Turning a baseball bat

Making a baseball bat is fun. It's a relatively straightforward woodturning project. As little leaguers graduate from aluminum and composite bats, it's good for them to hone their skills with a classic wood bat.

Remove these ads by Signing Up

Step 1: Tools and supplies

The tools and supplies needed are

36" wood bat blank
wood lathe
turning tools
square
outside calipers
sandpaper
oil/varnish finish
fine Japanese saw

carlbass (author) in reply to meganbillardDec 7, 2012. 5:44 PM

They're fun to make. The only trick is controlling the whip because they get a little skinny in the middle

kmpres says: Sep 29, 2011. 4:36 PM

Excellent instructible! I've often longed to make a bat and even bought a lathe some 25 years ago but life intervened and I never got the chance to use it. You made turning a bat look easy so I think I might finally try my hand at it. Thanks!

affyx says: Sep 29, 2011. 7:44 AM

great instructable! much respect for anyone who masters the skew chisel!
how about one on making your steady rest?

carlbass (author) in reply to affyxSep 29, 2011. 2:53 PM

That's a good idea. I found it's easier to make the instructable while you're making it rather than after the fact. There are several commercially available steadys that work like that but I'm working on one that is circular since it will better enable me to position the wheels.

seamster says: Sep 26, 2011. 12:30 PM

I almost hate to ask this, but is your kid's team the "Gaters" or the "Gators"?

carlbass (author) in reply to seamsterSep 26, 2011. 7:35 PM

It's the Gaters as in the Golden Gate not the animal -- that would have been a big screwup

seamster in reply to carlbassSep 26, 2011. 8:42 PM

Indeed that would have been a mighty screw up! I'm glad it wasn't.

Still, it reminded me of a painful mistake I made in wood shop in high school. I made an elaborate wooden sign that had a picture of a skull and crossbones that read "DANER: DO NOT ENTER!"

That was a screwup!

wilgubeast in reply to seamsterSep 26, 2011. 3:08 PM

Or the Gaiters??? :-P

I bet it's a reference to the Golden Gate Bridge, somehow.

116

mikeasaurus says: Sep 26, 2011. 9:44 AM

Great project, thanks for sharing!
I've never heard of hollowing out the end of a bat before, does it improve performance, and is it just hollow or do you fill the cavity with something heavy to achieve more inertia?

carlbass (author) in reply to mikeasaurusSep 26, 2011. 7:38 PM

The theory is that it makes the end of the bat lighter> Hitting a ball of the end of the bat does no good and by having the bat be lighter out at the end of the barrel, you should be able to swing it faster. It's a job for mythbusters.