Fantastic work Chad. I do love the Hades shape. I can only see one dent, can that steam out? If not it's out of the hitting zone and while you are wanting Salix levels of finishing and beyond there are plenty of us on here who would pay for your work.
IIRC, GN toes were around 23mm thick and 25mm were the toe meets the spine. What are the specs here?
Also what camber do you have? GM 4.5 or 7mm?
Thanks Roger - it wasn't easy for an amateur like me to shape. (Especially since the pictures I dug out for reference weren't consistent) I ended up applying some water to the spot and buffed with the polish wheel - I repeated this a few times and the dent has mostly been rectified - luckily its in the sticker region, so can be covered up somewhat. I think the edge is 22mm at the toe, and the centre is around 32mm, so quite thick. It's a 7mm camber face, but with no bow, so the bat will look different I guess... I wouldn't call it a successful attempt, but not quite a failure - maybe once I can properly visualise it and draw it out on a piece of paper, I'll reattempt.
Really annoying when that happens mate, but I'm sure it can be rectified to some degree with a bit of work.
Shaping seems to be really coming on too. This one isn't for me shape wise, but that's just a personal thing and looks really good in regards to what you were trying to achieve. Top effort!
Thanks Jonny - I think just taking the extra time needed is key. Going to take a wee break from shaping any soon, and just spend some time sorting out the ergonomics in the workplace, hopefully increasing productivity and giving me peace of mind
Feel your pain Chad, did almost the exact same with a brand new bat earlier this year, nightmare!
Can remember my son dragging a new bat down the garden steps a couple of years ago, could have cried
Oh gosh - the pain! I was beside myself in anger when I did this - so daft, something simple like adjusting the grips when on a vice would have sufficed...
Ho Chad great effort and work
I think you rectified that chip with a water trick ? Can you share how you did it ?
Yes - Rob Pack gave me a wee tip that worked - instead of steaming, I could just apply a few droplets of water to the area, wait a bit, then buff, and repeat until it's risen all that it could. It's soft wood there, as it hasn't been pressed, so by introducing water, you allow it to return to its natural state. (Or tend towards it) This is why it's important to try not to get the face of the bat wet if you can - the willow has been manipulated in that top layer to mimic hardwood properties, so water will undo some of this manipulation. (A few droplets of rain etc won't hurt)
@Chad I have been admiring your work from afar. Super efforts and very inspiring. And a pleasure to read as always.
Can I ask the sanding grit numbers you start to finish with? And how long you generally used each one for?
And maybe a tip on How long to allow for if you were just sanding manually? 😬
Many thanks
Thank you - I do try to give the willow the respect it deserves - been a source of my fascination since I started playing cricket, and I think I noticed that as I got more used to shaping, I'd get a bit complacent. (Also, part mades aren't cheap, and I don't actively try to sell any of my creations - I've sold 2 so far and made more than 20.)
In terms of grits - it does depend. I tried using 80 grip on the orbital - which is fine if you have good control over your orbital. You can find that 80 grit can really bite into the willow and cause swirls if you don't have a steady hand, so now if I orbital, I'll maybe blast with an 80 if I'm getting rid of bumps, but only for a short time. Currently using 180 on the drum sander, then dropping down to 120 grit with hand sanding. I'm going 120 - 180 - 240 - 320 - 400 with hand sanding - although really, I should be using a 150 in between the 120 and 180 as 120 is still quite abrasive.
I'm currently still learning and figuring out what works for me. I've spent hours sanding these as I decided to try not to take too much off with tools, and really try to be patient in sculpting and detailing. In this case, it's kind of worked out, and kind of not - the profile itself was very difficult to sand.
If you're thinking of just sanding by hand - you're a madman. Get an orbital sander.
But seriously, if that's your thing - start with an 80 grit.
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Topic: Chad's Batmaking Thread (The first Bat Shaper in Scotland?!) (Read 30303 times)