Well the Betty Brinn Children's Museum is creating a baseball exhibit so I decided to turn myself a bat for the exhibit...
Just Kidding! For this build I only started with a bat, actually a softball bat to be precise. This bat comes from one of Yvette's friends, Bekah Molnar who picked this bat up for next to nothing at the local Goodwill. She explained to me that this was her, "Philly style, anti car theft device but she was looking to upgrade to steel pipe sometime soon after."
Oh sheesh... Well my intended use for this bat is to turn it into the handle of my first spinning tool. What makes a bat the ideal candidate for a Spinning tool handle is it is already roughly turned to the correct size and shape. Not to mention most bats are either made from Ash or Maple, two straight grained woods that can stand grand slams.
I started first to get the bat centered on the lathe and then tried my best to disguise the bats original shape by adding some decorative notches and new shape.
Ta-da! The new form has been created. The right side has been turned to accept the copper ferrule that you see on the bench. That ferrule will get hammered on once I apply the final finish.
Close ups of the tool handle with a friction finish.
It's hard to believe with just a little time and elbow grease I was able to take the tired old bat and repurpose it into a handle that has such a hi gloss. If anyone else has any old bats, I would be more than happy to take them off your hands. I am looking to make 3 more tools and put different profiles on the forming edge.
Stay tuned!
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