*** If you're looking for split baseball bats - check out my Etsy store listing here. By popular demand, I've purchased some bats and split them, so they're ready for your next flag project!
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When I received a call about slicing a baseball bat in half, I thought I'd be cutting one or two of them. Imagine my surprise when a customer showed up with a box of bats!
She'd seen a cool wall sculpture of an American flag, and pulled up the image on her phone to share it with me. I haven't been able to find the exact one she showed me, but it was WAY cool. Here are a few I found, but hers was awesome.
Cutting them in half was a little trickier than I thought it might be. While I could have used my Laguna bandsaw to make this cut, I didn't want to take a chance of the blade wavering a bit, and making a curved cut. So I decided to use the table saw.
Hell, I make 90% of my cuts on a table saw!
I rigged up a 2x6 after cutting a V-groove down the center. I was worried about the bat "rolling" while in the middle of a cut, so the V-groove would help hold it in place while cutting it. At least... that was the plan.
A line in the center gave me a visual reference, assuring that I was making a centered cut on the bat. The funny thing was - these weren't real baseball bats, but more like "craft quality" bats. I have no idea where she purchased them, but they were definitely not meant for hitting a baseball! The grip on them was pretty small, maybe 3/4 of an inch at its narrowest point. When cutting that part of the bat, the vibration and chatter was pretty scary!
Honestly, I wouldn't try this at home, if you're not really skilled with a table saw It was a dicey procedure, with almost no way to use a push stick effectively.
I'm glad I can cross this job off my list - it's not very often that cutting something gives me the willies, but this cut was definitely a scary one.
OMG Jamie! You are brave. I've wanted to cut some stair banisters in half but couldn't figure out how to do it safely. You are my hero.
ReplyDeleteWow! Such patriotism. I was really inspired by the thought but also more because of the design. It is so attractive and fitting since baseball is America's favorite past time. :)
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I'm really curious where she found these bats!! I'm doing a similar project. Do you think there's any way to ask where they came from? Thank you!!
ReplyDeleteI found some bats on Amazon. 4 for 40.
DeleteI contacted the woman who brought in the bats for me to slice - here's what she said:
ReplyDeleteI found a lot of them on eBay, not as many as I needed, so I contacted the
seller and he went through all his bats and found as many as he could of similar size and made an individual listing for the lot of bats for me!
Apparently, he makes bats for a baseball company and these are all the "rejects" he sells in lots on eBay!
I think I just searched "unfinished baseball bats" online if I recall correctly and got lucky enough to stumble on the seller!
Hope this helps!
What paint was used? and how did you hang it?
ReplyDeleteI didn't make this piece, I only cut the bats apart. I would imagine she used a good primer/paint made for wood.
ReplyDeleteAs for hanging it - I think she used a french cleat mounted to one of the bats.
My dad and I are trying to do a similar project, would you be willing to give some helpful tips for splitting these bats?
ReplyDeleteI like wood. The information good for me. I like décor my home by wood. I have problem with cutting board 45 and 90 degree. Do you sharing tips? I want to décor crib for my daughter next week
ReplyDeleteI recently saw this American Flag made from baseball bats. I really want to make this for my son. He's 23 and just recently completed Basic Training and Tech School (Go Air Force and ALL branches) and he's had a love for baseball since he was .... born!! After reading your comment on how hard it was to cut these bats, I will definitely ask my carpenter for his help and expertise. My son has a long way to go in his career, so I have some time before I complete this "special" project for him. Thanks so much for sharing your experience.
ReplyDeleteThat’s just amazing. I was looking for similar project, Thank you for your good contribution.
ReplyDeleteThat’s just amazing. I was looking for similar project, Thank you for your good contribution.
ReplyDeleteHi, this seems like a great project. I have done similar ripping as you did. May I suggest that to keep the bat from rolling you can lay the bat in the grove and hot melt glue some small blocks or short pieces of dowel to the sides of the bat where needed before cutting.. That will prevent the bat from turning and can be easily removed after cutting the bat.
ReplyDeleteGood idea
DeleteI used to help my father a lot with his woodworking projects, and he used foam wedges to fill the gaps and keep the wood from wiggling.
ReplyDeleteGreat piece of work there !
ReplyDeleteI just made one myself with eight bats. I am lucky to have 3 sons who play baseball so we have wood bats to use when they crack. My question is since I didn't see in the video, what would you suggest how to hang it on the wall? The best way for support?
ReplyDeleteLee Ann - I didn't assemble this piece, I just cut the bats for the woman making it. But I am pretty sure she attached them to two vertical strips that ran from the top to bottom, so that you could see negative space between each baseball bat. It was a simple way to join everything, and made the piece easy to hang.
ReplyDeleteGood luck!
are you selling these?
ReplyDeleteNO, I don't sell them, but I've had a few people mail me a case of bats and I've cut them and then shipped them back, so they can make their own flag. It's a cool project, I think.
ReplyDeleteI actually have a set of baseball bats, now i know what to do with them! Great idea!
ReplyDeleteI too am working on this project. Where are you located and how much do you charge to split them?
ReplyDeleteWrite to me at:
ReplyDeleteJamie@wooditis.com and I will give you more info and some suggestions about getting your bats cut.
Jamie
Cooperstown Bat Company makes these awesome Bat Flags. Most of the photos are of those made by Cooperstown Bat Co. They make a full size bat and a mini bat version!
ReplyDeleteTo finish, use a wood primer,.. you can use a latex primer, sand lightly and I would use a good exterior latex paint. A-100 from Sherwin Williams with a satin finish will work well.
ReplyDeleteCan you list more on Etsy?
ReplyDeleteI found a lot. And I’m trying the same thing. But my first didn’t come out just right. It’s tricky cutting a bat in half. I can get my hands on probably 50- 70 bats. Hickory I believe
ReplyDeletei m going to make a bunch of them, going to glue scrap wood together, turn them on my lathe
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I found this old post. I came across it while researching how to cut wedges out of baseball bats to make a kids' nightstand. Basically, I want to build this nightstand:
ReplyDeletehttps://shopangelamariemade.myshopify.com/products/diy-nightstand-build-plans
...but with 4 Louisville Slugger tee ball bats as legs. So, the corners of bottom platform and the top shelf/top platform need to be inserted/inlayed into the shaft of the bat somehow.
Any idea how you would go about making those cuts? Thanks in advance for any insights.
There are a few ways to go about that - depends on what kind of tools you have. Because the surface of the bats is round, the apron joinery could be tricky... again - depends on what your skills and tools are like.
ReplyDeleteSimplest? Dowels to connect everything.
More sturdy? I would cut a 90 degree wedge out of each bat, and insert the aprons into that area. It's a little tricky to cut the wedge, but it would be a clean way to build this.
Thanks for the response. I'm thinking a router might be best for cutting the wedges out of the bats.
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