# Glue for Baseball Bat?



## JohnK007 (Nov 14, 2009)

I have a nice piece of 8/4 clear hard maple about 9 inches wide. I'd like to rip it about 4" thick, face glue one side onto the other, and come up with a billet approximately 4 X 4 X 36. This I intend to turn into a baseball bat for a friend of mine. What are your recommendations for glue to laminate these two pieces? I'm a fan of good old yellow wood glue but I'm not sure if it's up to the stresses in a bat. What do you all think?


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## BHOFM (Oct 14, 2008)

A nice rough surface to glue to and some TB III would hold about
anything. I think epoxy would be too brittle.

Might do a test piece and bang it around a bit.


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## Bob Wingard (Jul 23, 2007)

I'm all for the Titebond, but NOT on a rough surface. The smoother the surface, the better the glue holds.

Actually, I'd probably try to find some resorcinal powdered glue that you mix with water just before use. DAP/WELDWOOD also has some that is 2-part .. like an epoxy system .. VERY strong stuff .. they use it a lot on wooden boat parts.


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## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

Is this bat intended to be just for looks or for use? When you say up to stress I get the idea that it is to be used.

A bat that has been glued together WILL NOT function properly. It MUST be one solid piece of wood.

George


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## JohnK007 (Nov 14, 2009)

GeorgeC said:


> Is this bat intended to be just for looks or for use? When you say up to stress I get the idea that it is to be used.
> 
> A bat that has been glued together WILL NOT function properly. It MUST be one solid piece of wood.
> 
> George



Yes, it is for actual use. I had thought the same thing about being a solid piece until I ordered several billets from a bat supplier shortly before Christmas. I ordered 3 different billets; one in Ash, one in Birch and the third in Bamboo. The Ash and Birch billets are all one solid piece of their respective species. The Bamboo on the other hand was a lamented billet. This is what gave me the idea for my original post. The company I bought these from is an outfit that specialized in bat making so I imagine the process they used to laminate the Bamboo is something I couldn't easily duplicate, but I thought I'd throw it out there. Heck I never knew they used Bamboo for bats until I went to their site and ordered one. I haven't turned it yet. I'm interested to see how it comes out. I'm saving it for last since it was the most expensive.

I certainly don't want to make something that could be dangerous in actual play. Maybe if I make one out of glued up maple I should tell my friend to limit its use to the batting cage. At least initially.

Concerning the glue, I remember a product many years ago called Weldwood Liquid Resin. It came in a powder and had to be mixed up. It was very strong as I recall.


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## Jwolf24601 (Dec 4, 2009)

Bamboo is a little different than hardwoods, I would think of the bamboo more like a composite than a laminate.


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## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

Jwolf24601 said:


> Bamboo is a little different than hardwoods, I would think of the bamboo more like a composite than a laminate.


Absolutely. Do not try to compare layering bamboo to solid lumber.

George


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## jparso11 (Dec 29, 2009)

Making up a bat by glue can only lead to a very dangous condition. If this bat was to be used to hit a hard ball at high speed there would be no telling what the result would be. just whatch a ball game one day and see what happens to a bat when they break. These are solid piece of wood. Trying to make on by glueing to piece of any type of wood would be asking for trouble and could indanger anyone standing near by. Do not think I would want to be any where close by.


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## Leo G (Oct 16, 2006)

The glue will be stronger than the wood itself. The proper way to make a bat is with a single billet. However, I don't think the bat will implode on contact because of the glue line. If you are using this bat for recreational use I doubt there will be any 90 MPH balls thrown to a guy who is more muscle than brains.


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## JohnK007 (Nov 14, 2009)

After reading the replies and giving it some thought, I don't think I'll chance it. I'm sure the glue joint would prove to be the strongest part of the bat but I'm not comfortable with the possibility of the rest of the bat coming apart. I certainly wouldn't want to see someone get hurt, or a potential game winning home run turn into a game ending double play. I think I'll just stick with the old fashion way of making them out of solid billets, although I am still a little fuzzy on how the company can get away with gluing up the bamboo ones. I'll have to take a picture of the blank and show you what I mean.


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## JohnK007 (Nov 14, 2009)

Here's the Bamboo blank I bought. It is made up of a series of 1/4" (+ or -) strips bonded together. This is what gave me the idea for my original question although in hindsight I'll leave the blank making to the pros in this case. Should make an interesting bat when it's done.


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