Sawing a Wood Bat
Rev Chuck
Richard Ledvorowski wrote:
>
> Does anyone have any idea on how I can split a wooden baseball bat in
> half, lengthwise. Either by a bandsaw or a table saw
Making a fungo bat, eh?
Tack or screw two scrap planks together to make a long 90 degree "L"
section channel. Add riser blocks near one end to hold the bat straight.
Fix the bat into the channel with plenty of hot-melt glue, and rip the
channel and bat as one piece.
Richard Ledvorowski
Patrick Olguin
On Thu, 25 Sep 1997, Richard Ledvorowski wrote:
> Does anyone have any idea on how I can split a wooden baseball bat in
> half, lengthwise. Either by a bandsaw or a table saw
I'd just go the batting cage, hold the bat with the label facing the
pitching machine, and then wait for an inside pitch. :-)
Seriously, since baseball bats are quarter-sawn, you should be able to
just start a kerf, perfectly along the grain, then split it with a wedge.
It'll split right along the grain.
You looking to laminate some cork in there? ;-)
O'Deen
Jim Manhart
In article <60e2o7$e...@mozo.cc.purdue.edu>, j...@physics.purdue.edu (John
Paquay) wrote:
> In article <60dnru$2mj$1...@newsd-113.bryant.webtv.net>, LED...@webtv.net
says...
> >
> >Does anyone have any idea on how I can split a wooden baseball bat in
> >half, lengthwise. Either by a bandsaw or a table saw
>
> This is too weird. I never thought I'd see this question anywhere.
> I had to do this a few years ago, believe it or not.
>
> The way I did it was to make a v-shaped block as long as the bat,
> (I used a length of trued 2x4) laid the bat in this 'cradle', and
> then re-sawed it on the band saw. I tacked the bat in place in the
> cradle with hot-melt glue so it couldn't rotate during the cut. Worked
> out fine.
>
> --
> John Paquay
> Dept. of Physics, Purdue University
> j...@physics.purdue.edu, j...@belex.mdn.com
> http://www.physics.purdue.edu/~jep/cshop.html
> --------------------------------------------------------
As an aside to this, the method John described of supporting the bat so
that it does not turn is critical. If you try to freehand it on either a
bandsaw or tablesaw, the bat will want to turn, with the chance of your
hand getting pulled into the blade. The bandsaw is a pretty safe tool but
cutting anything with a rounded botton on it without proper support is
very risky. Take the time to do it right so that you can continue to
count to ten.
hau...@mbi.org
In article <Pine.SUN.3.96.970925...@voyager.cris.com> Patrick Olguin <Od...@cris.com> writes:
>From: Patrick Olguin <Od...@cris.com>
>Subject: Re: Sawing a Wood Bat
>Date: Thu, 25 Sep 1997 11:17:16 -0400
>On Thu, 25 Sep 1997, Richard Ledvorowski wrote:
>> Does anyone have any idea on how I can split a wooden baseball bat in
>> half, lengthwise. Either by a bandsaw or a table saw
>I'd just go the batting cage, hold the bat with the label facing the
>pitching machine, and then wait for an inside pitch. :-)
Hah, hah, hah.
>Seriously, since baseball bats are quarter-sawn, you should be able to
>just start a kerf, perfectly along the grain, then split it with a wedge.
>It'll split right along the grain.
Good one, Paddy! Quartersawn? I'll have to remember that next time I sell a
bat. 'Hey, Mister, this bat's QUARTERSAWN!'.
As for splitting, I guess it depends on the precision you want. The grain
would have to be exceptionally straight, and after all, ash is used for bats
because of its resistance to splitting, doncha know.
>You looking to laminate some cork in there? ;-)
Well, after this, Richard, you've just GOTTA tell us why!
Rich
ERay
How precise do you want to be? First thought to my mind is jsut snap a
chalk line and saw down it. (Filling in the blank space by eyeball)
Another possibility: make a V cradle and hot glue the bat to it, then
cut both at once against the fence.
Another: mount the bat on a lathe, and rig a line drawer (scratcher or
pen) to mark a center line. e.g., clamp a yardstick to the tool rest, or
make a "dial indicator" type stand to slide along the ways.
I'll be interested to see what the more accomplished among us have to
offer.
Also, if you'd care to share, why the heck do you wanna? <g>
Good Luck,
Ernie
Patrick Olguin
On Thu, 25 Sep 1997 hau...@mbi.org wrote:
> In article <Pine.SUN.3.96.970925...@voyager.cris.com> Patrick Olguin <Od...@cris.com> writes:
> >On Thu, 25 Sep 1997, Richard Ledvorowski wrote:
>
> >Seriously, since baseball bats are quarter-sawn, you should be able to
> >just start a kerf, perfectly along the grain, then split it with a wedge.
> >It'll split right along the grain.
>
> Good one, Paddy! Quartersawn? I'll have to remember that next time I sell a
> bat. 'Hey, Mister, this bat's QUARTERSAWN!'.
Heh. Just wait 'til you tell 'em that no good bat will have any grain
run-out, which it shouldn't.
>
> As for splitting, I guess it depends on the precision you want. The grain
> would have to be exceptionally straight, and after all, ash is used for bats
> because of its resistance to splitting, doncha know.
I thought it was because of it's resistance to breaking. When an ash bat
does break, it splinters quite easily. Elm is a wood that's near
impossible to split, because of its twisty grain. I've split a bunch of
billets of straight-grained white ash (I used a froe), and they split
beautifully, right along the grain.
No self-respecting bat manufacturer would sell a bat with any run-out at
all. If you've got a wood bat at home, check it out. tThe grain goes right
through from the knob to the barrel end.
I'm too impatient to make a nice v-cradle, I'd just get a froe and start
whacking... but that's just me.
O'Deen
John Paquay
>half, lengthwise. Either by a bandsaw or a table saw
This is too weird. I never thought I'd see this question anywhere.
Rev Chuck
Patrick Olguin wrote:
>
> I'm too impatient to make a nice v-cradle, I'd just get a froe and start
> whacking... but that's just me.
>
> O'Deen
That or a hatchet. Sounds good to me.
Thomas R. Bruce
In article <60dnru$2mj$1...@newsd-113.bryant.webtv.net>, LED...@webtv.net
says...
> Does anyone have any idea on how I can split a wooden baseball bat in
> half, lengthwise. Either by a bandsaw or a table saw
You folks who think he's making a fungo bat lack imagination.
Longer ago than I care to think about I worked for the Yale Repertory
Theater. Each year we played a hotly-contested softball game with the
other theater in town, the Long Wharf. These games were basically a
Trojan Horse for three activities:
1) The consumption of alcohol, and
2) The construction of trick bats by the respective prop departments, and
3) The consumption of alcohol, and
3) The consumption of alchohol.
(If you saw #3 twice, well, you're getting an idea of what the games were
like). I have seen:
1) Bats which split in half when used.
2) Bats which exploded when used.
3) Bats which exploded _before_ being used (radio control department).
4) Bats which were sectioned like you'd slice a banana, and flew out and
snapped back when properly wielded.
5) Bats which had a disguised, inflatable end section which expanded on
cue to provide a larger striking surface.
6) Wet-noodle bats.
and then there were the balls....
Best,
Tb.
--
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
| Thomas R. Bruce tr...@cornell.edu |
| Occasional tool merchant |
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
Dave R
Rev Chuck wrote:
>
> Richard Ledvorowski wrote:
> >
> > Does anyone have any idea on how I can split a wooden baseball bat in
> > half, lengthwise. Either by a bandsaw or a table saw
>
>
> Tack or screw two scrap planks together to make a long 90 degree "L"
> section channel. Add riser blocks near one end to hold the bat straight.
> Fix the bat into the channel with plenty of hot-melt glue, and rip the
> channel and bat as one piece.
Actually the easiest way is to hand saw it. Make a good marking line al
around it and use your Japanese saw to cut it through - no problems with
getting your fingers cut off.
Bur...@ncsi.net
I saw several responses involving using a v-block setup on a band saw.
A few years ago I had cause to split a bat.(A lot of them actually)
Because of the number I had to cut I decided that the v-block method
just wasn't going to be practical for me.
The way I did it was to make a holder for the bat that held it in place
with 2 screws on each end to keep it from turning and then running it
through the table saw. Careful adjustment made it where I could use
both halves hiding the holes made from securing the bat wasn't
problematic with a matching color putty.
My jig looked something like this from the end. Sad graffix-eh?
|-------||
| ||
|=======||
2 recommendations would be(1)run your jig empty once just to check it.
If it doesn't work well empty it won't work well loaded. (2)Use a thin
kerf carbide blade on your TS those bats are tough and less resistance
may help.I didn't have one back then.
This would probably work on a Band saw as well! Good luck!
Dave Druckerman
Tb,
It's amazing that you could do all of this with just a few hand tools
;-)
Dave Druckerman
Thomas R. Bruce wrote:
>
> In article <60dnru$2mj$1...@newsd-113.bryant.webtv.net>, LED...@webtv.net
> says...
> > Does anyone have any idea on how I can split a wooden baseball bat in
> > half, lengthwise. Either by a bandsaw or a table saw
>
ryan cowan
Keith Bohn
I don't know about everyone else but I'd kinda like to hear about your
balls.
Keith Bohn
Bohn & Bonn Design
Patrick Olguin
On Thu, 2 Oct 1997, Keith Bohn wrote:
> I don't know about everyone else but I'd kinda like to hear about your
> balls.
When I was visiting Tom Bruce, last fall, I asked
specifically if I could see his balls. He politely declined.
O'Deen
Thomas R. Bruce
In article <Pine.SUN.3.96.97100...@mariner.cris.com>,
Od...@concentric.net says...
> On Thu, 2 Oct 1997, Keith Bohn wrote:
>
> > I don't know about everyone else but I'd kinda like to hear about your
> > balls.
>
> When I was visiting Tom Bruce, last fall, I asked
> specifically if I could see his balls. He politely declined.
>
> O'Deen
And there he stood, manfully choking back his disappointment, fighting
the tears as he vowed he'd never mention this piteous rejection in a
newsgroup reaching hundreds of thousands. A heart-rendering sight indeed.
And I was pleased, because I knew even then what would happen if the word
got out. Book tours. An alt.fan.tom.bruces.balls newsgroup, dedicated
to reports of further sightings, amid exhortations from the O'Deen
himself to get their reports from Deja News. Hotheads wanting to split
tom.bruces.balls, perhaps into .left and .right subgroups. Film rights.
A brand of ice cream at Ben and Jerry's.
Well, now the cat's out of the bag, so to speak. Aren't you just proud of
yourself, you big galoot?
Best,
Tb.
Just say This is why we needed the CDA, etc.
Patrick Olguin
On Thu, 2 Oct 1997, Thomas R. Bruce wrote:
> In article <Pine.SUN.3.96.97100...@mariner.cris.com>,
> Od...@concentric.net says...
> > On Thu, 2 Oct 1997, Keith Bohn wrote:
> >
> > > I don't know about everyone else but I'd kinda like to hear about your
> > > balls.
> >
> > When I was visiting Tom Bruce, last fall, I asked
> > specifically if I could see his balls. He politely declined.
> >
> > O'Deen
>
> And there he stood, manfully choking back his disappointment, fighting
> the tears as he vowed he'd never mention this piteous rejection in a
> newsgroup reaching hundreds of thousands. A heart-rendering sight indeed.
>
> And I was pleased, because I knew even then what would happen if the word
> got out. Book tours. An alt.fan.tom.bruces.balls newsgroup, dedicated
> to reports of further sightings, amid exhortations from the O'Deen
> himself to get their reports from Deja News. Hotheads wanting to split
> tom.bruces.balls, perhaps into .left and .right subgroups. Film rights.
> A brand of ice cream at Ben and Jerry's.
>
> Well, now the cat's out of the bag, so to speak. Aren't you just proud of
> yourself, you big galoot?
>
In my defense, I *did* go to the library, as Lee Ward had suggested, and
looked up balls-big, balls-brass, and balls-harry. All I found was a
reference to an obscure AC/DC song, by some guy named Angus
somethingorother.
Well, we're getting pretty far afield here. What I'd really like to know
is what the heck the original poster was going to do with half a bat, and
why it is that big exploding balls are such a hot topic.
O'Deen
Steve Wallace
Keith Bohn wrote:
>
> I don't know about everyone else but I'd kinda like to hear about your
> balls.
Kinda personal question, isn't it?
Has this just turned into rec.woodieworking? Hmm...
Later.
Steve.
--
"Buy the best and only cry once"
Keith Bohn
The major difference here is that I politely asked to "hear" about
them while you rudely wanted to "see" them. A man has his limits and
Miss Manners will back me up on this. Oh the humanity.
Keith Bohn
Bohn & Bonn Design
Stefan Patten
I can't suggest a way to cut a ready made bat in half but if you are
planning on turning one yourself on a lathe, there is a very nifty little
trick which you can try. When glueing up the wood before turning, glue it
with a piece of newspaper inbetween the 2 pieces of wood. Then when you
turn make sure that the glued joint is exactly in the middle. After turning
it is very simple to split the turned item down the glued newspaper joint.
Hope this helps...
ryan cowan <cow...@marshall.edu> wrote in article
<1997Sep30.142948.13446@hobbit>...