Thoughts on boring concentric hole in end of baseball bat

[Cuprousworks]

I need to drill a hole in the fat end of a baseball bat so I can insert a peg to rotate the bat. I would like for it to be parallel with the bat to minimize wobble. Any suggestions on how to bore the hole when the reference surfaces are tapered?
Mike

 

[mquan01]

Create a block that fits around the head, drill a hole in that as your guide.

 

[allisnut]

Long lathe and a steady rest.

 

[Cuprousworks]

Oops, should have noted, no lathe. But floor and benchtop DP available. But also curious how it could be done on a lathe?

 

[allisnut]

With a long enough lathe bed and a steady rest, which is a device to support long work midways between the head stock and the tail stock, you could hold the handle end in a chuck and support other end with a steady rest. Drill a hole in the open end by holding a bit with a jacobs chuck in the tail stock.

Something along these lines, although this is a smaller lathe.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUeHszR6S00

 

[Cuprousworks]

Thanks. Any ideas without a lathe?

 

[nn4jw]

Do you have a floor model drill press?

 

[Cuprousworks]

yes, I have a floor model DP. Haven't measured, but it would be close to drill it in vertical position. But maybe.

 

[chris_goris]

I need to drill a hole in the fat end of a baseball bat so I can insert a peg to rotate the bat. I would like for it to be parallel with the bat to minimize wobble. Any suggestions on how to bore the hole when the reference surfaces are tapered?
Mike

Youre going to have to find 2 surfaces on the bat that you want to use to support it, one at each end ideally. Measure the diameter of these and create 2 V-blocks that will support the diameters at a known distance from the center and a registering distance from a mounting surface on them that will keep the centerline distance. Mount them to a long flat board. Then turn your DP table perpendicular to the floor and mount this to the table. Im thinking you really wont have to go very deep so having it dead on plumb shouldnt be an issue. Drill your hole.

 

[Mrfixit71]

Mike,

I have a lathe long enough to handle the bat and a steady rest. PM me if you'd like to bring it over and we can put a hole in it. I'm about half way between Chapel Hill and Pittsboro.

 

[TENdriver]

Mike, I've done this type of operation on different machines.

Take the offer of doing it on the lathe. It will go much easier than other methods and it will turn out better.

 

[chris_goris]

Mike, I've done this type of operation on different machines.

Take the offer of doing it on the lathe. It will go much easier than other methods and it will turn out better.

Agreed!

 

[AllanD]

So how much are corked bats going for these days?

 

[DaveD]

Here is another way....
Determine the diameter of the fat end of the bat.
Determine the diameter of the handle/end of the bat
Mark the center of the bat's fat end. You will use this for a visual check later.
Take two 2x4s about a foot longer than the bat and screw them together along the long edge to simulate a piece of angle iron.
Take a square piece of ¾" plywood, about 4" square and cut a hole in it for a snug fit on the bat handle
The center of the hole will be from two adjacent sides of the square with a dimension of the radius of the fat end of the bat
Take a piece of scrap and screw it on the previous drilled piece to block one side of the hole off so the handle won't go all the way through.
Next fasten this piece in the v of the 2x4s on one end with the blocked off side of the hole towards the 2x4 ends

You now have a jig to place the bat in. Put the handle in the hole and clamp the fat end of the bat in the V so it won't move.

Then take about a 4" piece of 4x4 lumber, square both ends, and drill a hole thru the 4" dimension with your drill press.
Use the drill you plan to drill the bat with, and your center, from two adjacent sides, will again be the radius of the bat's fat end.
You now have a accurate drill guide to slide along the V of the jig for the drill.
Drill with your favorite drill motor.

The 2x4s could be 1x4s or just about anything around that size. You could even just clamp one 2x4 to your bench top.
Same for the other pieces. Lumber size is pretty flexible.

Alternative way:
If you have a laser pointer (put it in the chuck), or even a plumb bob you could use them to find the spot on the floor drillpress floor plate to clamp a board down that has the diameter of the bat's handle cut into it. Then put a center in the drill's chuck to hold the bat while you rotate and move the drill press table up to the bat. Clamp the bat to the table and you are ready to drill.

 

[Cuprousworks]

Conclusion: Thoughts on boring concentric hole in end of baseball bat

Mrfixit71 -- Rich -- fixed me up with hole, a quick lesson on clever use of the lathe, and a very pleasant shop tour and discussion on building a workshop. I wanted to shout out to Rich for his generous offer and follow-through to help a fellow woodworker out. Great guy!
Mike