Baseball Bat: How do I cut the Maple log and dry the bat blanks?

[wmslayton]

Got a nice Maple log last weekend that I think can produce about six baseball bats? Questions:

1) Is one type of Maple better than another for baseball bats?
2) Is there a particular way I should “remove” the bats from the log?
3) How do I dry to prevent warping and twisting?

Probably enough questions about preparation. I’ll save my turning questions for later.

Any help greatly appreciated! Need to get that log cut quickly before it dries too much. I have sealed both ends with two coats of high-gloss acrylic house paint.
Thanks!
Bill

 

[batk30msu]

If you want the bats for performance than sugar (hard) maple would be best. Many of the maple bats out on the market are made of silver or red (both "soft") maple because soft maple is only softer than hard maple, it is much harder than many woods.

If you are making the bats just for fun and wont use them day in and day out, it does not matter

 

[chris_goris]

Never seen a maple baseball bat, typically theyre made of ash

 

[bluedawg76]

for actual use, they should be hard maple -at least that's all i've ever seen or used. as the for the other questions, i've no idea, but am curious if you find out.

 

[batk30msu]

Never seen a maple baseball bat, typically theyre made of ash

The new craze is maple. You might not even find an ash bat if you went to dicks sporting goods anymore.

 

[Jeff]

First question. What kind of maple are you working with?

Good points that actually have some wood science behind them. The USDA Forest Products Lab partnered with MLB a few years ago to improve the standards for bat design and safety. This coincided with the evolution of the maple bat vs ash about 6-7 years ago along with increasing incidents of shattered bats and injured players and fans.

It's an informative read.

http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/news/news_inthe/news-video-07112011.php

The currently allowed wood species include american white ash, hard maple, red oak, yellow birch, true hickory, and Japanese ash. Red maple and silver maple are not permitted. Bat dimension specifications, grain orientation, and wood drying are available with a little searching.

Here's a fascinating NPR broadcast that discusses the maple vs ash bat issue vis a vis the wood science.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92222323

 

[merrill77]

This coincided with the evolution of the maple bat vs ash about 6-7 years ago along with increasing incidents of shattered bats and injured players and fans.

Yup - I've read a number of stories about the problem of shattering maple bats. If it were me, I'd avoid maple for a bat that would be used seriously.

 

[bluedawg76]

This coincided with the evolution of the maple bat vs ash about 6-7 years ago along with increasing incidents of shattered bats and injured players and fans.

this is just a bit overstated. It's true that ash bats flake and splinter, whereas maple cracks and breaks. But saying that one is more dangerous is not true. Funny how the overuse of steroids and the emphasis on slugging pct and HRs in the MLB is not mentioned as a major contributing factor to these types of injuries. In fact, your chances of getting a line drive in the face are much higher than a bat shard hitting you.

Maple bats are heavier than ash (i.e. more inertia), they don't flake and the surface hardness withstands batted baseballs much longer. IME, maple bats last considerably longer than ash. Note that other woods such as hickory have also been used, but b/c of its weight is not preferred. Sorry for the rant, I just wanted folks to be aware of other facets to the maple vs. ash debate i.e. that it's not just a media hype/fan craze; there are some legitimate reasons for using wood other than ash.

As for the OP questions, I'm still curious as to the methods for splitting the wood and drying to achieve a quality solid bat. If I were doing this, I'd probably rive it rather than saw it out, but I'm just guessing.

 

[Jeff]

Good points and thanks for raising them.

Ash bats bend and crumple without snapping into shards that fly all over the field and stands whereas maple bats have that history and that's why MLB undertook the study with the USDA Forest Products Lab so it's not an overstated or frivolous undertaking. Read and listen to the links for an explanation of the why of it. Bat geometry, weight, thinner maple handles, etc.

I agree that rived blanks would be better for the straight grain cited by the FPL as a key element for strength.

Cantankerous again but that's okay too.

 

[bluedawg76]

we'll just have to agree to disagree on the "dangers" of maple bats and the frivolity of MLB initiated studies (of which there are many IMHO). However, more relevant to the OP question, I think we can agree that straight grained lumber (any species) for this purpose is a no-brainer as well as considerations for bat geometry.

I'm still surprised that no one here has turned a bat before???

 

[Jeff]

we'll just have to agree to disagree on the "dangers" of maple bats and the frivolity of MLB initiated studies (of which there are many IMHO). However, more relevant to the OP question, I think we can agree that straight grained lumber (any species) for this purpose is a no-brainer as well as considerations for bat geometry.

I'm still surprised that no one here has turned a bat before???

I'm okay with your assessment and different viewpoints are always welcomed for discussion. That's how we learn from one another and make an informed decision.

BTW, I've turned a few bats on the grill. Not good eating even with 'cue sauce.

 

[MrAudio815]

I've turned a baseball bat out of Dogwood....That had a lot of bug holes and later filled it with epoxy died blue.

And yes I am still afraid to let my 4.5 year old son or myself try it out~! I need to take a picture of it with the Blue Epoxy... It does at least look cool~!

Good luck with whatever you do~!