about making it last a bit longer. So to that end, I tried to keep the toe and shoulders nice and chunky on this one.

The order was for large edges, moderate concaving, which I tried my best to do with this cleft. I actually took the edges down an extra 2 mm to get the weight right at the end, rather than reduce the swell size. Duckbill toe helps the pickup, which is alright I think.

A bit more of the process with this one, in case anyone is interested. This is how I start out. I don't have enough experience to do everything by eye, so I put A LOT of markings all over the place. I find it helps me adjust as I go along, based on the feel and weight. And definitely helps me get both edges roughly the same!



A bit an Instragram-type shot towards the end of making it. You can see some of the few (and cheap!) tools I use (even cheaper plane kept out of sight).



I've decided to add a little maker's mark, for the literally singles of people out there that have one of my bats. A little hexagon stamp, honeycomb, bees etc.



Side on profile. Pretty standard shape, with a duckbill toe, but a touch lower than usual for me, with the maximum spine height at about 180 mm from the toe (the order was for a low-mid middle).



A gratuitous angled shot for the 3 seconds that the sun came out. Quite a few knots and marks made an unwelcome appearance when I was shaping the back, so I wasn't comfortable with the grading, and will let go of this as a Grade 3.



And the face. Pretty clean actually, so maybe Grade 2 would be ok, but I'm more comfortable erring on the side of caution when it's someone else's money.



And all the numbers, for those that like that sort of thing (photos can be hard to calibrate in my head):

toe: 21 - 27 mm
edge: 35 mm
swell: 64.5 mm
shoulder: 16 mm
weight: 2 lbs 11 oz (includes binding, grip, and stickers)
blade length: 550 mm

[Jimbo]

Lovely bit of work, huge fan of the stickers and I'd be perfectly happy with that if I'd ordered a G2!

[Bungle]

What a great bat! I like the shoulder stamp too, it's the little things that make the bat feel higher quality.