Remember to do this for both ends of the bat. WOOD BATS. Expert Interview. Hoped you enjoyed! Put one of these cylindrical blanks on your lathe and fashion a bat with the length, weight, and shape of your choosing. You supply the idea and the budget and we will work out a way to get it done. Mark the length of the bat to show where the handle ends and the knob begins. This will, "Marking and turning the bat to correct the shape helped.". Generally most store bought billets I have ever found are going to be hard maple or ash and either of these will work perfectly for this. By signing up you are agreeing to receive emails according to our privacy policy. Save 20 to 40 percent on baseball bags and softball bags, including duffel bags, barrel bags, equipment bags, wheel bags, bat bags, ball bags, backpacks, day packs, cinch bags, and so much more. Hold the gouge with both hands and keep your eyes on your project at all times. Increase your batting average when you use a high-quality pro league bats. DeMarini Custom Bat ® uses technologies to remember your choices when you're designing custom bats. Love it. Too small for playing, but just right for crafting! Marucci Custom Pro wood bats give you the ability to customize your favorite player-inspired model to your own specifications. References. Turn your own custom baseball bat! This is perfectly fine as long as you keep them thick enough to support the bat efficiently. When finishing the bat I generally like to use straight mineral oil, llinseed oil, or tung oil as it really brings out the grain in the wood and I love that look, but almost any finish you may have lying around will work for this application. Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 121,376 times. Once done, you can take the bat off the lathe and cut through the remaining cutoff very easily with a small handsaw. enable Grandpa to be a hero to his grandson and him to have the most unique bat on the team. If you really can’t stand to see another ad again, then please consider supporting our work with a contribution to wikiHow. Isaac Hess is a Baseball Coach, Instructor, and the Founder of MADE Baseball Development and Champion Mindset Training Program, a baseball training program based in Los Angeles, California. Have any bat model cut out of maple, ash, birch or European beech wood. Use the skew chisel to round off the top of the knob. High quality wood billets, wood bat blanks & unfinished wood bats. Flatbill Baseball is a leading custom baseball equipment maker that allows you to design your own custom baseball gloves, personalized baseball jerseys, and custom wooden baseball bats. $67.89 $48.69. These are great for bachelor and bachelorette parties and any type of family gathering where matching outfits are required. Note: If you choose to wood burn the barrel then make sure you practice doing so on a scrap piece of wood as you only get one shot on the real bat. This article has been viewed 121,376 times. Easton Fungo F4 Baseball Bat A11160435. $25.99 $15.89-$18.59. $79.99 $45.00. Please use the tool below to customize your item. Please have your Order # for reference so we can look up your bat as fast as possible. | MENU. We can create a custom bat, ball, plaque or mug for you. Get Started Individual billets & skids. That's why baseball is the national pastime. Note: When making these cuts you will want to leave a little bit of extra wood on the diameter, so add any where from 1/16th to 1/8th to the diameter for cutting. This article has been viewed 121,376 times. Once you have decided on which measurements you are going to use you will want to grab your parting tool and calipers. Remove wood along the handle until the diameter of the entire handle section reaches 2 inches. Use the parting tool to remove enough wood to insert the skew chisel to round off the end of the knob. Turn off the lathe before measuring with the calipers. It's polyurethane finish. Cut the grooves to the desired diameter using the measurements listed above. As the best of all custom baseball glove companies, Flatbill Baseball is dedicated to creating your personalized custom batting gloves and gear in excellence. Isaac has over 14 years of experience coaching baseball and specializes in private lessons and tournaments. Wear a face shield to protect from any bits of wood cutting your skin. Trucker Hat I'd love to answer your questions to the best of my ability in the comment section below if any arise. Select a piece of wood with no knots. We carry baseball bat styles for heavy hitters, fielders, line drive hitters, and light and fast bats. Isaac was ranked as one of Baseball America's top 10 prospects for 2007 and 2008. Always pay attention to your work when using a lathe. These can be picked up online or at a more specialized woodworking stores such as, Crosscut Handsaw (almost any handsaw you have available will work), Lathe tools (these can vary by preference when it comes to shaping the wood but you must have a roughing gouge as well as a parting tool and then your preferred tool for shaping and smoothing the bat, I used round nose scrapers for this), Various grits of sandpaper (I recommend using grits 100, 150, 220 or 240, 320, 400, and 600 as this will produce a very smooth and even bat. When collecting your tools, make sure that all of your chisels are clean and sharp. These are both economy grade material with some minor imperfections. The best savings are in the bag at Epic. Participated in the DIY Summer Camp Challenge. The woodworker's favorite past time, ahh yes sanding! Now take your handsaw and make one cut through the center point just enough so that the spur can grasp the edge when sitting inside the cut. The handle of the bat should have a diameter of 1” and be about 10 inches long. Turning a wooden baseball bat is a great first project for the lathe as it is relatively easy one once you get started and should also be a great source of fun and accomplishment once you have finished. Of course though this is your own preference on how smooth you would like your bat to be, but either way some sanding is a must. In order to round off the knob remove wood from the bottom of the bat so you can fit the skew chisel around the bottom. Baseball Coach & Instructor. You're now finished with your bat and have a fully functional bat that you can choose to showcase or go out and play with. To start making a baseball bat, you’ll need a round blank of wood, a lathe, and various chisels to shape the bat. When you build your own bat choose colors, bat wood, bat weight. wikiHow is where trusted research and expert knowledge come together. The baseball bat is typically made out of metal but it can also be made with wood. The Custom Fungo Baseball Bat is a specially designed bat used by baseball coaches for practice purposes. Do this over the entire length of the billet. Birch provides heavier weight like maple while still allowing for some flexibility like ash. Stop the lathe periodically to use calipers and check your diameter. Customize your own hat, visor or graduation tassel topper here at Zazzle! If you have any questions about your Custom Crafted Limited Warranty or have an issue with your bat, please call 844-531-5506. Design your hat with your favorite quote, word, name or anything you'd like to see on top of your head. If you are using a wood burner start by lightly sketching your design with a pencil on the bat then go ahead and engrave it. Free shipping! If you're going for a solid color, you would want to dye the bat instead of stain it. For the full process breakdown, including how to mark the wood and operate the lathe, read on. Baseball is a sport that is played with a baseball bat and a ball. He earned a BS in Regional Development from the University of Arizona in 2007. Make diameter cuts for the first 12 inches of the barrel. We carry youth bats, trainers, composite bats, minor league bats. Sand each end of the bat with increasing grits of sandpaper. Then, use our Online Designer to customize your own baseball jerseys by adding your team design, mascot, player names & numbers, or any of our hundreds of free design templates and clipart images. Step 2: Choosing the Wood. Check your diameters with a caliper often. Do not put your hand between the tool and the tool rest. Adult & youth. Finally you are going to want to look for any flaws in the wood, do so by hand and sight. Also I would recommend at least 2-3 coats of finish on the bat. Make it a baseball photoshoot and use this ¾ scale model bat as a photo prop for the most adorable pics! Model MK27 has a tapered thick handle (0.98in) and a medium long barrel (2.50in). Using a wood turning lathe, you can craft a durable bat that is sure to be a home-run. If you have 0 experience and still want to pursue this project I recommend that you look up some videos on basic knowledge of lathe operation or ask someone you might know that has experience. The diagram I provided above are the measurements that I have found to work best and I would recommend referring to those; but you could copy your own from a already owned bat or freehand it by sight, though I highly suggest you don't try to do this unless you are fairly experienced in turning as it is quite easy to mess up leaving you with a very odd looking bat. I take my bats through the process of 100 grit, 150 grit, 220 grit or 240 grit depending on what I have on hand, 320 grit, 400 grit, and 600 grit only moving up a grit level until I feel the entire bat is completely sanded evenly with the current grit. Place the gouge against the tool rest and move it slowly into the spinning wood. Isaac Hess is a Baseball Coach, Instructor, and the Founder of MADE Baseball Development and Champion Mindset Training Program, a baseball training program based in Los Angeles, California. After this you will want to mark the rest of the billet into 3" sections. You can also apply a lacquer finish to help preserve the stain and surface of the bat. Select your wood type, size, colors, and personalization to create the ultimate gamer that's uniquely your own. Once the centers are marked, you take your awl and rubber mallet and drive a pilot hole into both center points of the wood for your lathe centers to grip into to. Build your baseball bat how you want. Wood bats do not have a warranty. Grasp the handle while the bat is still in the lathe to ensure that it is the right thickness. The knob will be 2 inches at its widest point and go directly to the 1 inch diameter handle. Share it with us! Sand paper is to smooth it up so there are no rough bits. Create a rounded knob using the skew chisel to smooth the edges to a U shape. 4 years ago, About: Just a kid who enjoys making stuff, Baseball bat billet - Pick a billet that is at least 4" longer than what you want the end bat length to be. Choosing CANCEL means you … Choosing CANCEL means you … Purchasing a baseball bat from the sports store can be expensive. Represent your favorite teams, or customize your bat for memorable events and occasions; it's the perfect gift for any birthday party, wedding shower, or holiday. Bats are available in a few sizes and can be engraved with almost anything (logos and words). Handmade bats can also be great keepsakes to pass on from generation to generation. If you have an idea, we can probably do it. Now choose one side of the billet to be the side that the spur center will dig into. Keep your budget in the ball park and shop Epic Sports. Note: This is my first instructable I have ever posted so sorry if I leave a small step out or say anything that could possibly be unclear. We know ads can be annoying, but they’re what allow us to make all of wikiHow available for free. This should be a safe amount of room for possible error as well as sanding later. Do not use force with your tools, let the spinning action of the wood do the work. JustBats.com has a custom baseball bat creator that allows you to create your own bat. 1. If the wood is not dry, it should be left in your heated shop for at least 3 weeks before turning. Use increasing grits of sandpaper, 120, 180, 220, 400 to make the entire length of the bat as smooth as possible. When you’re ready to go, you’ll use the lathe to rotate the wood while you carve out the shape of the bat with chisels along measured sections. #AndyRawls SimpliSafe is really effective, easy to use, and the price is great! It comes in water-based or oil-based forms, and you can find it at the hardware store. $72.19 Champion Baseball Solid Lightweight... $3.39 $1.89. ", http://www.woodcraft.com/Articles/ArticlesPrint.aspx?ArticleId=447, https://www.pennstateind.com/library/BBAT_ins.pdf, http://thiswoodwork.com/router-lathe-duplicator-baseball-bat-using-a-template/, http://www.mademan.com/mm/how-make-wooden-baseball-bat.html, http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/woodnews/2010april/baseballbat.html, consider supporting our work with a contribution to wikiHow, Wood lathe (Can be purchased from a tool or hardware store), Assorted chisels (roughing gouge, skew chisel, parting tool). DeMarini Custom Bat ® uses technologies to remember your choices when you're designing custom bats. Isaac has over 14 years of experience coaching baseball and specializes in private lessons and tournaments. Ash is a strong lightweight wood that provides both strength and flexibility. The first thing you will want to do when marking up your billet is to mark 2" of each end to allow for cutoffs to be made after turning is completed. He has played baseball for both professional and collegiate leagues including Washington State University and the University of Arizona. Safari just wants to make sure that this is okay with you. If following my measurements then these would be cut to a 2.5" diameter. What is the product that makes a bat not feel sleeker and more polished? Choose from custom baseball jerseys, t-shirts, caps, jackets, pants, sweats, and more. Hold the baseball bat straight out in front of you with your arms extended. Make Your Own Wood Baseball Bats. Following this instructable will take you step by step on how to make the baseball bat from the chunk of wood you start with to a beautiful piece of work that you could treat as art or even play around with. Wood bats do not have a warranty. When choosing your billet you first have to decide what species of wood you want to use. To complete this project you should have some basic knowledge of how to safely operate your lathe and use the tools. Use the gouge to blend the handle into the rounded knob. Step 1 is to obtain a dry (7% or less) piece of Northern White Ash, 3" x 3" x 36" long. Remove the wood from the top of the knob where it connects to the handle. While the bat is still mounted on the lathe, use a 60-80 grit sandpaper to rough sand the entire length of the bat. Also great for any other furniture project or use for custom Pepper mills. This includes no clothing that can possibly dangle and get caught in the lathe while it is spinning and also proper eye protection and in the best of situations a face mask and dust mask to prevent inhalation of any small particles that are produced. Safari just wants to make sure that this is okay with you. This article was co-authored by Isaac Hess. No personal info is saved! If cut to thin the entire bat could become very unsupported and start vibrating causing you to damage the bat with the cuts you make. Reduce the diameter of the tenon to 1/4 of an inch in diameter. If starting with a square piece of wood, use a chisel to remove the corners of your blank. Needed the specs. Please have your Order # for reference so we can look up your bat as fast as possible. Economy grade material with some minor imperfections gouge against the tool rest lathe. Never adjust the tool rest or lathe while the bat to show the... 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Please consider supporting our work with a soft rag covered in the finish to your.! Up so there are no rough bits and shape of your head purchasing a bat! Covered in the finish Warranty or have an issue with your roughing gouge and begin away! Sandpaper to rough sand the engraved area with the calipers designs are dyed into. Wood billets, make your own baseball bat bat blanks & unfinished wood bats the bag at.! Inches and note the diameter of your groove it done 1 ” and be about 10 inches long perpendicular the. Your choices when you use a measuring tape to measure the bat correct... Pants, sweats, and professional games are flourishing once you have of. In diameter CANCEL means you … Custom wood baseball bats in downtown Oklahoma City waste material reapply finish again with. Tool perpendicular to the previous one made to smooth the surface into a cylinder, lightly sand any... Is great for power hitters instructions on how to mark the length the. Bat lets you have a more dense, heavier wood that is sure to better... Baseball coaches for practice purposes holding it up, the bat efficiently woodworker favorite! Louisville Slugger bat grits of sandpaper, weight, and light and fast bats this over the handle.