Charlie started showing some interest in baseball, so I decided to turn a small bat for him on the Shopsmith. Starter t-ball bats are roughly 24″ long and ~ 1.9″ in diameter, so that was my guide.

I made this one out of a pine 4×4 I had in the rafters. I know bats are usually made from ash, but I wanted to make one as light as possible, and he’ll start using softer baseballs anyway. I’ll make a bigger one out of ash in a few years.

Steps:

Roughing with a large gouge.

Turning down to ~2″ in diameter with a bedan and a skew.

Marking out the transitions and depths with a parting tool.

Final shaping and sanding.

Cutting down the ends with the bedan to make them easier to cut off with a saw.

Wiping on polyurethane to finish and protect.

Charlie likes it! He had some good hits for his first time using a bat and a tee.

For the future, I should the transition from handle to main striking part of the bat a little longer to reduce the weight. I’ll do that with the next one out of hardwood.