For cricketers in the northern hemisphere the new season is just a couple of months and for the guys in the southern hemisphere their season will be ending around the same time.
I wanted to share a couple of tips on bat care and maintenance with you. Firstly I would always suggest removing or changing the face sheet. It's a good idea to take it off so you can get a proper look at the face of your bat and reapply a coat of linseed oil.
When you are removing the face sheet DO NOT pull the sheet straight down the bat like this.
If you do it is likely that you will pull out the fibers of the willow leaving gouges in the face of your bat.
Instead peel the face sheet of starting at the side like this
When you have removed the face sheet there may be some adhesive residue left on the willow. Here's a tip to remove it. Get a cloth and put a little vegetable oil on it then rub the oil into the adhesive. It should lift off like magic! Get a second cloth to dry off any oil that is left on the bat.
Once you have cleaned up your bat face you need to examine it for any cracks. Small surface cracks running horizontally across the face are fine, in fact they are a sign that the bat is knocked in properly. What you need to look for are any cracks that have lifted the wood. These deeper cracks can develop so they need closing up.
To close a crack you will need some superglue, strong tape and a stick. Using a knife flatten one edge of the stick so you can use it to push the glue into the crack. Push as much glue as you can into the crack then bind the crack tight with the tape. It's a good idea to keep some pressure on it with your thumb for a few minutes until the glue has set off. Leave it for a hour and then very carefully remove the tape. The crack should have closed up a treat.
The next thing I'd suggest is to sand down the face of your bat. It is best to use two grades of sandpaper, a 60 grit for the initial sanding and then a 100 grit to finish. You can't go from 60 to something really fine like 220. The way sandpaper works is that is carves out grooves in the wood. If you start with a 60 there will be big grooves. If you then try to use a 220, which is very fine, you will be sanding for hours to get down to the depth of the groove left by the 60.
Here's a tip for sanding - take a lead pencil and lightly draw some lines on your bat face then use your 60 grit sandpaper to sand away the pencil marks. This will ensure you get an even sanding across the whole face. Repeat this with the 100 grit paper.
Once you have the face and edges nice and clean and sanded down it's time to apply the linseed oil. Make sure you use only RAW linseed oil. The boiled linseed oil that you get from the DIY stores is a polish and isn't going to do the job. It could damage the properties of the willow.
You don't need to apply much linseed oil, just one light, even coat. Look at the bat in different lights to make sure you've got everywhere. Don't get fooled into applying more if the wood sucks it in quickly. After the first coat you need to leave your bat for 3 days before applying a second coat. Then leave your bat a further 3 days before you use it or put on a new face sheet.
If you want to give the back a light sanding and reapply linseed just go careful around the stickers. To clean the vinyl stickers I've been using one of those magic erase sponges you can buy in the cleaning products aisle. Works a treat!
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CricTech makes outstanding, hand crafted cricket bats from the finest quality English willow for competitive cricketers using our unique sweet spot analysis process. Check us out.
I wanted to share a couple of tips on bat care and maintenance with you. Firstly I would always suggest removing or changing the face sheet. It's a good idea to take it off so you can get a proper look at the face of your bat and reapply a coat of linseed oil.
When you are removing the face sheet DO NOT pull the sheet straight down the bat like this.
Instead peel the face sheet of starting at the side like this
When you have removed the face sheet there may be some adhesive residue left on the willow. Here's a tip to remove it. Get a cloth and put a little vegetable oil on it then rub the oil into the adhesive. It should lift off like magic! Get a second cloth to dry off any oil that is left on the bat.
Once you have cleaned up your bat face you need to examine it for any cracks. Small surface cracks running horizontally across the face are fine, in fact they are a sign that the bat is knocked in properly. What you need to look for are any cracks that have lifted the wood. These deeper cracks can develop so they need closing up.
To close a crack you will need some superglue, strong tape and a stick. Using a knife flatten one edge of the stick so you can use it to push the glue into the crack. Push as much glue as you can into the crack then bind the crack tight with the tape. It's a good idea to keep some pressure on it with your thumb for a few minutes until the glue has set off. Leave it for a hour and then very carefully remove the tape. The crack should have closed up a treat.
The next thing I'd suggest is to sand down the face of your bat. It is best to use two grades of sandpaper, a 60 grit for the initial sanding and then a 100 grit to finish. You can't go from 60 to something really fine like 220. The way sandpaper works is that is carves out grooves in the wood. If you start with a 60 there will be big grooves. If you then try to use a 220, which is very fine, you will be sanding for hours to get down to the depth of the groove left by the 60.
Here's a tip for sanding - take a lead pencil and lightly draw some lines on your bat face then use your 60 grit sandpaper to sand away the pencil marks. This will ensure you get an even sanding across the whole face. Repeat this with the 100 grit paper.
Once you have the face and edges nice and clean and sanded down it's time to apply the linseed oil. Make sure you use only RAW linseed oil. The boiled linseed oil that you get from the DIY stores is a polish and isn't going to do the job. It could damage the properties of the willow.
You don't need to apply much linseed oil, just one light, even coat. Look at the bat in different lights to make sure you've got everywhere. Don't get fooled into applying more if the wood sucks it in quickly. After the first coat you need to leave your bat for 3 days before applying a second coat. Then leave your bat a further 3 days before you use it or put on a new face sheet.
If you want to give the back a light sanding and reapply linseed just go careful around the stickers. To clean the vinyl stickers I've been using one of those magic erase sponges you can buy in the cleaning products aisle. Works a treat!
____________________________________________________________________________
CricTech makes outstanding, hand crafted cricket bats from the finest quality English willow for competitive cricketers using our unique sweet spot analysis process. Check us out.
