Progress Thursday

I apologize for the gap in entries, but the holiday weekend and a case of strep throat have kept me away from my blog. However on Thursday I started my bat! (Finally) I got the edges all rounded off of my square blank and put it on the lathe and began turning. I got the entire thing rounded and will be ready to start my first  cuts as soon as I can get on the lathe. Because it has been so difficult to find time to work on the lathe, Mr. Cowell and I are planning on staying after school pretty late one day in order to get a large portion of the work done. Here are some progress pictures of what I accomplished on Thursday. 

Before

After

Mini Bat Failure

Today while working on my mini bat, it snapped in half. All the work I did on it was lost. However, it is not a waste because I got more practice on the lathe. When I started working on the bat again today I had a bad feeling because it was getting jumpy. The scaled down dimensions were just too small and I didn't have the foresight to know that working a large piece of wood down to a half inch diameter would put too much stress on the wood and break it. This wont be a concern for the full size bat because the smallest cut is an inch in diameter which won't put a large amount of stress on the block. I am a bit disappointed that the mini bat didn't work out exactly because I was looking forward to having it in the end to look at compared to my full size bat. 

Here are the two halves of the bat after it snapped. On the right is the barrel and the left is what would have become the handle. 

Listening to Our Coaches

In wise class today, it was brought to our attention that advice from our mentors and teachers is vital. Comparable to an elite Olympic athlete listening to their coach, despite their extensive skill and knowledge that they have themselves. This can be attributed to the fact that from the outside looking in, things are different and taking a step back and considering the advice of others is important in ensuring your own success. As an athlete, I am used to listening to my coaches and have routinely listened to my mentor when he suggests things and he has helped me overcome many obstacles in this way. 

CNC Lathes and Mass Production of Bats

A CNC lathe, according to the definition from: http://www.toolingu.com/definition-800115-12284-cnc-lathe.html, a 'shop' training website, is a lathe controlled by a computer running programs driven by numerical data. Basically this means that a computer program tells the lathe the dimensions of what you want to make and then the lathe operates according to the computers directions. This allows companies to make more bats faster and with a smaller margin of error that is inevitable with a person hand turning each bat. All the big name wood bat manufactures use CNC lathes in order to produce their bats.

Solid Progress After School

Yesterday I got a lot of work done after school on my mini bat. I was able to finish about 7 cuts and practically complete the mini bat. I plan on getting it done Monday and then hit the ground running on the full size bat early next week. 

Here is a progress picture of the mini bat.

Oops

Last time I was working, I got a little bit carried away and made too thin of a cut on the barrel side of my mini bat. Not a huge deal I just had to switch sides (see picture below). To prevent this from happening again, I am using a parting tool to measure the thickness of my cuts before I start using the gouge to ensure my cuts are accurate. 

Got My Wood!

Today I went to Danby hardwoods and bought the wood for my bat! This took me a while to track down and I spent a lot of time deciding whether or not to buy the wood online or keep searching for something local. Today it paid off and I have something to show for it. The shop at Danby hardwoods was very interesting and I could immediately tell that a veteran woodworker was in charge. The piece of wood from which my blanks were cut was enormous, about a foot wide and eight feet tall. They cut out enough wood for me to make my blanks and after I paid for it he offered to cut it into two blanks for me. I'm glad he did this because I don't know how I would've done it at school. Below is a picture of the original block and then the two blanks cut out afterward. 

Wood for The Full Size Bat

After calling Danby hardwoods and talking to them about ash they have in stock, I will be able to get enough wood for 2 bats for about 10 dollars more than I would pay for one blank to be shipped. So I made an appointment for tomorrow afternoon to visit the shop and hopefully get my wood cut. 

Mini Bat Update

I have my first two cuts complete and the  third one underway. With a total of 11 cuts on the whole bat, for about 45 minutes of actual turning I am not doing too poorly. Below is a picture of my progress with each cut marked off. The top is the right hand side and the bottom will be the left hand side. 

Reviving a Dying Art

My project is all woodworking based and all of my work is happening in the IHS tech room. All of the equipment is pretty old and as time is going on I am realizing that woodworking is not what it used to be. The computer and technology boom has taken over and making things with your hands is rapidly becoming obsolete. I realized all of this today as I was rummaging around in the back storage room of one of the classrooms and found a huge box full of dusty old woodworking tools. I am glad have been exposed to somewhat of a dying art and may have the chance to pass it along in the future. Below is a picture of the box full of decrepit old tools. 

Videos on Woodworkinh

After completing the first "cut" on my mini bat, I wasn't sure if my technique was right. So yesterday I pulled out my bibliography and looked up some of the videos I had previously researched. They were: Baseball Bat Turning Time Lapse. YouTube. YouTube, 15 May 2011. Web. 04 Feb. 2013. Making the Perfect Baseball Bat in Downtown Disney at Walt Disney World. Dir. DisneyParks. Perf. Larry Steele. YouTube. DisneyParkss, 16 Oct. 2012. Web. 04 Feb. I looked at these videos and confirmed my technique, starting from one end and working your way along gradually getting smaller and smaller. 

Wood Blanks

I finally got a hold of someone at Danby Hardwoods, (local wood shop) and unfortunately they don't have any ash blanks small enough for a baseball bat and for them to cut one would not be cost effective. I also tried Cayuga lumber with no luck. So my efforts to support local business seem to have failed. But, it never hurts to try! I will just order wood from woodbillets.com like I have previously stated. 

Lathe Spindle Speeds

Mr. Cowell recommended that I do some research on spindle speeds. What I found is that basically slower speeds are used for larger blocks and more control. Also a slower speed should be used toward the beginning of a project to ensure the wood gets even initial cuts. But for about a 2" block (a baseball bat) a safe and effective speed is about 2900 rpm. So I will experiment with these speeds while I make my mini bat in order to master the lathe even further.

Mini Bat Started!

On Friday, I finally got started on my mini bat. The first step was to prep the wood. Since I was just using a scrap block that Mr. Cowell had, some work needed to be done. First I had to cut the wood so it was a manageable size, I'm making a 16.5" bat so I wanted to leave about 2" of extra wood on each end. This was just some simple measuring and cutting. Then I had to use a block plane to round the square edges of the wood. Basically that is a blade with a handle that is run against the wood and chisels off how much you want. The purpose is to round off the square edge so it is easier to turn on the lathe. After that was done, I set the wood in the lathe and began to turn the wood. Initially using the gouge, my goal was to just get a round shape from the square block. It is the biggest thing I have turned so far and the wood is fairly hard so the shavings were flying all over the place. After about 20 minutes I was covered head to toe with wood shavings and I had a nice round piece of wood with which I can make my bat next week. I have my dimensions all set and will be ready to start and finish the actual turning of my bat next week.

The first picture is the block before I started rounding off the square edges with the block plane (upper right corner) and the second picture is the block in the lathe after I made the whole thing round.

Ready to Go

Today I met with Mr. Sauve and got permission to use the lathe tomorrow 4th and potentially 5th. With this time I will be able to get a lot of work done on my mini bat. I am going to go in early tomorrow to set up the bat with Cowell so I will be ready to go when 4th period comes around. I am excited to get going tomorrow and will hopefully get a lot of work done.

Work Suspended a Bit

I tried to get on the lathe today to turn my mini bat but I couldn't use the room. I need to go talk to Mr. Sauve and see of I can set up some time to work in his room. I am feeling a bit pressed to get the mini bat done so I want to get a substantial amount of that done this week. Updates to follow.