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[DavidBrent1]

Hi all,

I wonder if anyone has visited Rob Pack in person and has seen some of his old Puma stuff? I believe he used to make Puma's 5000/6000s models (so did T Keeley). I have a soft spot for the era of Puma bats such as the Ballistic etc.

All the best,

[Bats_Entertainment]

Legend has it that they were Pack-shaped, Keeley part-mades. But I don't know if we're allowed to discuss?

[Bats_Entertainment]

* at least some were.

[DavidBrent1]

* at least some were.

Hello

I imagine the carbon handled edition were Keeley made during his Newbery days... exactly the same technology used in Newbery's C6+ bats I presume.


I wonder who has these Puma stickers - I could do with getting my hands on a set!

All the best

[Bats_Entertainment]

Part-mades usually arrive with handles in place?

[DavidBrent1]

What?

all the best

[petehosk]

I have a couple of rather fabulous older Pumas / M&H bats. I am taking some pics this weekend and will see if I can post some.

[Bats_Entertainment]

What?

all the best

Handled and pressed by Keeley. Shaped by Pack. Possibly?

[DavidBrent1]

I have a couple of rather fabulous older Pumas / M&H bats. I am taking some pics this weekend and will see if I can post some.

Hi Petehosk,

Thanks - that would be marvellous, looking forward to seeinng the pics!

all the best

[DavidBrent1]

Handled and pressed by Keeley. Shaped by Pack. Possibly?

I see... any reason why TK or Rob Pack wouldn't do the whole process? Just wondering!

[Bats_Entertainment]

Some say Keeley pressing was/is superior? Some have suggested that at that time Pack didn't press his own bats (or even own a press).

Keeley would have had a heavy workload. Shaping partmades was/is not uncommon.

[Bats_Entertainment]

There are people on here who know more.

As you correctly observed, TK had the carbon handle thing.

[Chad]

http://custombats.co.uk/cbforum/index.php?topic=49867.0

Here's a thread with a video of some of the shaping that goes on. (I've got more footage, but gotta sync audio and just haven't found the time!) He presses majority of the bats he makes as one of the final processes despite having them pressed and CNC'd prior. It's just a workflow that has worked for him for years, if it maximises the amount of product he can produce while maintaining the quality, then why change? I'm not too familiar with his work back in the Puma days, but I think I remember him mentioning that he would go down to select clefts and be involved somewhat in the process, although less often now. (I guess when you've developed that length of a working relationship, you'll have built up the trust over the years) It takes time and lots of physical exertion to make cricket bats, if you can get a CNC to do the vast bulk of it, and you work on fine tuning the shape to balance and doing the final press/knocking and finishing, then you'll end up with a far more consistent product, especially when manufacturing at decent quantities.

[Bats_Entertainment]

Yes, I forgot to mention the CNC element.

[DavidBrent1]

Some say Keeley pressing was/is superior? Some have suggested that at that time Pack didn't press his own bats (or even own a press).

Keeley would have had a heavy workload. Shaping partmades was/is not uncommon.

Yes, throughout the years Tim (and Nick) have gone into great detail with me about their "triple pressing" it is obviously more nuanced than this and the skill, expertise and eye for detail is staggering. As they say, there is more than one way to skin a cat and various different methodologies can be applied to pressing, but I would not like to bet against the Keeley's having the best pressing in the game.

What would be great is possibly getting 4-5 podshavers to sit around in a round table setting and discussing this sort of stuff - now that's a podcast I'd listen to!