REPAIRING A CRICKET BAT

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21938, 12 November 1936, Page 3 (Supplement)

REPAIRING A CRICKET BAT

Most people know that the blade of a cricket bat is made of willow. This does not mean that you can go to the nearest willow tree for a piece to repair a broken bat, or for material to make a new one. There are many kinds of willow, but only

three or four are suitable for bat making. The best bats are made from the wood from the clefts of the trees. Before being made up the wood is thoroughly seasoned and planed between high pressure rollers. Such wood is almost impossible to procure, so the best way is to use a piece of an old bat which is beyond repair. If, however, an ordinary piece of willow must be used, choose a piece from the under side of a very large branch which has been heavily overhanging, as this will be the most solid part of the tree. Figure A shows the most common kind of breakage, which may be sawn off at the dotted lines, and the new piece dowelled and glued on as shown in figures B and C. Use half-inch dowels, and space them so that they do not fall in a direct line along the grain of the wood.

To make the holes in both pieces match properly it is a good plan to bore through a piece of halfinch board, tacked lightly over the cut, and to use this piece of board as a template to guide the bit when making the holes in the patch. Use hot glue and cramp the patch on tight until it is properly set, after which it can be trimmed to shape and bound tight with strong cord or waxed thread.

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