r/turning • u/SpaceDave83 • 2d ago

Baseball bat questions

I want to make a couple of torpedo baseball bats. I know the “mlb legal” dimensions, but that doesn’t give me much info on where to put the thickest part of the bat, in relation to the end.

Also, I want these to be as heavy as is legal, how does one control weight and balance, esp. with woods that vary in density?

If I was REALLY into getting things perfect, I could buy a factory made torpedo bat and take measurements off of that, but I sure don’t want to spend that kind of money.

I’m way too old to be using these myself, but I thought this might be a good learning experience, trying to hit both specific dimensions AND a specific weight. All the videos online seem to treat bats as a beginner project, but I want to make something better than a vaguely bat-shaped stick.

I will most likely be making these out of maple, if it makes any difference.

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u/Inevitable-Context93 2d ago

I suggest you read up on them more. I happened to hear about them today and looked them up. So turns out that all it means, is that the bat is tailored to each individual player. So some players my have the thick part close to the handle and some may have it closer to the end. I would be interested in how they determine the optimal shape for each player. But the article I read didn't mention that.

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u/SpaceDave83 2d ago

Interesting. I have been researching a little bit, but there’s always more to dig out. Since I’m not making these for specific players, I’m not concerned about “fitting” them, but I’m hoping to find a shape that seems to be popular with mlb players a go with that. The challenge for me his hitting both weight and shape at the same time. I’m assuming there might be some deviations from a “generic” schematic to hit weight, but it shouldn’t be too much.

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u/Inevitable-Context93 2d ago

I would assume that to keep things fair the weights are all the same as a regular bat. But I could be wrong about that. Maybe would be easier to find a specific player and replicate their bat?

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u/SpaceDave83 2d ago

Good point, but while I may be slightly obsessive about this project, I’m not going to go too far overboard🤓