Thread: Weeping Willow for cricket bats

You'll never never know if you never never go. Go on have a go. Whats to lose?
Cheers

Here's a link that may interest you. Cricket bat 'factory' goes into full swing - Employment News - MyCareer

I don't know what species of willow they use in the manufacture of bat clefts but from experience willow is notorious for splitting if not dried correctly DAMHIK!
I will watch with interest.

This might help.
Sorry, if you PM your emil address I'll send a bigger version.

If I was going to be made into a cricket bat, i'd be a weeping willow as well. Can you guess I hate cricket.

SB

Thanks guys, I appreciate the advice. I'm gonna just have a go at it. I just got back just then actually from cutting a few chunks and found a piece that looks and feels really nice, so I've cut it down to a reasonable size and now I'm going to have to let it dry... For a long long long time. I had to take my shoes off after chainsawing the thing because they were so wet. So I might get back to this thread with an update in about 2 years I would like to dry it by kiln, but I'm afraid of it splitting and also don't want to dry it too quickly and trap moisture in...

Then again if I don't do it soon, I might never get to it.

Any advice on how to dry it in a hurry and still have a light bat??

Alex Thanks muchly, PM sent

Wood

not sure of the latin for weeping willow I think it is Salix babylonica but the latin name for cricket bat willow is salix alba var. caerulea. which is a different timber to the weeping recall seeing a landline report on growing cricket bat willows I think in tassie and trees were single trunk very straight and harvested at about 10inch diameter .
good luck with your piece of willow

Not sure about home made cricket bats but here is how they make them in a factory...

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOjEk5ZtIGw&feature=PlayList&p=DE2834A49214BFDF&index=0&playnext=1"]YouTube- Broadcast Yourself.[/ame]

Those rollers apply huge compression. Good luck trying to achieve that at home

Shane.

I would have thought a news paper or a swish outside with a broom would have been easier.

I mean it's not like they bite or anything.

Shane I reckon I'd be able to knock it in myself, maybe not, but I'll have a good hard go at it...

Hammahed you should see the crickets out here. They bit, and they'll take your hand off. EVERYone carries a bat...

Sealed the ends, kiln dried it for as long as my patience would allow and here 'tis
https://www.woodworkforums.com/f40/cr...3/#post1105307

Thanks for the advice

There's any amount of air dried willow up around Oberon. Not weepers but what we call crack willow which is commonly found infesting streams & rivers in rural NSW. I took 90 willows out of a block I owned a couple of years ago. It's beautiful light timber & doesn't seem to crack in the wood shed so I think you would be able to cut some nice pieces off dead & dried felled timber. I think it's full of silica because it blunts chain saws very quickly. I have planed some of it to a nice silky sheen. Maybe I'll mill some up & use it to make something one day. Good luck with your green timber.